Raised in desperate poverty, Sir Thomas Lipton built a global empire of markets, factories and stockyards with a prodigious talent for business and a shameless flair for self-promotion. Lipton created the first chain of grocery stores before setting his sights on the tea trade, but in his day he was equally famous for another exploit: his pursuit of the international sailing trophy, the America's Cup. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D'Antonio chronicles this larger-than-life character.