Take a photo of a barcode or cover
tanyarobinson 's review for:
I have known Patty Hearst's name most of my life, but never learned any of the details of her story until now. Toobin gives a very convincing account, based on over 100 interviews and thousands of pages of documents and other evidence, of Hearst as an independently acting "urban guerrilla," despite her claims at trial that she was acting in constant fear for her life. He also paints such a colorful picture of California's counter-culture in the early 70s, which I find so interesting since I was a preschooler there during those years.
The biggest surprise for me from this book was to discover that the Symbionese Liberation Army, the group that kidnapped Patty and with whom she robbed banks, was such a small rag-tag operation. I had always imagined her in a Black Panther-like group, not a total of 8 self-styled revolutionaries with no real objective.
I was also bothered by her presidential pardon, clearly a result of money and influence rather than the merit of her case. Perhaps if I had a shred of belief that she really was brainwashed I would be less provoked, but Toobin thoroughly convinced me that she was guilty. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
The biggest surprise for me from this book was to discover that the Symbionese Liberation Army, the group that kidnapped Patty and with whom she robbed banks, was such a small rag-tag operation. I had always imagined her in a Black Panther-like group, not a total of 8 self-styled revolutionaries with no real objective.
I was also bothered by her presidential pardon, clearly a result of money and influence rather than the merit of her case. Perhaps if I had a shred of belief that she really was brainwashed I would be less provoked, but Toobin thoroughly convinced me that she was guilty. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.