The Laws of Human Nature

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of substance use and death by suicide.

Greene encourages the reader to judge a person’s character by examining their patterns and history, which show their skill as a worker and leader. He tells the story of Howard Hughes, Jr., who started out as the shy, sweet son of the co-founder of the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company. Following the deaths of his smothering mother and absent father, Hughes showed an angry and rebellious side and took control of his father’s shares and business before traveling to Los Angeles to film movies. He began the film Hell’s Angels, which was plagued by conflicts with directors and crew members before he chose to make the film on his own. 

After the film’s successful release in 1930, Hughes started Hughes Aircraft and was given a grant to develop US Defense Department aircraft. However, the company fell behind schedule and became known for its chaos. The contract was canceled with no planes produced, and Hughes’s ventures with RKO and the US military in the 1950s and 1960s were also failures. He failed to produce a promised remake of Hell’s Angels and failed to supply the military with needed helicopters for Vietnam, causing his company to lose $90 million.