Customer Reviews

Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters

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....I settled on this book because I thought it would be account of Howard Hughes's weird and wanton ways, like several of the other books on this very original American have been.
Much to my amazement, I discovered that this book, which the publisher has unembarrassingly labeled "the definitive biography of America's First Billionaire," was not exaggerating. The story that unfolds here is a real pageturner...one of a life that hit upon politics, Hollywood, aviation, science, and parental neglect of the most extreme variety. What makes this book work as well as it does is the ability of the writer, Richard Hack (of whom I know nothing but intend to read more), has built the plot as if writing a novel. His words are lush with emotion and frustration, as the reader is brought along as an innocent observer of an incredible life story. It took a special talent to make material that has been attempted to be told elsewhere new and exciting. "Hughes" is both well researched and beautifully written. I cannot recommend it highly enough to men, women and teenagers.

I bought this book and read it cover to cover in a matter of two weeks, it was highly fasinating, but most of the content centered on his depression, and maniacial ways - such as being a recluse in hotels around the world, and his constant desire to have nothing to do with his expanding empire.

If your looking for a book that goes deep into the mind and thoughts of Howard Hughes, this is the one, but if you are looking for a book that describes his business dealings, and growing empire, your better off looking somewhere else for this doesnt go into great detail.

Judging from the interest in this self-described "definitive biography," Howard Hughes, dead for more than 25 years, remains an object of American fascination. Hughes' downward spiral from wealthy, handsome playboy-pilot-film producer-media star to even wealthier barking-mad recluse has been told in numerous books and television programs. I was suspicious when leafing through the 12 pages of "exclusive" photographs in the book to see that only half featured photos of Hughes and none of those were new. The remainder were of some of the women in Hughes' life and look like standard Hollywood publicity shots.

Richard Hack's biography begins well with an engrossing description of Hughes' childhood years. But as it continues to cover the millionaire's Glamourous Phase in the 1920s and 1930s, it seems like a rehash of the book by Noah Dietrich, Hughes' right-hand man in the period, published in 1972 but here there is a lot more emphasis on the subject's romantic life.

More annoying than the author's failure to shed any light on the "why" of Hughes' life is his total technical ignorance of aviation, the field where Hughes was most accomplished. Richard Hack falls down almost completely here and it brings into question the accuracy of the rest of the book.

For example, he does not mention that Hughes flew as an airline copilot under an assumed name to build up flying time. There is almost nothing on the solid technical achievement in building the H-1 racer, an airplane both ahead of its time and a monument to craftsmanship. He suggests that the decision to build the D-2 reconnaisance airplane out of Duramold was ridiculed by generals because wood was known "for cracking under stress and breaking under fire." There is nothing wrong with wood as an airplane material, as the British Mosquito bomber indicates. But Hack would not be aware of this as he refers to the Royal Air Force as the Royal Air Corps, its World War One designation.

There are many other factual errors. Grover Loening is described in a footnote as "credited as the engineering genius behind the autogyro, forerunner of the helicopter." Loening was a brilliant engineer, noted for his work in seaplanes, but Spaniard Juan de la Cierva was the inventor, developer and promoter of the autogyro. And what is one to make of the passage on p. 187 where Hughes Aircraft receives a "contract to place its all-weather interceptors in Lockheed's F-94 fighters?" An interceptor is a type of airplane not a box of equipment.

There is no mention of the glorious steam car disaster so well described by Noah Dietrich who was present but instead we are endlessly subjected to Hughes' efforts at proposing marriage. And Mr. Hack's knowledge of recent history is pretty shakey too. He describes a meeting in Miami between Robert Maheu and Sam Giancana shortly after the Kennedy inauguration to discuss killing Fidel Castro. Hack says "the operation became known as the Bay of Pigs..." This is just nonsense.

A definitive biography? The jury remains out. But it is clear that Howard Hughes would have been better viewed by the posterity that was so important to him if he had died young in one of his airplane crashes. At least the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has $12 billion to do some good.

After reading this book, one can only feel that it is a print equivalent of junk food. Ask yourself: is the life of a person as messed-up as Howard Hughes' worth wading through 400 pages of my time? Perhaps not. But at least we can always savour such literary gems of Richard Hack as "Love was as alien to him as a jelly donut to a Slovakian rebel."

I always thought that Howard Hughes was this strange guy who freaked out, never cut his hair or fingernails, and tried to leave his billions to some guy who owned a gas station in Nevada. How wrong I was! After reading "Hughes," I discovered that this guy was the consummate patriot, the ultimate eccentric, a great lover, and amazing aviator. Richard Hack managed to make Howard Hughes come alive for me twenty-five years after his death. Hack's writing draws you into this man's life and holds you in his grip until the very last page. I never thought a biography could read better than a novel, but this one does. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a fascinating story that combines elements of lust, intrique, espionage, Hollywood and humor. Prepare yourself to spend some time with this wonderful book. You won't want to put it down.

I knew bits and pieces about Hughes but never truly understood the remarkable life that he led and his incredible demise. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. Is there anyone else over the last century that led a more remarkable life? I will recommend it to my book group. It is so well written and the discussions will be delicious.

I admit to reading the latest reviews on this book while in the midst of reading it for myself. I found the reviews to be supportive of the work with grave reservations, and I found this to be my opinion when finished with the reading.

The book's beginning chapter speaks in detail of Hughes' last days, his dependence on drugs for pain relief, and his tight-knit entourage of staff who ministered to his final hours. This structure provides us a clear idea of how the remaining book will evolve without bogging us down with detail as Hughes reaches his final minutes.

For the first 100 pages I found the book difficult to put down but soon enough I read it no faster than any other. Hack is clearly an organized and thoughtful writer, but his style in my opinion is too similar to that of Joseph Wambaugh. Both men are too apt to use ridiculous similes in telling their tale. In Wambaugh's case the practice smacks of one cop chuckling over a bloody crime with other cops (seemingly his audience when writing his books). In Hack's case the similes distract from the overall tenor so much that the average reader might be quick to question his research and presentation. Early on I forgave such phrases as "piggybacked like barbary macaques in the jungles of Algeria . ." (not one of which elements belongs in this book). "Banks folding like concertinas" was forgivable. The other samples I jotted down were but a few of a large number. . ."he worked with the intensity that old maids give to picking locks. . . "; "love was as alien to him as a jelly doughnut to a Slovakian rebel. . ."; Maheu "clung to office like a sheet of Saran wrap on a cold bowl. . "; [that they might] ". . fight among themselves like alley cats over rotting garbage. . ." In many instances the entire page was peppered with the silliest similes and metaphors that I seriously wondered how I could read the remaining pages.

On the whole, the latest reviews are probably just. The book speaks devotedly of its subject, and this is the deteriorating man known as Howard Hughes. The mystique is stripped; the bare tax (and bare ass, as often as not) is revealed. This biography was by no means the page-turner it seemed it would be, but it seems credible in its treatment of its subject.

As an avid reader of biographies I look for those that will lead me directly into the life of the subject. I don't want to just read the facts. I want to be there...be a part of the story. Richard Hack has done a superb job researching the multi-faceted life of Howard Hughes.... I was glued to the pages as I read about his early years, his many business successes, his life in Hollywood, his many really weird habits and the effect he had on not just those who worked for him, but on all of America. This book has it all. I recommend it to anyone who would like to be a fly on the wall of a business titan or Hollywood magnate or to anyone who wants direct accesss to the mind of a truly remarkable man.

Howard Hughes was born in 1905; he died in 1977. His mother had died in 1922 , his father in 1924 - thus, Hughes became independent at age 17 - with a guardian (Aunt Annette) and his inheritance (Hughes Tool Company) - valued at $626,000. He ignored his Aunt's advice to attend Rice Institute. He'd already identified his three main goals in life: to become the world's greatest golfer, the world's greatest pilot, and the world's greatest movie-maker. He entrusted the management of Hughes Tool Company (eventually acclaimed for having revolutionized the oil producing industry) to the same people his father had hired; thus, he enjoyed security and independence, a comfortable income, plus time and money to pursue his goals.
At 19 Hughes decides that a serious, young entrepreneur like himself needs a wife; he chooses Ella Rice, a pretty, socially prominent young lady in Houston. Though already in love with another `promising' young man, Ella was persuaded by her mother and Aunt Annette that Howard - handsome and already rich - was a better 'catch'. After a 3-month honeymoon in New York City the newlyweds headed for California - where Hughes could launch his movie-making career. Soon Hughes was so involved in his golf (he eventually lowered his handicap to a respectable 2-plus) and movie making, that he had little time or energy left for Ella, who left him after 6 months.
In Hollywood Hughes hires an 'executive assistant'. Together they produce in 1926 one flop and one `so-so' movie, then in 1927 they produce and Hughes directs "Two Arabian Nights" (with actors William Boyd and Boris Karloff ) - a film that wins for Hughes an Oscar for `Best Director of a Comedy'. In 1928 Hughes begins "Hell's Angels" - a movie that includes 'dogfights' in Sopwith Camels and German Fokkers (78 of them!). Though the movie must eventually be totally re-made (converted from silent to 'talkie' version) , Hughes in the process discovers actress Jean Harlow and the movie establishes box-office records everywhere. The film's premier at Grauman's Chinese Theater was the `best night of his life' - according to Hughes. Hughes goes on to make many other famous and profitable films (Scarface, the Outlaw), discover other starlets (Jane Russell), and in 1948 he buys a major movie studio - RKO - which establishes him as a major film maker.
Meanwhile, Ella has divorced him , thus freeing Howard to 'play the field'. He's still only 23 - but now richer, more famous and even more handsome than ever - ergo, a very eligible bachelor. Plus, he now has his own little air force, a movie studio and a 170-foot yacht. He thus has little trouble meeting and squiring the world's most beautiful women -like Lana Turner, Ginger Rogers, Ava Gardner, Ida Lupino, Olivia de Havilland, Katherine Hepburn, Terry Moore, Yvonne DeCarlo, Kathryn Grayson, Bette Davis, Rita Hayworth, Linda Darnell, Billie Dove, and Faith Domerigue - to name a few. Not infrequently he'd be engaged to two, even 3, women at the same time. His love life was in a word - hectic. In 1957 an aging Hughes finally remarries - to actress Jean Peters, a former beauty-contest winner from Canton, Ohio.
In 1927, prompted by the exploits of Charles Lindbergh, and Amilia Earhart, Hughes turns again to his third yet unachieved goal - to become the world's best pilot. He seeks out J.B. Alexander - an experienced pilot-instructor, who is also a `barnstormer' and stunt flyer. Alexander reports that Hughes was a natural flyer. Soon Hughes was flying his own planes and conjuring up new goals related to flying. In the early `30's, when the depression was hurting Hughes Tool Company profits and Hughes' movie-making pursuits , Hughes takes a 11 month `sabbatical`. He works temporarily (incognito) as an airport baggage handler, then , elsewhere, as a stunt pilot - for $250.00 per month. Later, Hughes employs a pilot-mechanic and tasks him with `souping up' Hughes' recently purchased 8-passenger Sikorski S-43. Together they would make flights around the country with Hughes' movie-star girlfriends - and sometimes with 'best friend' Cary Grant and Randolph Scott - two famous actors who later were reportedly bi-sexual - which fueled the rumor mill that Hughes, too, was probably bi-sexual.
In 1934 Hughes and his team set about designing and testing a plane (the H-1) that Hughes wanted to use to set flight records that would establish him as a great pilot. A year later, after Hughes had personally flight-tested the plane, he started flying it to establish new records - speed records, long distance records, altitude records, and, in 1938, a new record for an around-the-world flight. These achievements won for Hughes other awards and recognition for flying : a congressional medal, the Harmon Trophy, and the Collier Trophy. He was also honored with a ticker-tape parade down Broadway in New York City. Hughes, now convinced that air travel had a future, eventually acquired an airline (TWA) that promised fast, comfortable air travel for the general public.
During World War II Hughes' enterprises expanded to meet war demands. Hughes' empire eventually became one of the government's biggest suppliers of aircraft, helicopters, aircraft parts, weapons, missiles and munitions. In 1966 Hughes was declared a billionaire and the richest man in the world. His latest interests now included Las Vegas, where by 1971 he controlled 17% of the city's gambling revenues and employed some 8,000 people. By now Hughes has `done it all' and he's become a recluse.
Howard Hughes was a giant of his times. He was shrewd, but also lucky: the fields of endeavor that he chose to enter were all just `taking off`: real estate investments in California and Las Vegas, gambling in Nevada, air travel, golf, the movie industry, and the oil industry (which boomed when the auto industry exploded.). Hughes also profited immensely because he was well positioned when World War II began. Hughes' life reads like a fairy tale. Just unbelievable! Believe me!

When you read fiction, it's someimes hard to suspend your disbelief for the duration of the story. This book marks the first time I've had to suspend my disbelief for a work of non-fiction. Howard Hughes' life is so improbable that it takes conscious effort to remember that you are reading about a real person who actually lived the stories in the book.

Given the magnitude of Hughes' accompishments in film, aviation, and in the development of Las Vegas, not to mention his astounding love life with nearly all of the biggest starlets in Hollywood history and several underage debutantes and his massive insanity, it is hard to believe there isn't more written about Hughes. Hack's work is very fun and a good introduction to Hughes' life, but it has its critics based on its technical accuracy and its focus on his love life.

It's surprising that there isn't yet a definitive biography on Hughes' life and it is really an amazing opportunity for a talented biographer to tackle. Until such a thing comes along, however, you could do much worse than Hack's book and I recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about an absolutely fascinating character.

For all those who love a good biography, THIS IS THE ONE. I was given this book yesterday as a gift, and found myself staying up late to finish reading it. It's that good. I've read other books on Howard Hughes, but none have captured writer Richard Hack's style, prose and well-researched content. More than that, none have captured Hughes like this excellent biography does. The best bio I've read since last year's Lindburgh...and this one has that topped!