Take a photo of a barcode or cover
329 reviews for:
American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst
Jeffrey Toobin
3.83 AVERAGE
329 reviews for:
American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst
Jeffrey Toobin
3.83 AVERAGE
The Patty Hearst kidnapping occurred almost a decade before I was born, and I went into this book knowing nothing about the events it documents, which made every page a new discovery.
Toobin does a good job providing context and insight into the cultural and political landscape in which the Patty Hearst kidnapping occurred. Although for an uninformed reader like me to truly understand the hows and whys of the attitudes and actions of individuals in the 1970s counterculture, I think I need a whole separate book. Into this background, he weaves the story of the SLA and Patty Hearst, which is so sensational (in the tabloid-sense of the word) that if you read the same story in a fictional novel, you'd think it was highly improbable and unrealistic. It's a crazy tale, and Toobin writes about it well, but as Hearst continues to elude the authorities, the story gets a bit tedious. This isn't Toobin's fault, as it's what really happened, but it also means the book drags for awhile in the second half.
Toobin does a good job providing context and insight into the cultural and political landscape in which the Patty Hearst kidnapping occurred. Although for an uninformed reader like me to truly understand the hows and whys of the attitudes and actions of individuals in the 1970s counterculture, I think I need a whole separate book. Into this background, he weaves the story of the SLA and Patty Hearst, which is so sensational (in the tabloid-sense of the word) that if you read the same story in a fictional novel, you'd think it was highly improbable and unrealistic. It's a crazy tale, and Toobin writes about it well, but as Hearst continues to elude the authorities, the story gets a bit tedious. This isn't Toobin's fault, as it's what really happened, but it also means the book drags for awhile in the second half.
Very interesting book that looked at various aspects of the Hearst kidnapping. I don't think we will ever know what really happened but this book tries to untie the different threads.
While Toobin’s reporting is meticulous, I found that I was not that interested in Patricia and her comrades’ saga. I probably could have been satisfied with a Wikipedia page amount of information.
This book is interesting and well-written but Jeffrey Toobin comes off as an asshole. He describes how Patricia Hearst was kidnapped from the safety of her home, held captive and ultimately ended up following her kidnappers to commit crimes. He doesn’t talk about findings of Battered Wife Syndrome or any of the research into why people in terrible situations don’t leave or cry for help. There was also a note I made about when Patricia aays in a private note to her lover “I want you so fucking bad” and described it as the rhetoric engaged in by her kidnappers. A baffling conclusion. Maybe Hearst was a scammer or an opportunist but I will not be reading further material by Toobin.
If you’re like me and your American history education essentially stopped at Vietnam, then this read is an excellent place to get a glimpse in the late 60s and early 70s of American culture. A completely fascinating and bizarre story…would recommend.
I have been TERRIBLE about recording books I've read over the past 2+ years so in desperation to jog my memory, I'm going through my timeline in Libby and seeing what I can remember reading.
I mostly listened to this on audiobook and it was SUPER engaging
I mostly listened to this on audiobook and it was SUPER engaging
I got to page 228 and it just wasn't holding me, so I'm giving it up. The book is very well-written and I was engaged while reading it, so please don't take my giving it up to mean it's not a good book. I just found myself not really caring about the players. I thought it was an episode in history that would interest me more than it seems to be doing. So, I'm moving on to other things....
This was a very well researched account of the Patty Hearst kidnapping, year on the run and trial.
Toobin does a good job laying out all the documented facts. I only wish the Patty Hearst agreed to be interviewed. It does not portray her as a complete innocent, perhaps that is why she did not participate.
Toobin does a good job laying out all the documented facts. I only wish the Patty Hearst agreed to be interviewed. It does not portray her as a complete innocent, perhaps that is why she did not participate.