Branded by Grace (Brand)

Like a Brand Plucked from the Fire

Funny, thought-provoking, and informative, this book will stay with you long after you have read the last page.  In his wonderfully entertaining autobiography, serial entrepreneur, Chippy Brand, takes us on a roller coaster journey from his fast track family life in Benoni with his inimitable mother (“Nothing is expensive if you like it”) to his hilarious days at Michaelhouse, to his Civil Engineering course at Wits, to a plethora of business ventures.

After an encounter with God, we follow him in his sharp detour into farming, with stories of mirth, miracles, and madness; a U-turn back to construction, and learning to negotiate the super fast track with Sol Kerzner on the construction of Sun City.

In the final round we view the family’s spectacularly successful collection of Grace Hotels: the Mount Grace with its unique Chamber Music Festivals, the Rosebank Grace which was voted Best City Hotel in Africa and the Middle East, and the Cape Grace at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, which won the award for the Best Small Luxury Hotel in the World in 1999, and in 2000 was voted Best Hotel in the World by Conde Nast Treveler.