Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness

To be honest, I bought this book after hearing about Howards Hughes from a couple different places and becoming intrigued. There are a ton of books about him out there, but this one seemed to be the definitive one. So being born in 1984, I didn't know a ton about Howard Hughes. I also didn't know what I was getting myself into with this book, so my rating will reflect that.I'm not going to delve into each chapter or give a deep synopsis of the book. If you want to know about everything Howard Hughes I am assuming this is the best source. This is a textbook you would receive in college masquerading as a novel. Being someone who loves Biographies, this isn't a bad thing. But as others have pointed out the writers show no emotion. This isn't a particularly big deal, except when you get to the halfway point of the book it really dwells on HRH's time in Las Vegas. I would rather have that condensed and learn more about his early life and Hollywood time. I had a very hard time finishing the book and found myself skimping the last 15-20 pages to call it quits.If you are wanting an uplifting, cut to the chase HRH book I would look elsewhere. However, if you enjoy a ton of information, facts and sources this book if perfect. One last thing, there were so many people in this book, honestly I had a hard time (nearly impossible) time keeping up with who is who.

This book could have been 1/2 the length. So much superfluous information on a man that doesn’t deserve that much coverage

When I was growing up, I heard a lot about Howard Hughes, the reclusive genius businessman. A man who dated beautiful women, who was a Hollywood mogul, who was a major player in the airline industry, someone who became a player in Las Vegas gambling, and so on. Well, I was wrong.This book's subtitle includes the term "madness." I had also heard that he was eccentric, but I was not aware how his debilities created huge problems for him as a businessman.A few examples. He took over RKO studio, one of the major studios in Hollywood. He produced a few good movies, but he ended up producing rather few. In the process, the studio became a losing proposition. Or, when he owned and ran TWA, a then premier airline company. When jets became the norm, he was paralyzed and could not pull the trigger on purchasing enough jets to allow TWA to compete. As a result, he lost control of the company.What about his playboy image? Surely, he dated many women. He ultimately married Jean Peters, an actress. But the circumstances were bizarre. She had to make appointments to see him--or even phone him. They seldom lived together. An indication of a difficulty with other people.He hated paying taxes and was always on the lookout for finding ways to reduce his tax burden. His Howard Hughes Institute for medical research was an example.Later on, his mental problems became overwhelming, as he lived with little contact with humans, letting his nails grow very long, unable to make business decisions, and so on.He did have successes. His Spruce Goose flew. He was, in fact, a very good pilot. One of his companies was a successful defense contractor.A fascinating portrayal of an iconic figure, who never lived up to his reputation. And who ended up an almost pathetic figure.

At times I couldn't put the book down. Other tines I would skip entire chapters. Way too much detail and the font is incredibly tiny. The book could have easily been 200 pages shorter.

Loved this book and read it 2 days it captures your attention and you find out a lot about him and his quirks that were many!

I read this book right before reading the book on Oscar Goodman; Of Rats and Men!The only reason I gave this book a 4 rating was because, while HH was a very eccentric person, the Author seemed to dwell on his idiosyncrasies in way too much detail and on too many occasions! Once or twice was fine, but 7-8 times, Too Much Information.The Author delves deep into HH's childhood, and his health issues then (Mom inspired I believe), and throughout his life.There were so many different things that HH and his group were involved in, it was amazing that he could keep up. It's ashamed that HH floated off into mental illness, because he was brilliant.Read it, you'll enjoy it!

Howard Hughes childhood and upbringing kept him somewhat isolated from other children because he was a sickly child. It effected his whole life in so many ways. Because of his father’s fortune from developing new oil drilling tools he was able to use money to hire many people to manipulate many lucrative business deals in the aviation, motion picture and real estate fields. He was even powerful enough to effect government decisions in aviation development. He found ways to avoid paying high taxes.

This is a comprehensive, intriguing look at the life of Howard Hughes. It both validates and attacks various elements of the conventional wisdom about this famous man. You'll get to learn about his family, his inner circle of advisors, and many of the famous people with whom he had a connection over the years. You'll learn exactly how Hughes became so rich, and you'll also learn about all the things on which he (or others) chose to spend his money.My only caution is that I recommend you have a considerable interest in Hughes. The book is extraordinarily well researched and dives deeply into Hughes' life; with only a passing interest, you'll likely give up on the book and feel a bit disappointed. If you are passionate here, you'll get a big kick out of the book.

Quite a big book but there was lots to fit in. The research that went into the book must have been tremendous and the detail is awe inspiring. A fantastic read and I couldn't put it down. My only criticism, if you can call it that, is that it would have been good to know what eventually happened to Howard's Estate although the book was written relatively soon after his death and it may have not been settled at the time of publication. An update of the subsequent Court cases would have been good. Otherwise I would highly recommend this book.

Fascinating book

Outstanding

This book is overrated I feel. I am not sure if book is a tribute to Howard Hughes or a systematic character assignation of the man, i suspect the later though. Long winding and unending, I started skipping several pages to reach the end. Basically it paints a very dark picture about HH. I get a sense that he was squandering his Dad's wealth, which came via the Huhges Tool company. He lived and idiosyncratic lifestyle secluding himself form the rest of the world , where he controlled every element of the story (or at least he tried too). From financial shenanigans, demagoguery, bribing politicians he tried every trick in the trade. Contrary to popular belief he, he kept loosing money everywhere from his RKO production house, TWA Airlines, Casinos. It beats me to know that he actually became the richest man in America for a while. He had hardly any personal life two broken marriage and several nervous break down episodes, I wonder why did he try so hard ? For what did he gain. He remain secluded locked up on a room for 15 years, was this even the life of an entrepreneur. Perhaps the only silver lining to me was his fastidious personality. Over all a lacklustre performance. The book is aimlessly long and doesn't connect after a while. I felt it was quite a jaded piece of work.

Very well researched book however the story is melancholy as Hughes was a very wealthy man but led a reclusive and lonely life