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Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness Paperback – September 17, 2004

by Donald L. Barlett (Author), James B. Steele (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 472 ratings
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The life that inspired the major motion picture The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese.

Howard Hughes has always fascinated the public with his mixture of secrecy, dashing lifestyle, and reclusiveness. This is the book that breaks through the image to get at the man. Originally published under the title Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes. 80 photographs
Previous page
  1. Print length
    688 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  4. Publication date
    September 17, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    6.1 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0393326020
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393326024
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Now the full story of the life and death of Howard Hughes has been published, told not as cheap gossip but as a dazzlingly reported, hard-nosed account...[A] fat, beautifully researched book."
― John Justin Smith, Chicago Sun-Times

"By far the soundest, fairest and fullest book we have on the bizarre billionaire who commanded the fortunes of Croesus yet could not command himself. It is the story of a man who had everything―and nothing."
― John Barkham Reviews

"Donald Barlett and James Steele of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the finest team of reporters west of The Times of London, herewith present the perfect biography of the weirdest, most fascinating, most god-awful corporate creature you will ever encounter in broad daylight."
― Robert Sherrill, Nation

"Of all the books written about Howard Hughes, [this] is easily the best...the first fully documented, crade-to-grave account of a unique American life."
― Ted Morgan, New York Times Book Review

"[The authors] have made an impressive use of documents to fashion this longest, most responsible and authoritative biography of Hughes to date."
― Peter S. Prescott, Newsweek

About the Author

Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, Time editors-at-large, are the only journalists in history to win two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Magazine Awards.

James B. Steele and Donald L. Barlett, Time editors-at-large, are the only journalists in history to win two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Magazine Awards.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reissue edition (September 17, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 688 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393326020
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393326024
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 472 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Donald L. Barlett

    Donald L. Barlett

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  2. James B. Steele

    James B. Steele

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    James B. Steele and his co-author Donald L. Barlett are America’s most honored team of investigative reporters. They have won two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Magazine awards and upward of more than fifty other national journalism awards. Since they first worked together at The Philadelphia Inquirer, their writing has appeared in Time, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and The Washington Post. They have written nine books, including two national bestsellers. Their newest book is America: What Went Wrong? The Crisis Deepens.

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
472 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

bryan
5.0 out of 5 stars Brand new
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2024
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Great book! Arrived on time, would recommend 👍
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mad scientist
4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, intriguing, slightly tedious
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2012
Verified Purchase
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.
One person found this helpful
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Artist51
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2017
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This book has been thoroughly researched and is very well written. He takes through Howard's Hughes's birth all the way to his death in Mexico in 1976. It tells the story of his life and includes many of the projects that made him a legend. It has a lot of detailed information about those projects and his operation center at Romaine Street in Los Angeles. It gives a clear picture of what Hughes was like and what drove him to become mentally ill and isolated from the world.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book and interesting
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2022
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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!
One person found this helpful
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Darren Merryman
3.0 out of 5 stars Alot
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2022
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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.
5 people found this helpful
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Placeholder
5.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough book! Enjoyed every minute of it.
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2008
Verified Purchase
After watching the movie AVIATOR about Howard Hughes' life, I had to know more. This book is extremely detailed as it goes through his many business deals in his life to his ultimate tragic end. I am fascinated by Hughes and this book gave me more than I could have expected. I wanted to know more about his personal life than his business dealings and his financial status and so I bought another one. He certainly was a poor soul who was tortured by his mental illness and having so much money it allowed him to create his own mental hopsital where he could go deeper into maddness and this book shows you exactly how that happened.
3 people found this helpful
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Thomas Chastain
4.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a textbook
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020
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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.
12 people found this helpful
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T
5.0 out of 5 stars really interesting read
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2010
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Ever since I saw the movie The Aviator years ago I have been fascinated with Howard Hughes. He was so inventive and creative with cinematography and aviation design, yet had so many personal issues with undiagnosed OCD. It is amazing how he was actually able to still manage his empire from his film screening room and write detailed notes on how to execute his orders. This book actually includes some of his personal writings. If you are into Howard Hughes history then this book is one stop source of pretty much everything on this great but troubled man, from his childhood until his sad death.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Trevor D
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2020
Verified Purchase
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.
3 people found this helpful
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Steve P
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on June 27, 2017
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Great read. What an interesting guy and well written.
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Gopal Banerjee
5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting
Reviewed in India on July 29, 2014
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Very interesting read! This is a must buy...very inspiring and provides a great insight into one of Americas most famous industrialists
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Very well researched book however the story is melancholy as ...
Reviewed in Canada on May 19, 2018
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Very well researched book however the story is melancholy as Hughes was a very wealthy man but led a reclusive and lonely life
One person found this helpful
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Sandy
1.0 out of 5 stars The madness of Howard Hughes
Reviewed in India on March 31, 2018
Verified Purchase
It is not a tribute to Howard Hughes rather systematic character assignation of the man. Long winding and unending,it paints a macabre picture of the man. You get a sense that perhaps he prodigal son of a rich man squandering his Dad's wealth, with carte blanche. Much of his father wealth came from Hughes Tool Company ( which manufactured drill bits) most of which her was able to squander away. He lived an idiosyncratic life secluding himself form the rest of the world. He he controlled every element of his story. 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, to his 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 failed marriages and several nervous break down episodes. He remain secluded locked up on a room for upto 15 years, was this even the life of an entrepreneur. Perhaps the only silver lining to me was his fastidious personality. The only part worth reading is his aviation career, his chutzpah in search of vainglory.
2 people found this helpful
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