Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos, and Letters: The Definitive Biography of the First American Billionaire
, subject: Howard Hughes, 2001
Richard Hack’s biography of Howard Hughes, whose notes reach past Hughes himself to material on Henry Kaiser.
About the book
Hack worked from more than 8,000 pages of Hughes's private papers, 2,500 pages of declassified FBI and CIA documents and over 100,000 pages of sealed legal and corporate records, along with interviews. The biography covers the aviation pioneer who owned TWA, RKO and Las Vegas properties, and the isolation and decline of his later years.
Why read it
Best if you want a biography of Howard Hughes that also carries side material, such as its footnote on Henry Kaiser.
Key themes
- Howard Hughes as the central subject
- A footnote on Henry Kaiser
Evidence and original sources
Sources: official Founders episodes — #59, #66
This episode is centered on this Howard Hughes biography; David reads from its introduction and treats it as his main source throughout.
- Howard Hughes: The Definitive Biography of the First American Billionaire — This episode is centered on this Howard Hughes biography; David reads from its introduction and treats it as his main source throughout.
- Henry Kaiser: Builder in the Modern American West — David names the Howard Hughes book and prior podcast before reading its footnote about Henry Kaiser.