Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness (Paperback)

~ (Author), James B. Steele (Author) "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,..." (more)
Key Phrases: operating memorandum, stockade leader, unidentified aide, Las Vegas, Howard Hughes, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A dazzlingly reported, hard-nosed account...[A] fat, beautifully researched book. -- John Justin Smith, Chicago Sun-Times

A remarkable job of investigative reporting . . . a ruthlessly probing 688-page blockbuster biography that cracks Hughes's public persona as it disentangles the psychodrama of his private doings—his ties to Nixon and Watergate, his mysterious death, the way the CIA apparently used him to serve its own ends. (Publishers Weekly )

A remarkable job of investigative reporting...a ruthlessly probing 688-page blockbuster biography. -- Publishers Weekly

By far the soundest, fairest and fullest book we have on the bizarre billionaire who commanded the fortunes of Croesus yet could not command himself. It is the story of a man who had everything—and nothing. (John Barkham Reviews )

By far the soundest, fairest and fullest book we have on the bizarre billionaire who commanded the fortunes of Croesus. -- John Barkham Reviews

Donald Barlett and James Steele of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the finest team of reporters west of The Times of London, herewith present the perfect biography of the weirdest, most fascinating, most god-awful corporate creature you will ever encounter in broad daylight. (Robert Sherrill - Nation )

Now the full story of the life and death of Howard Hughes has been published, told not as cheap gossip but as a dazzlingly reported, hard-nosed account...[A] fat, beautifully researched book. (John Justin Smith - Chicago Sun-Times )

Of all the books written about Howard Hughes, [this] is easily the best. -- Ted Morgan, New York Times Book Review

Of all the books written about Howard Hughes, [this] is easily the best...the first fully documented, crade-to-grave account of a unique American life. (Ted Morgan - New York Times Book Review )

The perfect biography of the weirdest, most fascinating, most god-awful corporate creature you will ever encounter in broad daylight. -- Robert Sherrill, Nation

[The authors] have made an impressive use of documents to fashion this longest, most responsible and authoritative biography of Hughes to date. (Peter S. Prescott - Newsweek )

[The] longest, most responsible and authoritative biography of Hughes to date. -- Peter S. Prescott, Newsweek

Product Description

The life that inspired the major motion picture The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese.

Howard Hughes has always fascinated the public with his mixture of secrecy, dashing lifestyle, and reclusiveness. This is the book that breaks through the image to get at the man. 80 photographs. Originally published under the title Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (September 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393326020
• ISBN-13: 978-0393326024
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Meticulously researched, January 25, 2005

By	Pumpkin (Big Zoo) - See all my reviews

I've read this book and Peter Brown's book. There is a definite difference. Barlett obviously did his research and it shows for example in the amount of pages devoted to many of Hughes' business transactions (e.g., TWA, Spruce Goose, Vegas properties) - at a certain point, however, I got tired and would skim through these dense passages. I was more interested in Hughes on a personal level and most of the book centered on Hughes in his later years, the misdeeds of his aides/associates, and his intricate business dealings. However, I don't think this detracts much from the overall book which does provide a clear, tragic portrait of this fascinating figure.

If you want a book that emphasazies Hughes' personal life (including more on his earlier years), I would suggest the Peter Brown book. Brown's book was published more recently and contains new information (including a new revelation on Hughes' mental condition) not included in Barlett's.

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unparalleled research on Hughes life., February 23, 2005

By	Gaetan Lion - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Howard Hughes is hot right now. Just like John Nash of "A Beautiful Mind"-fame was a few years ago. The movie "The Aviator" has been nominated for more Oscars than any other. And, after seeing the movie everyone wants to know more about Howard Hughes and attempt to crack the mystery that was his life.

There is no question Hughes' character was mythical. He was part Chuck Yeager, Donald Trump, Hugh Heffner, Steven Spielberg, and a genuine madman all combined in a strikingly handsome 6 foot 4 inches body frame. After reading this book, however, you may find that Hughes was ultimately more successful at creating a myth than anything else. Looking at his private life and business ventures, you will conclude that he was a tragic failure.

This book has to be the most detailed biography on Hughes. The authors conducted a Herculean research effort that entailed the examination of a quarter million pages of records and documents, and reproducing over 50,000 pages of them. They traveled to numerous cities in the U.S. and Japan to conduct this research. As a result of this unparalleled research, the authors wrote a tightly written 600 page book in extremely small font. Thus, it is not a quick read. But, it is incredibly informative and fascinating.

The scope and the details on Howard Hughes business and legal dealings is extremely thorough. And, you get a real sense of who he was, the way he thought, the way he mismanaged every business enterprises he engaged in. Hughes was obsessive about so many things. In business, he developed a weird set of obsessions that included not paying any taxes, becoming a major airline owner at all costs, becoming an aircraft manufacturer and also a defense contractor at all costs. For him, manufacturing an aircraft for the Department of Defense became a lifelong obsession. Contrary to what the outside World may believe, Hughes was not a brilliant businessman. Much to the contrary, he was really a madman. For every dollar he did not pay or save in taxes, he actually lost a dollar fifty or so. Thus, his various tax schemes were disasters from an after tax return standpoint. He also did not have the organizational, and managerial talent to pull off any of his grandiose obsessions to economic fruition. Hughes would certainly have become much richer being just a regular Trust baby supported by the extraordinary capital generated by the company created by his father, the Hughes Tool Company. The latter made a fortune by developing the most advanced oil drilling head. It became so successful as to become nearly a monopoly throughout the entire worldwide oil industry. This invention created the fortune that financed all of Howard Hughes business fantasies and fiascos. However, if he had done so [just become a Trust baby] he would not have become Howard Hughes and offer us the spectacle of one of the most grandiose, grotesque, and tragic life of modern times.

The authors also covers in detail Hughes social life, movie producing years, and his long and irreversible descent into madness. This part is easier reading than the legal business disputes. The psychological profile that emerges is almost unbelievable.

The book does an excellent job of debunking several myths about Hughes. One of them is Hughes the world class philanthropist. Indeed, he is known has having given during his lifetime a fortune to medical research. Well during his lifetime, his creation of The Howard Hughes Medical Institute was nothing more than a leveraged lease tax avoidance mechanism. Most of his donations funding this nonprofit entity went back to him in the form of lease payments on properties rented from various Hughes corporations at above market rents by this institute. Nowadays, the IRS never would grant such a research institute any tax-exempt status. In the Appendices, the authors do an excellent job of documenting the cash flows associated with this tax avoidance scheme. Almost, zero % of the donation to this institute went to medical research.

At the end of the book, the "Chronology" is an excellent timeline map to get an overview of Hughes life. I found myself referring to it constantly to get my bearings of where was I in this convoluted story. Did he incur his first major mental breakdown before or after his spectacular Congressional hearings where he outwitted and demolished his Congressional nemesis? Amazingly enough, a quick reference to the Chronology confirms that he incurred his mental breakdown before the hearings.

Also, the Epilogue is brilliant. It fully captures the essence and drama of this life and provides a coherent thematic summary of this 600 page book.

In any case, if you really want to find out more about Hughes this is the book.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive HRH resource, January 10, 2005

By	JDS (New York) - See all my reviews

By far the best biography I have ever read. Barlett does a brilliant job stringing together the disparate decades of the enigmatic billionaire's life. The books is a quick, captivating - albeit, depressing - read.