Empire

The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes

By: Donald L. Barlett, James B. Steele

Narrated by: Christopher Hurt

Length: 28 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Howard Hughes lived one of the greatest, most heroic, misunderstood, mysterious, bizarre, and tragic lives in American history. In this brilliantly documented biography, the mythology that surrounded that life is disentangled from the truth.

Hughes had always been different. Certainly his riches set him apart, but he was also tough. Orphaned and a millionaire at 18, Hughes repudiated his relatives, seized control of the Hughes Tool Company, the linchpin of his fortune, and went on to become a flamboyant movie producer, holder of many world aviation records, principal owner of Trans World Airlines, a critically important defense contractor, Hollywood's most pursued and elusive bachelor, and partner of the United States government.

This is an epic biography of an epic figure who bestrode the world like a colossus yet could not master himself.

©1979 Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele (P)1994 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Of all the books written about Howard Hughes, Empire is easily the best...." ( New York Times Book Review)
"A remarkable job of investigative reporting....cracks Hughes's public persona as it disentangles the psychodrama of his private doings." ( Publishers Weekly)
"[The] most responsible and authoritative biography of Hughes to date." Newsweek)

A bit long... very detailed

I personally wanted to hear more about his flying days. That part seemed short compared to the length of this book. Overall I learned everything about Howard Hughes.

Very well done. Greatly enjoyed it

A very complicated and astounding story masterfully presented. Would highly recommend it if you are interested in Howard Hughes.

Great insight into Hughes life

I enjoyed the Hughes biography, the narration is good, though there were some noticeable spots where words were recorded and inserted instead of rerecording the sentence or paragraph. I learned a lot about Hughes' life, though the book did run a little long.

EVERYTHING you Ever wanted to know about HRH

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

My books are during 1 hour ride to & from work, 5 days per week for 10 hours. This book had some dry spells, but overall I found it educational.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I think the pinnacle is the 'Spruce Goose', but there are so many different things he did, it's difficult to peg any one.
Least interesting was the in depth reading of the multiple hand written instructions for every aspect of his mad, mad solitude.

What didn’t you like about Christopher Hurt’s performance?

For the documentary present, it was well read. Par for documentary, some dry spots, but not taking away overall.

Could you see Empire being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

There are already movies. Most recent being "The Aviator"

Any additional comments?

A very long book, I appreciated its additional information even if it did get boring at times. I have long fascinated in HRH, mainly for his aviation interests. I learned much about the many other things he obsessed over. In the end I realized he swung onto the scene due to his parents untimely demise, and without proper direction, became a spoiled, self indulged brat. That said, he and those working for him did make great strides in the science of aviation.

Interesting Man - OK Book

This book's structure and production of the audio book are not great. But the subject is truly interesting, so it kept me engaged despite the distractions of the way it's recorded.

Fascinating, Fascinating, Fascinating!!!

I've read several books about Howard Hughes throughout the years, but this book by Donald Bartlett, tops them all!

The author takes us on an intriguing adventure that totally captivates you from start to finish. Hughes, as has been well chronicled throughout the years, was an intriguing, yet dashing figure and personality throughout the mid-part of the last century. When he was younger, he had the world at his fingertips, with movie starlets for girlfriends anytime he wanted, boatloads full of money, the ear of every influential politician of his era, and so much more.

It's an intriguing tale of what we may nowadays call "mental illness", which was fueled by addictions to painkillers and narcotics, psychosis, a mistrust of people in general, fear of germs and, finally, his own "inner circle" closing in around him and taken advantage of him while he mindlessly toiled away the days/weeks watching television butt naked as he eventually lost control of his empire.

The story did get a little tedious when the author went into probably a little bit too much detail, and some of the business dealings that Hughes was able to construct, but other than that, this text will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

I don't know if I learned anything new about the life and times of Howard Hughes, but this rendition of the story that is been told before, is by far the very best. A must-read for those who like mystery, intrigue, adventure, featuring one of the wealthiest and best-known personalities that this country has ever produced.


Excellent!!!

I want the abridged copy

Howard Hughes was obviously a complex person with a fascinating history. The problem is this book is wrapped in minutiae and a a story that I would love to hear was overpowered by trivial details

Too Long

What did you like best about Empire? What did you like least?

The transparency and revelation of the myth of Howard jhughes and the truth of his psycopathy.

Would you recommend Empire to your friends? Why or why not?

No, too long-needs serious editing-way too much detail

Was Empire worth the listening time?

half

Too Much Detail on Trivial Matters

Any additional comments?

The book goes on for 30-40 minutes detailing correspondence between Howard's mother and his summer camp leader when Howard was around 7 or 8. "Please make certain Howard has plenty of thick socks for summer activites", "I assure you madame, Howard will have an ample number of socks for the summer", etc., etc. 30 to 40 minutes of this? Seriously? This could have been abridged.

The man was more interesting than the details

The years of the young Hughes are well known. But the tedium of his later years are less enjoyable. The author takes great pains to display all details, even to the point of giving mini biographies of each lawyer in the Hughes inheritance law battles. Less detail there would have helped the presentation. But the first 2/3 of the book were quite enjoyable.