She is the world's richest woman and, as her empire has grown, so has her appetite for power.

A new book by respected Fairfax business journalist Adele Ferguson sheds new light on the life and turbulent times of mining magnate Gina Rinehart.

Extracts from the book appear in The Age, the Herald and the Canberra Times tomorrow.

Exclusive extracts published in Fairfax newspapers and online tomorrow and on Sunday paint a revealing and intimate portrait of a woman who at 36, widowed with four children, inherited her father's iron ore business and his unfulfilled dreams.

It would take her years to revive the House of Hancock – including a decade of legal battles with her stepmother – but just as its future seemed assured, a feud with three of her four children has thrown the succession of the dynasty into doubt yet again.

Gina Rinehart: The untold story of the richest woman in the world is published by Pan Macmillan Australia on Tuesday.