Howard Hughes in Las Vegas
by Omar V. Garrison
Why did Howard Hughes, America's richest and most baffling industrial genius, suddenly go on a colossal spending spree in Las Vegas? What is behind the whirlwind purchase of the multimillion dollar hotels and casinos; real estate, airports, raw land and mining claims? Why, at the age of 62, after achieving near miracles in the world of aviation, electronics and motion picture production, does he suddenly embark on a new career of such magnitude that it would challenge a man half his age?
In this exciting and intimate report, the author answers these questions and other equally intriguing questions. He takes the reader behind the scenes and traces step by fascinating step, the development of the gigantic business deals which have made Hughes the most powerful man in the State of Nevada.
Writing with rare skill and humor, Garrison examines in frank and sometimes piquant detail, long-hidden episodes of Hughes' carefully guarded "buried lives." Here, for the first time, is told the full story of:
- The billionaire's secret career as a portrait photographer and playboy in disguise.
- The tragic accident in which he killed a stranger in a sudden and fateful encounter beyond his control.
- Hughes' strange, absentee marriage to former film star Jean Peters.
- His running battle with the Atomic Energy Commission in an all-out effort to halt the underground testing of nuclear bombs in Nevada.
Calling upon the perceptive mind and ability to sift fact from rumor, which characterize the seasoned reporter, the author unravels mystery after mystery of the continuing Hughes legend, in a narrative that has the lusty vitality and suspense of a thrilling detective story.
The result is a new and absorbingly different portrait of the most mysterious and elusive men of our century.
Howard Hughes in Las Vegas
