Sir David Murray says sorry over sale of Rangers to Craig Whyte
The sale was backed by a £7m support package from the Scottish government.
Sir David claims ministers rejected his rival bid to purchase the business because it was potentially incompatible with state aid rules, and criticised Mr Gupta's management of Liberty Steel in the years since.
The Scottish government it had "acted quickly" to support the transaction, adding: "This intervention sustained over 100 jobs at Dalzell and retained steelmaking capacity in Scotland."
Sir David was also critical of the industrial policies of both the Scottish and UK governments saying: "It's ridiculous that Britain does not have the capacity to make a steel plate for its defence."
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Elsewhere in his book, Sir David describes in detail the car accident in 1976 that led to his legs being amputated at the age of 24, a year after founding his metals business.
On the way home from a game of rugby in his fibreglass Lotus, a tyre blowout sent him off the road and into a tree.
Sir David described how fellow rugby players stopped to help him, using their ties as tourniquets before he was taken to hospital for life-saving surgery.
"None of us know how tough we are until the time we find out how tough we are," he said.
"I had a young son of several months old and a boy of two. I'd a young wife. My father had just passed away. I could only go one way. I couldn't fail. I have a responsibility," he added.
Another chapter in the autobiography is dedicated to Sir Sean Connery, who was a close friend of Sir David's.
The book describes how the pair travelled to Dunblane in the aftermath of the murder of 16 children and their teacher in the Scottish town on 13 March 1996.
"It was after the terrible news up there that Sean wanted to visit it. And I took him up with some flowers, and quietly he stood for a minute and put some flowers at the school gates. A very difficult moment," said Sir David.
"He was such a patriot, Sean. He took an interest in Scotland every day and he just wanted to be there."
