EAN 9781470814373

Though he rose to fame after a record-setting flight around the world and the construction of an unprecedented fleet of airplanes, aerospace industry icon Howard Hughes wasted millions of dollars in production, swindled taxpayers through self-serving philanthropy projects and regularly lied to stockholders. In his spare time he worked for Joe McCarthy, was an avid supporter of segregation and nearly destroyed himself through drugs. In this biography of Hughes, authors David Barlett and James Steele reveal the dark, often unlawful, existence that can accompany an American success story.