Synopsis
The real story of Howard Hughes, aviator, innovative and visionary inventor and designer, has not heretofore been told. It is easy to see why. While he lived, it was difficult to write the biography of a billionaire who adamantly opposed the publication of anything about him. Would-be biographers were persuaded or forced to desist. Some were offered lucrative positions and disappeared into the ranks of the Hughes organizations never to be heard from again. Hughes employees were forbidden to talk about their boss. In 1965, Hughes concocted a new weapon to combat his would-be biographers -- Rosemont Enterprises, Inc., to whom he granted the exclusive right to use (publish, write, etc.) the name, personality, likeness, biography, life story, and incidents relating thereto of Howard R. Hughes.
Even after Random House pulled the fangs of Rosemont in a hard-fought and celebrated court case, and even after Hughes's death, vestiges of the old security barriers remained. Being close mouthed had become a habit in the Hughes organizations.
In Howard Hughes And His Flyng Boat, for the first time, large numbers of former Hughes employees and close associates talk about their famous boss. Here are behind-the-scenes stories that lift the veils of secrecy and controversy that have surrounded Hughes and his works during his lifetime.
This is more than the story of the world's largest airplane. It is the story of Hughes the aviator and designer of unusual airplanes during a fascinating era in aviation history. It is the story of his life before he became the wheeler-dealer of Las Vegas, of the airplane crashes that changed the course of his life, of his mysterious "disappearance" for nine months, and of his struggle to vindicate himself and his works during the Senate investigation of his wartime contracts.
In addition to the first-hand reminiscences of many who knew and worked for Howard Hughes, this book is based on previously unpublished documentary material.
Was Hughes really a brilliant designer and builder of airplanes or did he just have the money to hire others who were? What kind of a pilot was he, really? These are the kinds of questions answered in Howard Hughes And His Flying Boat.