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.

Nobody was closer to the source of Howard Hughes's vast influence than Robert Maheu, and nobody witnessed his catastrophic descent more closely. Maheu made all Hughes's business deals and represented him and his holdings to the outside world for 13 years. Now he tells the shocking true story behind the life and death of this powerful man. Photographs.

Terry Moore, film star and Hughes' former wife, brings to life the lusty, steamy, romantic side of this enigmatic figure, revealing a gentler side of the man remembered by most people solely for his eccentricites and personal excesses. From the gutter to the glitter of Hollywood on opening night, their time together was the stuff of which dreams were made. Photos.

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.

Set amid descriptions of the unimaginable changes that affected America between Hughes's birth in 1905 and his death in 1976, this book gives an insider's perspective about what money can buy, and what it can't.

"People everywhere have heard of the eccentric Howard Hughes, but few know that in 1953 he virtually disappeared from the company he had begun in 1932. Under new, creative, and inspired management, Hughes Aircraft Company became the leading military electronics organization in the world and rose to 85,000 employees. Some called it a national treasure. In this new 496-page book, Hughes Aircraft Company's past president Ken Richardson shows how this was done. Collaborating with over 60 past employees, Ken has compiled this remarkable piece of American aviation history. Learn about many complex products in all fields of electronics crafted by this highly motivated, inventive team."--Publisher's website.