Surely there are few untold stories about Hughes, the brilliant inventor and shrewd businessman who pioneered commercial aviation, became the only individual ever to personally own a movie studio, led Trans World Airlines to become the preeminent international air carrier, womanized his way across the tabloid headlines of the 1920s and '30s, and descended into frightful paranoia and drug addiction in his old age. Authors Broeske and Brown concentrate on the womanizing in this entertaining biography, which chronicles Hughes' affair with Katharine Hepburn, among many others.
From Library Journal
With at least eight biographies of Hughes still in print, folks may wonder how much more there is to tell about the enigmatic billionaire. Brown (Marilyn, Dutton, 1992) here focuses on his subject's personal life.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The New York Times Book Review, Donald E. Westlake
The story of Howard Hughes, with its echoes of Petruchio and Hamlet and Othello and Macbeth and, horribly at the end, Lear, deserves a Shakespeare, or at the very least a John le Carre.
The Rake December 2004
"Insanely compelling."
New York Times 12/21/04
"The most measured [of Hughes biographies]."
Book Description
Howard Hughes was one of the most amazing, intriguing, and controversial figures of the twentieth century. He was the billionaire head of a giant corporation, a genius inventor, an ace pilot, a matinee-idol-handsome playboy, a major movie maker who bedded a long list of Hollywood glamour queens, a sexual sultan with a harem of teenage consorts, a political insider with intimate ties to Watergate, a Las Vegas kingpin, and ultimately a bizarre recluse whose final years and shocking death were cloaked in macabre mystery. Now he is the subject of Martin Scorsese's biopic The Aviator. Few people have been able to penetrate the wall of secrecy that enshrouded this complex man. In this fascinating, revelation-packed biography, the full story of one of the most daring, enigmatic, and reclusive power brokers America has ever known is finally told.
From the Publisher
13 1.5-hour cassettes
About the Author
Peter Harry Brownis a journalist and the author of the New York Times bestseller Marilyn: The Last Take. Brown lives in southern California. Formerly with the Los Angeles Times, Pat H. Broeske is a veteran entertainment reporter who writes for Entertainment Weekly and the New York Times. Like Brown, Broeske lives in southern California.
Howard Hughes: The Untold Story FROM THE PUBLISHER
Howard Hughes was one of the most amazing, intriguing, and controversial figures of the twentieth century. He was the billionaire head of a giant corporation, a genius inventor, an ace pilot, a matinee-idol-handsome playboy, a major movie-maker who bedded a long list of Hollywood glamour queens, a sexual sultan with a harem of teenage consorts, a political influencer with intimate ties to Watergate, a Las Vegas kingpin, and ultimately a bizarre recluse whose final years and shocking death were cloaked in macabre mystery. Until now, few people have been able to penetrate the wall of secrecy that concealed this complex man. In this fascinating, revelation-packed biography, the full story of one of the most daring, enigmatic, and reclusive power brokers America has ever known is finally told. Drawing on nearly 400,000 pages of recently unsealed court documents, over 2,000 pages of secret FBI reports, and more than 600 new interviews, Peter Harry Brown and Pat H. Broeske show us Howard Hughes as never before. They expose the truth about his affairs with actresses such as the incendiary Jean Harlow, soul mate Katharine Hepburn, and earthy Ava Gardner. They reveal the reasons Ginger Rogers wouldn't marry him and why Rita Hayworth aborted his child. His emotionally incestuous ties to his beautiful mother, his cruel rejection of his Southern-belle first wife, and his tortured marriage to Jean Peters are fully detailed, as are his breakdowns and recoveries, disappearing acts and disguises. And Howard Hughes: The Untold Story calls into question the accepted account of his death and shows why even today, his legend continues to grip the world's imagination.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
The eccentric magnate's love life and other secret doings. (May)
Library Journal
With at least eight biographies of Hughes still in print, folks may wonder how much more there is to tell about the enigmatic billionaire. Brown (Marilyn, Dutton, 1992) here focuses on his subject's personal life.
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