Hughes, Richard Hack
Hughes, Richard Hack
List: $32.95 | Sale: $23.07
Club: $16.47

Hughes
The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters: The Definitive Biography of the First American Billionaire

Author: Richard Hack

Narrator: Dan Cashman

Unabridged: 17 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/01/2009

Synopsis

Howard Hughes (1905-1976) was a true American original: legendary lover, record-setting aviator, idiosyncratic film producer, talented inventor, ultimate eccentric—and, for much of his lifetime, the richest man in the United States. His desire for privacy was so fierce and his isolation so complete that even several decades after his death, inaccurate stories continue to circulate about him. Richard Hack explodes the illusion of Hughes' life and exposes the man behind the myth--a playboy whose sexual exploits with Hollywood stars were legendary, an entrepreneur without ethics, an explorer without maps, and ultimately, an eccentric trapped by his own insanity. Drawing on secreted letters, declassified FBI files, autopsy reports, more than 110,000 pages of court testimony, and exclusive interviews, Hack reveals a man so devious in his thinking and so perverse in his desires that his impact continues to be felt even today. From entertainment to politics, aviation to espionage, the influence and manipulation of this billionaire has left an indelible and unique mark on the American cultural landscape.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Greg on August 13, 2015

Howard Hughes was a nut-job. If he hadn’t been fucking bonkers he would probably be totally reviled, instead he’s something of the uber-off his rocker celebrity. It helps when you have hundreds of millions of dollars at your disposal to really craft the perfect level of crazy. This book was probably......more

Goodreads review by Nathan on September 17, 2007

Howard Hughes suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder. Howard Hughes kept his urine in a jar. Howard Hughes liked to sprawl naked in a lounge chair and hurl his feces at the television when Bobby Kennedy came on TV. Howard Hughes was the archetype of the modern military industrialist. Howard Hug......more

Goodreads review by Brent on July 06, 2024

More interesting than entertaining. I thought I would find something to admire about Hughes, but he basically comes off here as a jerk. A sad story, really.......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on September 03, 2018

Construct a Venn diagram with "money can't buy me love," "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven," and "it is not good for man to be alone." Howard Hughes is at the intersection of that diagram. Hughes was an imaginative risk-taker who pushed......more

Goodreads review by Annette on November 17, 2015

I am almost sad that I read this book. How could this man possessing of so much greatness, bravery and foresight into the forging of our future technology end so badly? A true crash and burn life story. Perhaps it was when he crashed the XF-11? Did the resulting head injury inflict life long damage......more

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List