In 1991, Gerald Ratner was booked to make what should have been an everyday speech at the Institute of Directors. Should have been. When the word "crap" came out of his mouth in connection with a decanter and a glasses set sold by his company, H. Samuel, it all turned out slightly different.

The Rise and Fall...and Rise Again tells the full story, in Gerald Ratner's own words, of what lead him to that point at the IoD, the horror of what happened in the immediate aftermath, the fallout, and the comeback. This is the first time Gerald Ratner has given his side of the story. And what a story it is. You'll find out:

• How he wiped £500 million off the value of his own company virtually overnight
• All the details about the initial gaffe and how he compounded it by remarking that some of the earrings were cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn't last as long
• How "doing a Ratner" has entered into the vocabulary of British business
• The wilderness years sitting glued to the sofa in front of Countdown
• How he has bounced back, rediscovering his entrepreneurial spark by building up a health club business and, more recently, the immensely successful online jewelry retailer Geraldonline.com
• The story's not over yet....