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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
i had been a long-time listener of the author's podcast and therefore knew her writing style fairly well. this is an entertaining, informative read for anyone interested in classic hollywood.
I'm a big fan of the podcast, so I was excited to read this.
The first half was excellent. I'm not always that interested in learning about the men of classic Hollywood, but I liked the idea of taking a trip through the period using this one man who interacted with so many big names. Mostly though, I was here for the actresses.
Longworth always does her research, so this is a detailed look at the life of Hughes and the women he loved. He lived a pretty crazy life too, but he treated his women like dirt. I felt very bad for a lot of the starlets. Learning about the code and decency rules in old Hollywood was interesting, and, of course, the studio system.
The second half of the book started to drag for me, and it just felt like a slog to get through. This book is good for fans of the era, but it is a slog.
The first half was excellent. I'm not always that interested in learning about the men of classic Hollywood, but I liked the idea of taking a trip through the period using this one man who interacted with so many big names. Mostly though, I was here for the actresses.
Longworth always does her research, so this is a detailed look at the life of Hughes and the women he loved. He lived a pretty crazy life too, but he treated his women like dirt. I felt very bad for a lot of the starlets. Learning about the code and decency rules in old Hollywood was interesting, and, of course, the studio system.
The second half of the book started to drag for me, and it just felt like a slog to get through. This book is good for fans of the era, but it is a slog.
The list of actresses covered: Bille Dove, Jean Harlow, Ida Lupino, Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Russell, Ava Gardner, Faith Domergue, Jean Peters, Terry Moore, Bette Davis, Yvonne De Carlo, Lana Turner, Linda Darnell, Gina Lollobrigida, Ann Dvorak.
The writing style could be better. I notice from the book jacket that the author started as a podcaster and this is likely the reason. A podcaster has a number of tools a book does not, such as the use of music, tone for emphasis, and other tricks. So it's not enough to just move some podcast text to a book. One needs to adapt to the medium. But at least it seems to get better after the first couple hundred pages.
In particular, introducing characters is consistently handled poorly. A character's name will be dropped casually in the middle of a long sentence. Many of these names we will never see again so they're not worth paying attention to, but then again, some others will get referenced, this time only by their last names, and the reader is mystified. "Who is this all of a sudden?" Then one has to go back and scan to find where the name was introduced.
Then too, there are occasional run-on sentences that really should have been broken up, but probably, since they supposedly worked in the podcast, any editor who tried to do so was probably overruled.
The book doesn't know how to handle a long quote, which is to put it into its own indented text block at a slightly smaller text size.
The story is more Dionysian than Apollonian. The advertised feminist slant isn't particularly evident. It's really more a collection of gossip and anecdotage.
On the plus side, there is a lot of detailed research, probably entirely second source, meaning you might well have read parts of it before. Of course, it's always difficult with research to discern its quality - if something is missing it's easy not to know - but at least there is a lot of it.
If you're looking for a biography of Hughes, or of his studio, RKO, this is not really it. It touches on a lot of the aspects, but a lot is omitted.
The writing style could be better. I notice from the book jacket that the author started as a podcaster and this is likely the reason. A podcaster has a number of tools a book does not, such as the use of music, tone for emphasis, and other tricks. So it's not enough to just move some podcast text to a book. One needs to adapt to the medium. But at least it seems to get better after the first couple hundred pages.
In particular, introducing characters is consistently handled poorly. A character's name will be dropped casually in the middle of a long sentence. Many of these names we will never see again so they're not worth paying attention to, but then again, some others will get referenced, this time only by their last names, and the reader is mystified. "Who is this all of a sudden?" Then one has to go back and scan to find where the name was introduced.
Then too, there are occasional run-on sentences that really should have been broken up, but probably, since they supposedly worked in the podcast, any editor who tried to do so was probably overruled.
The book doesn't know how to handle a long quote, which is to put it into its own indented text block at a slightly smaller text size.
The story is more Dionysian than Apollonian. The advertised feminist slant isn't particularly evident. It's really more a collection of gossip and anecdotage.
On the plus side, there is a lot of detailed research, probably entirely second source, meaning you might well have read parts of it before. Of course, it's always difficult with research to discern its quality - if something is missing it's easy not to know - but at least there is a lot of it.
If you're looking for a biography of Hughes, or of his studio, RKO, this is not really it. It touches on a lot of the aspects, but a lot is omitted.
funny
informative
sad
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Death
A highly entertaining and informative read, exploring the machinations of an industry through the life of one highly influential and mysterious man. I loved the fact, that so many biographies of female stars, movies and stories were interwoven into Hughes‘ life in an effortless and page-turning manner.
Longworth strikes a fine balance between research and gossip and it makes for an excellent educational read about a chapter in Hollywood that was clearly rich in tales to tell. Through the lives of many stars and starlets we get closer to the man Howard Hughes and yet the fates, failures and successes of the women in his life explore issues of sex, misogyny and power structures that reverberate to this very day.
For any movie buff interested in this era of Hollywood an absolute must-read!
Longworth strikes a fine balance between research and gossip and it makes for an excellent educational read about a chapter in Hollywood that was clearly rich in tales to tell. Through the lives of many stars and starlets we get closer to the man Howard Hughes and yet the fates, failures and successes of the women in his life explore issues of sex, misogyny and power structures that reverberate to this very day.
For any movie buff interested in this era of Hollywood an absolute must-read!
A great history about the Golden Age of Hollywood and the conquests of Howard Hughes
Karina Longworth is the film and old Hollywood historian of our time, her podcast being one of the best and most well-researched out there. Initially, seeing this book on the shelf I was excited and wary because I thought I already knew about most of the starlets on the cover/named in the summary on the back mainly due to Karina Longworth's podcast, "You Must Remember This". Luckily, I was not bored. In fact, Longworth takes the sprinkles of what is given in the podcast and expands them, showing them in an all new context.
Howard Hughes was a piece of work, to say the least, and Longworth's approach to his life through the women in his life and the women whose lives he affected (sometimes in grand spectacular ways as well as really dismal and bad ways) is a genius way to explore this somewhat "mad genius" of his time. Doing so allows you as a new reader and as someone who is approaching this, like I did, with preconceived notions about what they think they know about the famed aviator to see it through a lens of exploitation and misogyny. How being a man (a powerful and wealthy one, at that) in Hollywood allowed Hughes and his controlling/inexcusable behavior (often prompted by his severe OCD and mental illness, nurtured and worsened by his mother in his formative years) was permitted and basically allowed to slide. One can clearly make a connection, drawing a thread, from Hughes to Harvey Weinstein. He went from dating established stars like Katherine Hepburn to controlling and seeking to possess young hopeful starlets with promises of fame and stardom, only to be way too controlling and limiting and ruin their chances at any career in the film industry.
While the book is lengthy (it is exhaustively researched) the writing is great and easy to follow and moves at a smooth pace, allowing you to fall into the writing and be absorbed into the story that the author wishes to disclose. 5/5
Howard Hughes was a piece of work, to say the least, and Longworth's approach to his life through the women in his life and the women whose lives he affected (sometimes in grand spectacular ways as well as really dismal and bad ways) is a genius way to explore this somewhat "mad genius" of his time. Doing so allows you as a new reader and as someone who is approaching this, like I did, with preconceived notions about what they think they know about the famed aviator to see it through a lens of exploitation and misogyny. How being a man (a powerful and wealthy one, at that) in Hollywood allowed Hughes and his controlling/inexcusable behavior (often prompted by his severe OCD and mental illness, nurtured and worsened by his mother in his formative years) was permitted and basically allowed to slide. One can clearly make a connection, drawing a thread, from Hughes to Harvey Weinstein. He went from dating established stars like Katherine Hepburn to controlling and seeking to possess young hopeful starlets with promises of fame and stardom, only to be way too controlling and limiting and ruin their chances at any career in the film industry.
While the book is lengthy (it is exhaustively researched) the writing is great and easy to follow and moves at a smooth pace, allowing you to fall into the writing and be absorbed into the story that the author wishes to disclose. 5/5