written by
Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele
rated
4 / 10
genre
Biography
best for ages
16+
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This is the story of a billionaire. A massive billionaire, a brilliant businessman, a pilot, an engineer, a movie producer, you name it. Or maybe he wasn’t as cracked as people thought he was.
Howard Hughes’s name had always been shrouded in mystery. This book’s purpose was to clarify to the world what the renowned yet rumored to be a bizarre man was like. And I suppose it did that. At least now that I know who he is, what he did, and why he ended up being an obsessive, crazy old man.
Yet this book does no more than that. It goes into excruciating detail for every single data point, every trivial piece of information, to the point at which I was bored out of my mind. The statistics piled up into a dull heap that went in through my eyes and then straight back out of my brain. The writing was lengthy and included unnecessary words and phrases. I couldn’t focus, didn’t learn. Now, that has probably a lot to do with my age and my limited knowledge of business and money, but it could have been much more interesting. As I have previously said, history books can be extremely fun if an author knows how to write them correctly. This one, on the other hand… I must admit that it did not spark my interest. The only section during which I was truly captivated was the first chapter, for that was in the format and pacing of a story and was quite exciting to read. The next few chapters were also fine; they covered Hughes’ childhood well. Although it wasn’t story, at least it was focused and easy enough to read. But it deteriorated quickly once it got into the depths of his business. was just sentence after sentence of fact and information, seemingly endless paragraphs of mind-numbing details that I wasn’t interested in. I never really finished the book – I’d gotten to perhaps the second to last chapter – for I quit reading club, which is the only reason why I was reading it in the first place.
Nonetheless, I must admit that it covers every single thing you need to know about Howard Hughes, which may also be its flaw. If you’re interested in this specific person and are doing research on him, this would be a good book with an abundance of information. But I’m willing to believe that there are better biographies out there about Hughes that are far more riveting. However, my distaste for this book may be largely affected by my age and lack of knowledge; it involves a lot of economical terms and background. Adults may find it easier to follow and more engaging, which is why I recommend this for higher ages. After all, Hughes does sound like a rather fascinating person. If only it was less dull.
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