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Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue

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Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue

By: Geoff Schumacher
Narrated by: Douglas R. Pratt
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About this listen

One of the most famous and enigmatic Americans of the 20th century, Howard Hughes challenged Hollywood's conventions and packed theaters with his blockbuster films Hell's Angels, Scarface and The Outlaw. He thrilled the world with his aviation exploits, shattering air speed records, flying around the world in record time and building the world's largest aircraft. Hughes was linked with almost every major film beauty of the 1930s and '40s, making him a favorite subject of the nation's gossip columns. One of the world's first billionaires, Hughes transformed his father's small fortune into a vast business empire.

But for all his celebrated achievements, Hughes' later years in Las Vegas - when drug addiction, bizarre behavior and a casino buying spree dominated his days - continue to draw the public's fascination. Geoff Schumacher, a veteran journalist and the author of Sun, Sin & Suburbia: An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas, delves into the Las Vegas years of Howard Hughes in this engrossing portrait of a man whose impact on the city is still being felt today.

©2008 Geoff Schumacher and Stephens Press (P)2013 Geoff Schumacher and Stephens Press Americas Art Business Entertainment & Celebrities Historical Professionals & Academics United States
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Schumacher's bio of Howard Hughes' later years plays fast and loose with the chronology. And at times it gets bogged down in the minutiae of court cases and business deals. It's clearly well researched, but some judicious pruning would have improved the flow. The narration is excellent, But occasionally it sounds like a passage has been cut and pasted in from a completely different recording session. Overall it's a rewarding listen, but it does drag at times. A solid 3 out of 5.

A Scattershot Biography

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