| Business and Tech Videos |
Geoweb video
|
|
|
| Book Launch Returns “Larger Than Life” Entrepreneur to Newfoundland Roots |
August 25, 2008 |
Book Launch Returns “Larger Than Life” Entrepreneur to Newfoundland Roots
August 22, 2008 -- VANCOUVER, BC: A new biography covering the career of legendary entrepreneur Craig Dobbin has been published in Vancouver but will be launched at the other end of Canada in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Titled One Hell of a Ride, the book traces Dobbin’s life from working-class Irish beginnings in St. John’s during the depths of the Great Depression to his rise atop a billion-dollar helicopter corporation, building close friendships with presidents, prime ministers and financial heavyweights. Published by Vancouver-based Douglas McIntyre, it will officially debut at an invitation-only luncheon in St. John’s on Thursday, September 11. Dobbin died in October, 2006.
“It really didn’t make sense to introduce the book anywhere else,” says author John Lawrence Reynolds, who spent more than a year researching and writing the book. “Craig Dobbin celebrated all three aspects of his heritage – his Irish blood, his Canadian loyalty and his Newfoundland roots – but he reserved his deepest passion, I believe, for Newfoundland-Labrador.”
Much of Reynolds’ research focused upon Dobbin’s shoot-the-works business style and his ability to charm virtually everyone he met. “His determination to live life to the fullest, in the face of enormous challenges, pulled people towards him,” Reynolds suggests. “Once they began relating their adventures with Craig Dobbin, the stories never seemed to stop.”
Among the anecdotes included in One Hell of a Ride:
* The near-drowning of former U.S. president George H. W. Bush, a favourite fishing companion of Dobbin, in a Labrador bog
* Dobbin’s strategy of overcoming threats to his business by purchasing competitors much larger than his own firm
* Financier Steve Hudson’s three-day search for the $40-million in aircraft he had leased Dobbin, ending with Dobbin suggesting they settle their differences over a glass of Irish whisky (Hudson became an unabashed admirer and supporter of Dobbin)
* Dobbin’s use of a gift given him and blessed by Pope John Paul II to mollify a $10 million creditor
* His incredible recovery from a lung transplant that appeared to double his energy and determination
“The book is a great balance between the human side of its subject and the hard-edged details of his business ventures,” comments publisher Scott McIntyre. “It confirms that all the clichés attached to Craig Dobbin over the years – ‘one of a kind,’ ‘larger than life’ – really were true.”
Among those expected to attend the luncheon and relate their own memories of Craig Dobbin are Newfoundland-Labrador Lieutenant-General John Crosbie and Atlantic Canada businessman Harry Steele.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Emiko Morita, 604-254-7191 ext. 111 |
|
|
| Green Innovation |
|
|
| Top 300 Tech Companies |
 
|
| Gadget of the Week (Canadian) |
|
Pick the best 3G for you
BlackBerry Bold
Choosing the right smartphone is an important decision, and here’s the good news...
more Tech Gadgets
|
| Gadget of the Week (Japanese) |
Sounds of Japan
Why record just the visual when you can capture the sounds as well.
more Tech Gadgets from Japan |
|
sponsored by 
