Howard Hughes, once the wealthiest man in the world. Handsome. Daring. Reclusive. Movie producer. Aviation pioneer. Then one fateful day his plane crashed and his world was one of pain. He found relief in drugs and came to rely on them more and more. He became reclusive and inaccessible. He surrounded himself with people to help him create an asylum against the outside world. But they turned it into an asylum of another kind. Hughes turned to the one man he knew he could trust to help him preserve his privacy and retain his freedom. That man became Howard's most trusted confidant and friend, Jack Real. Real tried valiantly to save Hughes from himself and his guards. It was an impossible job but one that Jack G. Real gave his all to accomplish. This is his Story.

When Howard Hughes died in 1976, he left no will. His estate had more than 1000 claimants, including 22 cousins and many alleged, illegitimate offspring. This is the story of the battle to settle the final claim.

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.

George J. Marrett, a former test pilot for aviator Howard Hughes, separates fact from fiction to tell the inside story of the genius who set flight speed records in the 1930s and went on to develop some of America’s most famous aircraft and weapons. The author draws on his wealth of experiences and those of other Hughes confidants to take readers inside Hughes’s complex and clandestine world. Marrett integrates stories of Hughes the ace pilot with Hughes the designer and businessman who became America’s first billionaire.

This newly revised and expanded edition of Howard Hughes chronicles the life and legacies of one of the most intriguing and accomplished Americans of the twentieth century. Hughes, born into wealth thanks to his father’s innovative drill bit that transformed the oil industry, put his inheritance to work in multiple ways, from producing big-budget Hollywood movies to building the world’s fastest and largest airplanes. Hughes set air speed records and traveled around the world in record time, earning ticker-tape parades in three cities in 1938. Later, he moved to Las Vegas and invested heavily in casinos. He bought seven resorts, in each case helping to loosen organized crime’s grip on Nevada’s lifeblood industry. Although the public viewed Hughes as a heroic and independent-minded trailblazer, behind closed doors he suffered from germophobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and an addiction to painkillers. He became paranoid and reclusive, surrounding himself with a small cadre of loyal caretakers. As executives battled each other over his empire, Hughes’ physical and mental health deteriorated to the point where he lost control of his business affairs. This second edition includes more insider details on Hughes’ personal interactions with actresses, journalists, and employees. New chapters provide insights into Hughes’s involvement with the mob, his ownership and struggles as the majority shareholder of TWA and the wide-ranging activities of Hughes Aircraft Company, Hughes’s critical role in the Glomar Explorer CIA project (a deep-sea drillship platform built to recover the Soviet submarine K-129), and more. Based on in-depth interviews with individuals who knew and worked with Hughes, this fascinating biography provides a colorful and comprehensive look at Hughes—from his life and career to his final years and lasting influence. This penetrating depiction of the man behind the curtain demonstrates Hughes’s legacy, and enduring impact on popular culture.

The first eyewitness account of how the world's most secretive man lived and died in his own bizarre asylum--as revealed by two of his personal aides.

...well documented and researched...Boxes is definitely a fascinating read and a must read for anyone who is at all curious about Howard Hughes’ life. brThis second edition of Boxes: The Secret Life of Howard Hughes continues the history-changing story of Eva McLelland and her reclusive life married to a mystery man she discovered was Howard Hughes.br Eva McLelland kept her secret for thirty-one stressful years as she lived a nomadic existence with a man who refused to unpack his belongings for fear he would be discovered and have to flee. Only her husband’s death finally released her to tell the story that had been burning inside her for decades.

Aviator, Playboy, Film Producer, Entrepreneur, and Recluse, Howard Hughes lived a life that was the stuff of headlines. Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele's biography is an extraordinary and brilliantly researched work on Hughes's multiple careers; his romances with Katharine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, and Rita Hayworth; and his turn away from the world into addictions and secrecy. Book jacket.