- Paperback: 688 pages
- Publisher: Andre Deutsch Ltd; New Ed edition (4 Aug 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0233051287
- ISBN-13: 978-0233051284
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.4 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 374,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
Whether he was courting public attention in the roles of aviator, playboy and entrepreneur, or shunning it as a recluse, Howard Hughes commanded headlines throughout his career. Yet the image of his life, his power and his business empire that caught the public imagination was almost completely false. Hughes s fortune actually came from his father s tool company and, later, from the Hughes Aircraft Company, yet these flourished simply because Hughes was prevented from interfering in their workings. In fact, Hughes was a disastrous businessman - no company under his control ever built a successful aircraft, he nearly destroyed TWA and completely destroyed a major film studio, and even his gambling empire in Las Vegas was crippled by corruption. His personal life was even more disastrous - he feared, rightly, that he was mad and spent most of his fortune and the last 18 years of his life trying to prevent anyone finding out. He spent his time naked, eating little, addicted to drugs and tranquillisers, a physical wreck, and died surrounded by men who nurtured his madness for their own ends.
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First Sentence
ALL his life, Howard Hughes stood in awe of his father, the tall, handsome, flamboyant man who endowed him with a flair for the dramatic, a love of things mechanical, and one of the great industrial creations of the twentieth century. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
ALL his life, Howard Hughes stood in awe of his father, the tall, handsome, flamboyant man who endowed him with a flair for the dramatic, a love of things mechanical, and one of the great industrial creations of the twentieth century. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Howard Hughes was already legendary in his own time; since his death he's assumed truly mythical proportions and this superbly written, thoroughly researched biography investigates the man and the myth, charting his ruthless takeover of the family business, his dalliances with aviation and movies, the stroke of luck that saw Hughes becoming a massive defence contractor, and then, most compellingly, the tale of his descent into paranoid insanity.
The authors describe Hughes' obsession with detail, his bizarre lifestyle and the layers of organisation he built around himself in appropriately painstaking detail; the business deals, the henchmen - all are documented thoroughly.
This is towering, magnificent portrait of a life gone horribly wrong - occasionally hilarious, often poignant, occasionally shocking and always superbly readable.
Wholeheartedly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I1d always held the idea that HH was some odd genius who could make money out of anything.
This book proves he:
- was lucky to have a dad with a valuable patent which underpinned his financial health through his life.
- knew little about building commercial planes.
- wasn\t a very good pilot.
- was surrounded by conmen and crooks.
- was really rather barking.
Even so, I was totally intrigued all through this book to read how far away from the commonly held perceptions he actually was.
Ther author did a great job of turning sometimes dry subjects into fascinating snapshots of his life.
Well worthy the money.
This book proves he:
- was lucky to have a dad with a valuable patent which underpinned his financial health through his life.
- knew little about building commercial planes.
- wasn\t a very good pilot.
- was surrounded by conmen and crooks.
- was really rather barking.
Even so, I was totally intrigued all through this book to read how far away from the commonly held perceptions he actually was.
Ther author did a great job of turning sometimes dry subjects into fascinating snapshots of his life.
Well worthy the money.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
42 of 46 people found the following review helpful
The Demise of an Empire
1 May 2003
Format:Paperback
Donald Bartlett and James Steel's book, "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes" is an excellent example of journalistic reporting converted into book form; the book is simply fascinating to read. The authors accomplish the gargantuan task of separating fact from fiction in the very complex life of Howard Hughes. "Empire" is impeccably researched and documented; It is a bona fide biography that reads more like fiction than real life-such was the world of Howard Hughes.
"Empire" traces the rise and tragic fall of Howard Hughes; a man who wore many hats, he was an aviator, Hollywood movie producer, Las Vegas hotel/casino owner ... and a recluse. For one brief shining moment, Hughes was considered one of America's premier aviators, breaking flying records, but then falling out of grace with government and the aviation industry for breaking contract deadlines. In the long run, Howard Hughes would become a grand failure in the world of big business.
Bartlett and Steel show the reader a man who had everything to live for, good looks, fame, fortune, power and prestige, but he was unable to triumph over his social and physical phobias that led to psychological, emotional, and physical illnesses and to his final descent into the dwellings of the insane. Hughes' deep mistrust of all people-even family, worked against him and led to his demise and the lose of his billion dollar empire by the very people whose job it was to safeguard him and his empire.
By the time I finished reading "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes, I was much more accepting of my status as a non wealthy individual. Although Howard Hughes had everything a man could possibly wish for, he was underprivileged in peace of mind.... The authors do a superb job in separating fact from myth in the life of Howard Hughes. The book is worth reading.
"Empire" traces the rise and tragic fall of Howard Hughes; a man who wore many hats, he was an aviator, Hollywood movie producer, Las Vegas hotel/casino owner ... and a recluse. For one brief shining moment, Hughes was considered one of America's premier aviators, breaking flying records, but then falling out of grace with government and the aviation industry for breaking contract deadlines. In the long run, Howard Hughes would become a grand failure in the world of big business.
Bartlett and Steel show the reader a man who had everything to live for, good looks, fame, fortune, power and prestige, but he was unable to triumph over his social and physical phobias that led to psychological, emotional, and physical illnesses and to his final descent into the dwellings of the insane. Hughes' deep mistrust of all people-even family, worked against him and led to his demise and the lose of his billion dollar empire by the very people whose job it was to safeguard him and his empire.
By the time I finished reading "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes, I was much more accepting of my status as a non wealthy individual. Although Howard Hughes had everything a man could possibly wish for, he was underprivileged in peace of mind.... The authors do a superb job in separating fact from myth in the life of Howard Hughes. The book is worth reading.
32 of 36 people found the following review helpful
This is what should be called real "biography". Well-done!
24 Mar 2000
Format:Paperback
This is a fantastic book, if you need to read a real and thorough biography about Howard Hughes. I mean, it is so thorough, that you can find anything you possibly want to know (if you study HH as a scholarly subject or just curious)... you can find anything, but the speculations about his private life. This book is not about speculations, it is a REAL RESEARCH. It is done chronologically and it has many appendices, that discuss everything, from significant dates in HH's life to the financial statements of his company and his finances throughout his life. I, personally, don't have any warm feelings towards the character of HH as a historical figure (quite to the contrary...as a matter of fact I dislike him), but the authors of this book deserve all the praise, they can possibly get.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
looking for comprehensive Hughes? look no further ..
13 Mar 2000
Format:Paperback
This is a fantastic account of the life of Howard Hughes. The book moves deftly through Hughe's life from beginning to end, from a man that refuses to give consideration to other people's suggestions and advice to a withered shell that is practically canabalized by the many companies he created. With his mind and body failing, Hughe's "assistants" become more and more empowered. The book is often punctuated with Hughe's truely bizarre memos and notes to his assistants. They cast Hughes in what would now be considered an obsessive compulsive personality.
This book is well written, from his days as a youth to his germ phobic self imposed exile.
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