Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters

Sporting a somewhat mysterious subtitle, as billionaire recluse Howard Hughes seems not to have kept any diaries, this biography tells the story of the man who built a huge economic empire and carried on affairs with numerous starlets, only to grow increasingly mentally unstable in his older years. Journalist Hack relies on letters, declassified F.B.I. files, memos, and the recollections of Hughes business partner, Robert Maheu, whose autobiography was cowritten with Hack. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Was ever a life more incredible than that of Howard Hughes? Record-setting aviator, fabled lover, celebrated film director and producer, genius financier and industrialist, the nation's first billionaire. who at one time or another owned TWA, RKO Studios and most of Las Vegas, Hughes (1905-1976) also suffered from severe psychological afflictions that led him to spend his last years in isolation, naked in blacked-out rooms on several continents, devoting days at a time to screening grade-Z movies, dictating long memos to his staff about the proper procedures to keep his room and person free of germs, mostly through the liberal use of Kleenex as a prophylactic, even as he ingested titanic amounts of codeine, his hair and fingernails growing to grotesque length and his back running with untreated sores. Hughes's story has been told before, of course, but never with the overview, insight and, most important, extraordinarily diligent research applied by Hack in this riveting biography. The author of bios of Ron Perelman and Michael Jackson, Hack has his own second-degree connection with Hughes; he co-wrote the autobiography of Hughes's longtime lieutenant, Robert Maheu. To separate fact from rumor in detailing Hughes's life, Hack read more than 8,000 pages of Hughes's private papers, 2,500 pages of recently declassified FBI and CIA documents, over 100,000 pages of previously sealed legal briefs, corporate papers and inventories, and spoke with hundreds of players, key and minor, in Hughes's drama.What Hack has uncovered is an astonishing tale of rampant ambition, obsession and madness. While his prose doesn't match the poetic heights of, say, a Nick Tosches, he presents his chronicle with bold certitude, not only illumining the amazing events of Hughes's life in a captivating manner but penetrating deep into the billionaire's twisted psyche. Readers will be nailed to these pages as, in the most exciting bio of the year, Hack presents the American dream curdling into the American nightmare, personified in a legend who at last has an accounting worthy of him. Simultaneous New Millennium Audio. (On-sale: Sept. 11)Forecast: Publicity will roar for this book, which carries rave blurbs from Maheu, Larry King, Dominick Dunne and Sidney Sheldon. Among the schedulings are a one-hour show on Larry King Live; a two-part segment on Entertainment Tonight; an appearance on the Today Show; a 10-city author tour; a satellite TV and radio tour; and a massive print ad campaign. All that, plus the book is excellent, equals bestsellerdom.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

With access to over 110,000 pages of sealed court testimony, recently declassified FBI files, never-before-published autopsy reports, and exclusive interviews with over 200 key friends and confidants, investigative reporter and author Hack (Next to Hughes; Jackson Family Values) has managed to create an extraordinary tale of a true American original. Working chronologically, Hack superbly assembles constantly intriguing information about the key points in the life of Hughes, including the childhood roots of his many personal obsessions, his failed marriages, his early days in the oil boom, the building of his massive wealth, and the now famous will controversy. Hughes never kept a personal diary, but he wrote over 8000 pages of memos, letters, and personal notes that provide an excellent insider's view of the man's outsized life. These many insightful sources also explain Hughes's legendary philandering, his success as producer of award-winning films, his love of flying, his many years as the richest man in the United States, and how he became one of its most eccentric characters. Hack knew Howard Hughes for 17 years, and as one of the inner circle of Hughes's select few friends came to realize the truth about his deviousness, his perverse desires, and his significant impact in the world of business and film. Hack's exhaustive research, countless interviews, and marvelous writing result in the definitive story of this complex, extraordinary life. Highly recommended for all types of libraries. Dale Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.