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Rating: 
Summary: Very informative.
Review: Howard Hughes died when I was only 12 so I knew next to nothing about him prior to the "recluse" years and I found this book extremely interesting. History has dealt somewhat harshly with HH but this book managed to shed some sympathetic light on the mysteries surrounding him. His strange relationship with his mother, his drive to control and collect, his grand scale successes and equally grand failures touched a chord with me. How sad to have so much but ultimately be so unfulfilled and lonely. Whether you find him an eccentric genius or a man tortured by mental illness, you must agree he left behind a significant legacy. The only minor complaint I have with this book is chronologically it was occasionally hard to follow since a chapter regarding business deals would then be followed by a chapter on personal affairs that were conducted during the same period of time. It was easy to get confused regarding timeframes.
Rating: 
Summary: The Person Behind The Name
Review: Hughes was a man who accomplished most of what he did before my time, so I've only remembered him as a billionaire, eccentric, and recluse, before reading this book. During his time he was a go-getter who tried many adventurous things professionally and both personally and privately. This book brings to light the details of of the younger Hughes' extraordinary personal life, which I found more interesting than the business side of it. He spent notable time in Southern California and Los Angeles. Many tales bring Old Hollywood and Los Angeles to light. His involvement in the movie business producing films, influenced in part, as an avenue to get to the ladies of the screen. Details of his relationships with the stars of the day are illuminated. Taking dates to the mounted cross atop one of the Hollywood Hills, overlooking the flatlands and lights of LA. He even crashed a plane into 3 houses in Beverly Hills. His 3rd plane crash, occurred while performing a flying stunt during the shooting of a movie (the stunt pilots refused to do the stunt because they considered it too dangerous). As a result of that crash he was in the hospital with critical life-threatening injuries. This was when HH was introduced to Codeine for the severe pain, something he would become addicted to for most of the rest of his life. The book later progresses in the latter years of Hughes. Today, it is apparent to contemporary psychologists that Hughes was likely suffering from a form of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Nowadays, OCD is more understood and highly treatable with medication. In HH's time, it was not thought of in biological and physiological terms. Hughes' first break came when he entered a screening room and stayed in it for 5 full months. He didn't bathe, watched the same movies 30 times over, and survived on a diet of candy bars. Hughes consciously and voluntarily turned over his business affairs to competent managers. These were employees, and were people who made prudent decisions and looked out for HH's best interests. During this time, other sharks started to gather. Such is the case when large amounts of money is involved. Bill Gay, one of Howard's chauffeur, made crafty and cunning political moves to ascend over the years. He got Howard's ear, and became more influential on him. Gay eventually took the reigns of control over Huges' wealth. He then deftly purged the other business managers who served Hughes with dedication and integrity. The former chauffeur and his fellow Mormon henchman took over Hughes and his affairs, isolated him, and squeezed out those who cared for Hughes and wanted the best for him. It's sad, for during the latter decades of Hughes life it seemed that no one was really there for him, if he had wanted anyone to to be there. In death, over one thousand--yes, 1000--people came out of the woodwork to lay claim to Howard Hughes wealth after his passing. To this day, We're still not sure if his death was natural, self-induced, or the intentional doings of others....
Rating:
Summary: The Person Behind The Name
Review: Hughes was a man who accomplished most of what he did before my time, so I've only remembered him as a billionaire, eccentric, and recluse, before reading this book. During his time he was a go-getter who tried many adventurous things professionally and both personally and privately. This book brings to light the details of of the younger Hughes' extraordinary personal life, which I found more interesting than the business side of it. He spent notable time in Southern California and Los Angeles. Many tales bring Old Hollywood and Los Angeles to light. His involvement in the movie business producing films, influenced in part, as an avenue to get to the ladies of the screen. Details of his relationships with the stars of the day are illuminated. Taking dates to the mounted cross atop one of the Hollywood Hills, overlooking the flatlands and lights of LA. He even crashed a plane into 3 houses in Beverly Hills. His 3rd plane crash, occurred while performing a flying stunt during the shooting of a movie (the stunt pilots refused to do the stunt because they considered it too dangerous). As a result of that crash he was in the hospital with critical life-threatening injuries. This was when HH was introduced to Codeine for the severe pain, something he would become addicted to for most of the rest of his life. The book later progresses in the latter years of Hughes. Today, it is apparent to contemporary psychologists that Hughes was likely suffering from a form of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Nowadays, OCD is more understood and highly treatable with medication. In HH's time, it was not thought of in biological and physiological terms. Hughes' first break came when he entered a screening room and stayed in it for 5 full months. He didn't bathe, watched the same movies 30 times over, and survived on a diet of candy bars. Hughes consciously and voluntarily turned over his business affairs to competent managers. These were employees, and were people who made prudent decisions and looked out for HH's best interests. During this time, other sharks started to gather. Such is the case when large amounts of money is involved. Bill Gay, one of Howard's chauffeur, made crafty and cunning political moves to ascend over the years. He got Howard's ear, and became more influential on him. Gay eventually took the reigns of control over Huges' wealth. He then deftly purged the other business managers who served Hughes with dedication and integrity. The former chauffeur and his fellow Mormon henchman took over Hughes and his affairs, isolated him, and squeezed out those who cared for Hughes and wanted the best for him. It's sad, for during the latter decades of Hughes life it seemed that no one was really there for him, if he had wanted anyone to to be there. In death, over one thousand--yes, 1000--people came out of the woodwork to lay claim to Howard Hughes wealth after his passing. To this day, We're still not sure if his death was natural, self-induced, or the intentional doings of others....
Rating:
Summary: Very informative.
Review: I love to read.I read almost everything that I can get my hands on.I am currently reading this book for my book club.This man(Howard) is the biggest jerk of the 20th century! I guess it's true money talks and talks and talks. I'm having a very difficult time trying to finish this book. How anyone could be a fan of this man is totally beyond me. I believe that it's the money that they all so fond of. Don't waste your time. Don't waste your money. Howard wasted enough money for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best HH books written!!
Review: I read this book in hardcover years ago and loved it. It dispelled a lot of rumors about Hughes and gave this man's life the treatment he deserved, not to be defamed after death.
It talks about his womanizing, OCD, and passions for aviation and film. It is a totally comprehensive book. No stone is left unturned. You will leave this book with a great respect and admiration for the man which I did and continue to have. A must read on HH!! A+++++
Rating:
Summary: A personal portrait
Review: This book provides a relatively sympathetic portrait of Hughes that heavily emphasizes his personal life versus his business dealings. The book appears to have been well researched and provides a startling new (at least for me) explanation of Hughes' mental breakdown during his middle and later years. I liked this book because it maintained its focus on the man rather than getting mired with his business transactions, the myriad of business associates, etc. You get a more 3-dimensional picture of his personality/character rather than the usual depictions of him just being a crazed, ruthless man.
Rating:
Summary: Howard Hughes, The Untold Story
Review: We can call him a womanizer, low life, skirt chaser or many other names. The fact remains the person was a genius and has opened many doors for the traveler of today. Hughes was a very self centered individual and had feeling only for his self gratification. I found this book difficult to put down, even though I could not like the main character.
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