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TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICEon August 2, 2016
Most people who were around in the mid-1970's will remember the kidnapping of Patty Hearst by a hapless band of revolutionary players, the Symbionese Liberation Army. This group, whose main members were - as Jeffrey Toobin puts it in his new book, "American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst" - as differentiated as a fox-hole in a war-time movie. There was the black revolutionary - "Cinque" or Donald DeFreeze - the white revolutionaries - Emily and William Harris, the gay revolutionaries - Camilla Hall and Patricia Soltysik, and various, other hangers-on. The SLA was a group of urban guerillas, who seemed determined to wreck the system, but were stymied on what to put in it's place.
And who was Patricia Hearst? As Toobin describes her, she was the heiress to a fortune but was sort of drifting through life, so far. The daughter of mismatched parents, she was the middle of five daughters, raised by her mother to aim for the conventional wealthy woman's life - marriage to an eligible man and a life raising children of her own. In stark contrast to the free-living members of the SLA, Hearst at 19 was living with a much older man - Steven Weed - in a married-like life, while studying at the Berkeley campus of the University of California. On the night of February 4, 1974, Patricia Hearst was kidnapped from the town house in Berkeley by the SLA and forcibly turned into a "revolutionary" by her kidnappers. Or, did she join in the ensuing mayhem willingly?
There began an almost two year spree by the SLA, with Hearst - now called "Tania" - as an active participant. Bank robberies, shootouts, and blackmailing for food distributions to the poor were all part of mid-1970's in San Francisco and Los Angeles. This group - which literally and thankfully couldn't shoot too straight - made headlines. I can still remember where I was when I heard Patricia Hearst had been found and rescued. But what was she rescued from? And what was her role in the SLA's crime spree?
Author and attorney Jeffrey Toobin does an excellent job in relating the people, the times, and the effects this rag-tag group - with its "prize" member - had on California and society at large in those years. Hearst has now became the settled society matron her mother had groomed her to be, raising daughters and prize-winning dogs. The others who are still alive are living with various degrees of revolutionary fervor. His book is beautifully written with much less sensationalism than you might expect on the subject.
And who was Patricia Hearst? As Toobin describes her, she was the heiress to a fortune but was sort of drifting through life, so far. The daughter of mismatched parents, she was the middle of five daughters, raised by her mother to aim for the conventional wealthy woman's life - marriage to an eligible man and a life raising children of her own. In stark contrast to the free-living members of the SLA, Hearst at 19 was living with a much older man - Steven Weed - in a married-like life, while studying at the Berkeley campus of the University of California. On the night of February 4, 1974, Patricia Hearst was kidnapped from the town house in Berkeley by the SLA and forcibly turned into a "revolutionary" by her kidnappers. Or, did she join in the ensuing mayhem willingly?
There began an almost two year spree by the SLA, with Hearst - now called "Tania" - as an active participant. Bank robberies, shootouts, and blackmailing for food distributions to the poor were all part of mid-1970's in San Francisco and Los Angeles. This group - which literally and thankfully couldn't shoot too straight - made headlines. I can still remember where I was when I heard Patricia Hearst had been found and rescued. But what was she rescued from? And what was her role in the SLA's crime spree?
Author and attorney Jeffrey Toobin does an excellent job in relating the people, the times, and the effects this rag-tag group - with its "prize" member - had on California and society at large in those years. Hearst has now became the settled society matron her mother had groomed her to be, raising daughters and prize-winning dogs. The others who are still alive are living with various degrees of revolutionary fervor. His book is beautifully written with much less sensationalism than you might expect on the subject.
on August 25, 2016
I was 21 when Patty Hearst was kidnapped, and I embraced her story until her commutation. I read everything I could find about it; and was convinced she had been brainwashed as her lawyer claimed. But, through Toobin's exquisite writing, I began to see an entirely different story unfolding. Toobin sticks to the facts; and it is the facts that tell the truth. The book reads like a suspense novel. I couldn't put it down. There is much more I can say, but won''t; because I don't want to be the spoiler. I highly recommend it.
on August 10, 2016
As many readers--although not necessarily younger generations--will know, the story of the Patricia Hearst kidnapping was big news back in the 1970's. Hearst--an heiress to the fortune of a legendary publishing family--was kidnapped by a radical gang calling themselves the SLA. However, later Hearst herself ended up participating in many of the SLA's crimes--although whether she was a willing participant was a matter of great debate.
Many books about the Hearst case--including one by Patricia Hearst herself--were published years ago but this is the first new book about the case to come out in quite awhile. So--at first--I wondered why a new book about the case after all this time? Patricia has been quoted as being rather angry about the publication of this new book. After reading the book and the author's comments, however, it becomes clearer both why he wrote this book and why Patricia might be angry. The author has gained access to additional documents about the case and is in a position to fill in many details about the case the previous authors didn't know about. Readers who have long had questions about the case will appreciate the chance to learn more about what actually happened and why people made the decisions they did. And--although some of the new details might be superficially critical of Patricia--it doesn't change the fact that since Patricia's role in these events was first and foremost as a kidnap victim she continues to deserve public sympathy. I've always felt that Patricia deserved her presidential pardon and this book doesn't change my opinion in that regard.
However--although Patricia is the central figure--this book is ultimately about more than just Patricia. The events in this book helped to set the stage for many of the issues that America is still grappling with today and it is an important book to help understand the fairly recent historical context. The American response to Patricia and the SLA clearly represented a sea change in America's reaction to terrorism. And America today is still dealing with similar issues with violence involving the police--both incidents with the police as victims and as perpetrators--so this book is strangely still very relevant today. Toobin has done an excellent job of both telling the story of Patricia Hearst and framing it in the larger context of American society, and I highly recommend his book.
Many books about the Hearst case--including one by Patricia Hearst herself--were published years ago but this is the first new book about the case to come out in quite awhile. So--at first--I wondered why a new book about the case after all this time? Patricia has been quoted as being rather angry about the publication of this new book. After reading the book and the author's comments, however, it becomes clearer both why he wrote this book and why Patricia might be angry. The author has gained access to additional documents about the case and is in a position to fill in many details about the case the previous authors didn't know about. Readers who have long had questions about the case will appreciate the chance to learn more about what actually happened and why people made the decisions they did. And--although some of the new details might be superficially critical of Patricia--it doesn't change the fact that since Patricia's role in these events was first and foremost as a kidnap victim she continues to deserve public sympathy. I've always felt that Patricia deserved her presidential pardon and this book doesn't change my opinion in that regard.
However--although Patricia is the central figure--this book is ultimately about more than just Patricia. The events in this book helped to set the stage for many of the issues that America is still grappling with today and it is an important book to help understand the fairly recent historical context. The American response to Patricia and the SLA clearly represented a sea change in America's reaction to terrorism. And America today is still dealing with similar issues with violence involving the police--both incidents with the police as victims and as perpetrators--so this book is strangely still very relevant today. Toobin has done an excellent job of both telling the story of Patricia Hearst and framing it in the larger context of American society, and I highly recommend his book.
on August 23, 2016
Disclaimer: I am an attorney and have read Jeffrey Toobin's other work "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court", and I was born on the cusp of the 90's so had no prior familiarity with "Patty Hearst" and her infamy.
When I heard the title "American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst" my immediate thought was: "this title is longer than the book." But as a I delved into the tale of Miss Hearst my immediate impressions were: 1) Toobin's writing has improved by leaps and bounds; and 2) nothing happens in a vacuum. Whether intentionally or not, Toobin does an excellent job of "setting them up and knocking them down"; and by that I mean, Toobin sets the scene of a tumultuous decade with clarifying details the way a finger or two can zoom into a picture or map in today's technology. There are no sweeping generalizations here. And as a critical and analytical reader I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the lengths Toobin goes in providing engaging support for every actor's decisions. Clearly, Toobin does not skimp on his research efforts.
From Miss Hearst's terror being bundled into the trunk of a car, to the manic revolutionary passion of the Symbionese Liberation Army, Miss Hearst is a veritable chameleon in the face of her ever-changing circumstances. As law enforcement work desperately, oftentimes seemingly haplessly, to find a victim turned terrorist, Toobin places events within the context of a greater picture of a country disillusioned with its government, law enforcement, and societal values. Oh times, they were a-changing! Unfortunately, the only thing that did not seem to change with the decades was the different meanings of "justice" as applied to the rich versus the poor. My only consolation was that Toobin did not hold back in his closing remarks concerning Miss Hearst's behavior.
"American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst" was certainly a "wild saga" as well as a thoughtful social commentary on the past and the present. I truly look forward to Toobin's future work!
Happy Reading!
When I heard the title "American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst" my immediate thought was: "this title is longer than the book." But as a I delved into the tale of Miss Hearst my immediate impressions were: 1) Toobin's writing has improved by leaps and bounds; and 2) nothing happens in a vacuum. Whether intentionally or not, Toobin does an excellent job of "setting them up and knocking them down"; and by that I mean, Toobin sets the scene of a tumultuous decade with clarifying details the way a finger or two can zoom into a picture or map in today's technology. There are no sweeping generalizations here. And as a critical and analytical reader I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the lengths Toobin goes in providing engaging support for every actor's decisions. Clearly, Toobin does not skimp on his research efforts.
From Miss Hearst's terror being bundled into the trunk of a car, to the manic revolutionary passion of the Symbionese Liberation Army, Miss Hearst is a veritable chameleon in the face of her ever-changing circumstances. As law enforcement work desperately, oftentimes seemingly haplessly, to find a victim turned terrorist, Toobin places events within the context of a greater picture of a country disillusioned with its government, law enforcement, and societal values. Oh times, they were a-changing! Unfortunately, the only thing that did not seem to change with the decades was the different meanings of "justice" as applied to the rich versus the poor. My only consolation was that Toobin did not hold back in his closing remarks concerning Miss Hearst's behavior.
"American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst" was certainly a "wild saga" as well as a thoughtful social commentary on the past and the present. I truly look forward to Toobin's future work!
Happy Reading!
VINE VOICEon November 7, 2016
She seemed to be living an idyllic life in the early 1970s. But Patricia Campbell Hearst apparently had a lot of unresolved issues: about her parents, Randolph and Catherine Campbell Hearst, their expectations, and even about her fiancé, Steven Weed, with whom she had been living in an ordinary Berkeley apartment while she attended classes.
But everything changed for her on February 4, 1974, a quiet Monday evening at home. A knock on the door, a request for use of the phone, and then a ragtag group filled the room, tying them up, and ultimately grabbing Patricia. Steven took off on foot. I thought: coward!
When I first heard about these events, I was living my own ordinary life, but with an interest in the counter-culture, even though I was working at a conventional social work job. But I was definitely intrigued by the events presented on the news.
In American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst, Jeffrey Toobin has presented a compilation of facts obtained through hundreds of interviews and thousands of previously secret documents. His tome “highlighted a decade in which America seemed to be suffering a collective nervous breakdown.”
Toobin’s writing style was engaging enough to be a fictional piece, with intensity rising as the events unfolded. Even as I had kept up with many of the events, this book reveals much that was unknown to the general public.
After the early days in a Daly City closet, blindfolded, Patricia (Patty) appeared to have “graduated” to more freedom within the house, free of the blindfold, and with the closet door open. Soon she was conversing with her captors: Donald DeFreeze (Cinque), Bill and Emily Harris, Nancy Ling Perry, Willy Wolfe (Cujo), and Camilla Hall. Others would come in and out of the group and exist on the fringes. They called themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army, and ended their “communiques” with the signature words: “death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people.”
Their initial demands included a massive food giveaway which turned out to be problematic at times, and did nothing to bring about Patty’s release.
Throughout the two-year life on the run, there were bank robberies, shootings, carjackings, bombings, and a constant moving from one hovel to another, from SF to LA to Sacramento, and even eventually to a farm in Pennsylvania. But very early on, Patty seemed to have taken on the mantra of her captors, even the moniker of Tania, and identified herself as part of the group.
Then something changed after her arrest and incarceration. After her initial fist raising and her announcement of her occupation as “urban guerrilla,” Patty seemed to become subdued, more conventional, and her rhetoric morphed back to that of the American Heiress persona.
After the trial, the conviction, the commuted sentence…and her new life as Mrs. Bernie Shaw (she married her police bodyguard), we are left with questions…still. Was Patty brainwashed, or had she simply decided to take on whatever role served her best? Who was Patty Hearst, and how did she so quickly, like a chameleon, become whatever she needed to be? Only she knows for sure…or maybe not. A fascinating story. 5 stars.
But everything changed for her on February 4, 1974, a quiet Monday evening at home. A knock on the door, a request for use of the phone, and then a ragtag group filled the room, tying them up, and ultimately grabbing Patricia. Steven took off on foot. I thought: coward!
When I first heard about these events, I was living my own ordinary life, but with an interest in the counter-culture, even though I was working at a conventional social work job. But I was definitely intrigued by the events presented on the news.
In American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst, Jeffrey Toobin has presented a compilation of facts obtained through hundreds of interviews and thousands of previously secret documents. His tome “highlighted a decade in which America seemed to be suffering a collective nervous breakdown.”
Toobin’s writing style was engaging enough to be a fictional piece, with intensity rising as the events unfolded. Even as I had kept up with many of the events, this book reveals much that was unknown to the general public.
After the early days in a Daly City closet, blindfolded, Patricia (Patty) appeared to have “graduated” to more freedom within the house, free of the blindfold, and with the closet door open. Soon she was conversing with her captors: Donald DeFreeze (Cinque), Bill and Emily Harris, Nancy Ling Perry, Willy Wolfe (Cujo), and Camilla Hall. Others would come in and out of the group and exist on the fringes. They called themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army, and ended their “communiques” with the signature words: “death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people.”
Their initial demands included a massive food giveaway which turned out to be problematic at times, and did nothing to bring about Patty’s release.
Throughout the two-year life on the run, there were bank robberies, shootings, carjackings, bombings, and a constant moving from one hovel to another, from SF to LA to Sacramento, and even eventually to a farm in Pennsylvania. But very early on, Patty seemed to have taken on the mantra of her captors, even the moniker of Tania, and identified herself as part of the group.
Then something changed after her arrest and incarceration. After her initial fist raising and her announcement of her occupation as “urban guerrilla,” Patty seemed to become subdued, more conventional, and her rhetoric morphed back to that of the American Heiress persona.
After the trial, the conviction, the commuted sentence…and her new life as Mrs. Bernie Shaw (she married her police bodyguard), we are left with questions…still. Was Patty brainwashed, or had she simply decided to take on whatever role served her best? Who was Patty Hearst, and how did she so quickly, like a chameleon, become whatever she needed to be? Only she knows for sure…or maybe not. A fascinating story. 5 stars.
on July 2, 2017
Patricia Hearst should still be in prison. The author tells us exactly why. Incredibly well written, meticulously researched. At times, you'll laugh out loud at the absurdity of it all. I vaguely remember hearing about this incredible story, but I had no idea Patricia Hearst was such a terrible person. That's correct. TERRIBLE PERSON. Her parents should have washed their hands of her as soon as the tapes were released that clearly show Patricia is NOT being brainwashed, and also, has no problem driving the getaway car after her "comrades" not only robbed a second bank, but Emily Harris shot an innocent women during the robbery and killed her.....with a sawed off shotgun. After she got away, she said she didn't care because the woman she shot was a "bourgeois pig." REALLY? How could she tell? The murdered woman was at the bank depositing money for a friend from her church! Patty was having the time of her life! Sure, it was scary at times, but only 6 of her "comrades" burned to death in the house she was LUCKY enough to have just left. Patricia Hearst had about... oh...a hundred chances to escape, but she never even considered it. She's like a giant walking sponge. She isn't very bright, she comes from money, and she absorbs the information she hears from whoever she's with at the time. She said terrible things about her parents for A YEAR, and when she's finally captured, she is back to being a rich man's daughter and above the common people so fast it will make your head spin. I was STUNNED. She's a liar, a tramp, a sociopath, and worse. I was under the impression that if you drive the getaway car for your fellow bank robbing pals, and a woman gets murdered during the robbery, that would make her just as guilty as the rest of them. What in God's name happened to justice? No one was held accountable for the woman's murder! Her name NEVER EVEN CAME UP during Patricia's trial!! It's surreal. F. Lee Bailey deserves to be exactly where he is now ( you'll find out) , and he is also just a horrible excuse for a human being. This book never drags, is never boring; it's an eye opener and so much more. Buy this book. I guarantee you won't regret it. Lastly, I'd like to say to Patricia Hearst; "glad you finally got that nose job, but.... well, you know what you did. How you live with that knowledge I will never know."
on October 15, 2016
Whether you are old enough to remember or do not remember the Patty Hearst kidnapping welcome to a revisit with new insight or simply a fascinating human portrait and tale of challenge and derring do. Mr. Toobin's lawer credentials mixed with his journalist status is an elegant combination of skills that offers a balanced view of "who was and who is Patty Hearst". Mr. Toobin has his views, but he does stint on a profile that offers alternate views. The reader is left with everything she/he needs to draw your own conclusions. The facts are laid out with courtroom precision. Mr. Toobin's fluid writing style make this a page turner. It is also in no small measure an evocation of another time, standards and history that is fast receding in this digital age. It was a simpler time yes, but no less humanly complex.
on August 10, 2016
Typical Toobin. Very well researched and engagingly written. Not in the class though of the great historians like McCullough. The two biggest problems were the failure to get Hearst to participate and that Toobin seemed not to put too much stock in the notion that the kidnapping and confinement may have played a big role in Hearst's behavior even though it appeared to be completely voluntary.
on August 8, 2016
Finally, after all these years, the gaps are filled in. This book is as close as you will ever get to the truth of this case. I was there in Berkeley when the news of the kidnapping broke and this book brought me back to that moment. All I can say is Thanks and highly recommended this book to anyone who craves the missing pieces of this puzzling case.
