Rating: 
Summary: MOST FASCINATING BIOGRAPHY I HAVE EVER READ!
Review: I DO NOT KNOW IF ANY STORY COULD BE AS MESMERIZED.I HAVE OF ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED WITH THE LEGEND OF HOWARD HUGHES,BUT NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME I FEEL AS I HAVE BEEN SHOWN A DETAILED PORTRAIT OF THE MOST FASCINATING FIGURE OF THE 20TH CENTURY.FROM HOLLYWOOD TO WASHINGTON MR HUGHES HAD HIS WAY WITH MOVIE STARS AND POLITIICAL FIGURES ALIKE MOST ALWAYS GETTING EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED FROM EACH.RICHARD HACK HAS BROUGHT TO LIFE WITH THIS INCREADIBLY RESEARCHED WORK THE BILLIONAIRES LIFE AND HOW MONEY CAN PERVERT SO MUCH AND SO MANY,WOW!
Rating:
Summary: Very readable biography
Review: I have been waiting for a book on the life of Howard Hughes and this is it. It is very readable. It ties in aviation history if you are interested in that. I live in Southern California and again the history of the movie industry of Hughe's time and his impact is told along with his life story. This is an easy read with some great black and white photos included.
Rating:
Summary: DEFINITELY A FIVE STAR PLUS!
Review: I have read several books on Howard Hughes but none so in-depth and riveting as this one. The author has undertaken an amazing amount of research and Hack's writing style is superb. Hughes gained a phenominal amount of publicity during his prime and people everywhere became intrigued by his wealth, fame and passion for woman. However, underneath the surface was a challenged mind few people truly understood. Eccentric, yes, but readers truly need to read the whole story to comprehend the man, himself. Readers will find this book intriguing from start to finish, especially his final years when Hughes was all but forgotten. This book is facinating and highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read about a Strange Man
Review: I just finished reading Hughes the Private Diaries....What a trip. I could not put it down. What a strange man he was with a genius for business. I still do not think I know the man but I think noone ever will. He truly was an enigma wrapped in a riddle surrounded by a mystery. I only wish that Hollywood would do a film that would capture this incredible individual as much as this book does.
This book reads like a novel because Howard Hughes' story was in essence a "fiction".
It is truly amazing how he could be so lucid and eloquent at one moment and then so "crazy" the next. What was going on inside him that drove him to such contridictions?
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good writing and good biography. But, especially I recommend it to those who want to learn more about Howard Robards Hughes.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read about a Strange Man
Review: I just finished reading Hughes the Private Diaries....What a trip. I could not put it down. What a strange man he was with a genius for business. I still do not think I know the man but I think noone ever will. He truly was an enigma wrapped in a riddle surrounded by a mystery. I only wish that Hollywood would do a film that would capture this incredible individual as much as this book does.
This book reads like a novel because Howard Hughes' story was in essence a "fiction".
It is truly amazing how he could be so lucid and eloquent at one moment and then so "crazy" the next. What was going on inside him that drove him to such contridictions?
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good writing and good biography. But, especially I recommend it to those who want to learn more about Howard Robards Hughes.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Read
Review: I knew bits and pieces about Hughes but never truly understood the remarkable life that he led and his incredible demise. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. Is there anyone else over the last century that led a more remarkable life? I will recommend it to my book group. It is so well written and the discussions will be delicious.
Rating: 
Summary: Biography or tabloid?
Review: I purchased this book out of curiosity. I grew up in Las Vegas, a city in which Howard Hughes has had a great impact, past and present. Throughout my childhood, much of the local news broadcasts dealt with Hughes and/or Hughes-owned properties.For me, this book was a big disappointment. The writing style is a cross between a Harlequin romance and a gossip column. Throughout the entire book, the author continually tries to divulge the innermost personal thoughts of Hughes. Much of the information is related to the reader in a form which is very close to being the first-person narrative. It is impossible for a biographer, any biographer, to know the exact thoughts of his subject at any given moment. This is especially true with a recluse such as Hughes. Richard Hack not only blatantly delves into Hughes' mind, but also details his precise movements during his times of seclusion within blackened rooms. This is another topic for which there can be no definitive desciption. Also, Hack places too much emphasis on ambience. He devotes paragraph after paragraph to decriptions of room-decor, flowers, clothing, food and drink, furniture, clouds, hair styles, etc., etc. This is, after all, supposed to be a biography, not a novel. Finally, Hack seems to have a strange fascination with Hughes' sex-life and bodily functions. Not only does Hack dedicate far too many pages of this biography to giving full, detailed, accounts of Hughes' illicit affairs, but he also finds it necessary to include a commentary scrutinizing Hughes' sexual prowess during each of these encounters. The majority of the photos included in the book are not of Hughes, but rather the women that he had affairs with. This same preoccupation also extends to Hughes' bowel movements. There are numerous, equally detailed, passages relating to times that Hughes spent in the bathroom relieving himself. I was also very disappointed with Hack's portrayal of Noah Dietrich. Dietrich was the true mastermind of the Hughes empire. He was the individual who was truly responsible for making Hughes a billionaire. Hack reduces him to the role of an errand-boy. On the other hand, Robert Maheu, a Johnny-come-lately, receives numerous accolades for his influence in Hughes' life. There can be no doubt that Richard Hack did his "home work" before writing this book. He devotes 30 pages to listing his source notes. Along this line, I do not care for the manner by which Hack uses footnotes. I prefer footnotes which give the reader specific sources from which the indiviual facts were located. The footnotes in this book are used only to give additional personal information regarding the indivdual players. I do not wish to make this book appear all negative. There is a lot of useful information to be learned about Hughes. It's just that my curiosity lies with Hughes, the industrialist, not Hughes, the inadequate sexual-performer with infrequent bowel-movements.
Rating:
Summary: Biography or tabloid?
Review: I purchased this book out of curisoity. I grew up in Las Vegas, a city in which Hughes has had a great impact, past and present. Throughout my childhood, much of the local news dealt with Hughes and/or Hughes-owned properites.
For me, this book was a big disappointment. The writing style is a cross between a Harlequin romance and a gossip column. Throughout the entire book, the author tries to get inside the mind of Hughes. Much of the information is given to the reader in a form which is very close to being the first-person narrative. It is impossible for a biographer, any biographer, to know what is going through the mind of his subject at any given moment. This is especially true with a recluse such as Hughes. Richard Hack not only delves into the personal thoughts of Hughes, but also details Hughes' exact movements during his times of seclution within blackened rooms. This is another topic for which there can be no definite descriptions. Also, Hack places too much empasis ambience. He devotes paragraph after paragraph to decribing room decor, clouds, flowers, clothing, food and drink, colors, furniture, hair styles, etc. This is supposed to be a biography, not a novel. Finally, Hack seems to have a strange fasciantion with Hughes' sex life, or lack thereof. Much of biography is devoted giving detailed accounts of his sexual escapades and commentary as to how he performed. The majoity of the photos included in the book are not of Hughes, but rather the women that he had affairs with.
I was disappointed Hack's portrayal of Noah Dietrich. Dietrich was the true mastermind of Hughes' empire and the man actually responsible for making Hughes a billionaire. Hack reduces him to the role of an errand-boy.
There is no question that Hack did his "home work" before writing this book, he devotes 30 pages to the listing of his source notes. I am used to reading, and have a preference for, biographies in which footnotes are used much more extensively, giving the reader the exact source from which individual facts were found. The footnotes in this book were used only to give additional personal information about the individual "players". I do not wish to make the book appear all bad. There is a lot of useful information to be learned about Hughes. It's just that my curiosity lies with Hughes, the industrialist, not Hughes, the playboy.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute MUST READ, details are amazing and true!
Review: I read this book in August of 2001 while staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel - where much of this book takes place. The details are amazingly true and several of them I personally verified with a few of the old-timers at the hotel who worked there back in the 60's. There is a reference to Hughes staying in Bungalow 4A-B and how the room service waiters had to leave his diner in a tree near the front door, knock and then leave. "I went to Bungalow 4 and the tree near the front door has marks on it between the branches where the diner trays were placed". One warning about this book. Reading it will change any ideas you had of Hughes being a hero, he led a sad, depressed life and was surrounded by yes-men who let him destroy himself. Hack's detailed account is the best I have every read about Hughes.
Rating: 
Summary: 4 1/2 stars. Fascinating
Review: If you're looking for a good biography on Howard R Hughes, look no further, because this is the one you'll want. Richard Hack writes in an open and laid-back manner making it all easy to enjoy and absorb. The subject manner certainly makes for entertaining reading itself. This most noted of eccentrics will captivate you as well as disgust you. Hack takes you inside the Hughes empire and paints a very good picture of the how and why of his world. If not for Hughes inheritance from his father-owner of the Hughes Tool Co-you most likely will never have heard of Howard Hughes. Basically Howard himself had no business acumen. His life does read somewhat like a fairy tale in that most of the things he wished for he got. From movie starlets to hotels and casinos. Money can truly buy most things. Unfortunately he wasn't psychologically stable for the last half of his life and this caused him and those around him much misery. Form whatever opinion you like about Hughes, but after reading this biography, the opinion you form will be a strong one. It was a well-written biography that lagged just a little on the editing. Highly recommended.
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