American Heiress

Starred review from June 27, 2016
Toobin (The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson), a New Yorker staff writer and CNN senior legal analyst, provides another definitive and nuanced look at a notorious crime case—this time, the 1974 abduction of heiress Patty Hearst in San Francisco by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and its sensational aftermath. Two months into the kidnapping, in a tape released by the SLA, Hearst declared that she’d joined the group; two years later, she faced a federal trial for armed bank robbery. Toobin’s rigorous detective work is enhanced by his placement of the Hearst case in the context of its times, with the U.S. shaken by the continuing Watergate revelations as well as the devastating OAPEC oil embargo, and his expert critique of the work of both prosecution and defense in Hearst’s 1976 trial. His thorough research, careful parsing of all the evidence, and superior prose make the book read like a summertime thriller. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.

Starred review from October 3, 2016
Audiobook veteran Michael brings his considerable skill to Toobin’s sprawling biographical narrative tackling one of the most controversial criminal cases in American history. Michael adroitly moves back and forth between Toobin’s expository elements and the colorful dialogue among the principal players involved. As Patricia Hearst shifts from diffident young heiress to fiery revolutionary to celebrity defendant eager to return to her former life, Michael doesn’t miss a beat, consistently maintaining vocal mannerisms and personality quirks in his portrayal of her. Michael’s chilling turn as career criminal Donald David DeFreeze leaves a lasting impression. His rendering of crime-scene detail—including multiple bank robberies and Hearst’s infamous sporting-goods store shootout—never fails to enthrall. Yet he also hits the right notes in undertaking the soap opera elements of Hearst and her captors turned comrades, especially the constantly bickering husband-and-wife team of Bill and Emily Harris. Toobin’s writing and Michael’s performance make for an enthralling listening experience. A Doubleday hardcover.

July 1, 2016
The ubiquitous legal journalist and author returns with a detailed but swiftly moving account of the 1974 kidnapping that mesmerized the nation.Readers of a certain age will be astonished that this case is more than 40 years old. So much has changed, as New Yorker staff writer Toobin (The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court, 2012, etc.) effectively points out. He reminds us, for instance, that live TV feeds from crime scenes were a novelty that spread rapidly after the coverage of a shootout between some members of the Symbionese Liberation Army--the motley crew that kidnapped Patricia Hearst, the young heiress of the noted publishing family--and the federal and local authorities. Toobin begins with a quick account of the kidnapping, an introduction of the principals, and some 1970s cultural history, and then he moves into the slow conversion of Hearst into a trash-talking urban guerrilla (the term she later used to identify herself), her involvement in SLA criminal activities, and her sex life. The author occasionally shows us the doings of those left behind--principally her family and her fiance, Steven Weed, who does not come off well, then and now. (He bolted when the SLA arrived.) Toobin ably charts the bizarre inability of authorities to figure out this crew of barely competent revolutionaries. Once Patricia is caught and on trial for her SLA-related activities, the author's considerable legal knowledge propels the narrative. He shows us that both the prosecution and the defense lacked competence, especially celebrated defense attorney F. Lee Bailey, whom Toobin paints as an opportunist inebriated with alcohol and celebrity. The author ends with an update on the principals and notes that Hearst resolutely refused to contribute to his book. Despite the lack of participation from Hearst, this is a well-informed, engaging work from a highly capable author.

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Starred review from July 1, 2016
On February 4, 1974, two women and one man burst into the Berkeley, California, apartment that Patricia Hearst, heir to the fortune of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, shared with her fiance, Steven Weed. They clubbed Weed and dragged a thrashing, screaming, 19-year-old Hearst into the trunk of their car. This was the start of a prolonged, violent, and sometimes absurd cross-country odyssey that led from cramped, filthy safe houses to isolated rural farmhouses. The kidnapping, travels, and trials of Hearst and her companions would draw in a variety of willing and unwilling characters, including a radical sports journalist; a greedy, alcoholic, but brilliant defense attorney; and even a high-school baseball player. The saga transfixed the nation as key moments played out on national television, including a horrific shootout and fire in which some of the kidnappers died, and during which Hearst, rebellious and unhappy about her impending marriage, appeared to embrace the cause espoused by her abductors, members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. With access to previously off-limit documents, best-selling Toobin (The Oath, 2012), New Yorker staff writer and senior legal analyst for CNN, has written an outstandingly detailed and insightful account of the Hearst case and its impact. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Toobin's high media visibility and a major national campaign, including an author tour, will ensure that this book is in the news.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

Starred review from August 1, 2016

The bones of Patty Hearst's story are relatively well known--pampered heiress kidnapped by radicals joins their ranks, famously helping them rob a bank at gunpoint--but as Toobin (The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson) here shows, the details that flesh out the saga of Hearst and the group calling themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) are weirder and more compelling than any work of fiction. For instance, while the group was among the most wanted in America, SLA leader Donald DeFreeze decided to recruit new members by going door to door in San Francisco's Western Addition Neighborhood. (Not only did no one he spoke to report him to the police, but he actually brought on board people who would turn out to be crucial allies.) The narrative is peppered with appearances by such recognizable names as Jim Jones, Joan Baez, future judge of O.J. Simpson's criminal trial Lance Ito, and Sara Jane Moore, who would later attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford. Toobin's meticulous research is the book's bedrock, but his flair for dramatic storytelling makes it a pleasure to read. Though the author never states directly whether he believes Hearst's conversion was real, he provides all of the pieces needed for readers to assemble the puzzle for themselves. VERDICT An essential purchase. [See Prepub Alert, 2/29/16.]--Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016

On February 4, 1973, college sophomore Patty Hearst, the heir to the Hearst family fortune, was kidnapped by some off-the-wall revolutionaries calling themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army; two months later, she supposedly joined the group and was seen on videotape firing a gun during a bank robbery. On the run for a year, she was captured, tried, and convicted of felonious acts; whether these acts were voluntary is still debated. New Yorker staffer Toobin, the best-selling author of books such as The Oath, relied on more than 100 interviews and thousands of previously secret documents to capture an event that defined the shift from the freewheeling, sunshiny Sixties to the darker and more violent Seventies. With a 150,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2016

The bones of Patty Hearst's story are relatively well known--pampered heiress kidnapped by radicals joins their ranks, famously helping them rob a bank at gunpoint--but as Toobin (The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson) here shows, the details that flesh out the saga of Hearst and the group calling themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) are weirder and more compelling than any work of fiction. For instance, while the group was among the most wanted in America, SLA leader Donald DeFreeze decided to recruit new members by going door to door in San Francisco's Western Addition Neighborhood. (Not only did no one he spoke to report him to the police, but he actually brought on board people who would turn out to be crucial allies.) The narrative is peppered with appearances by such recognizable names as Jim Jones, Joan Baez, future judge of O.J. Simpson's criminal trial Lance Ito, and Sara Jane Moore, who would later attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford. Toobin's meticulous research is the book's bedrock, but his flair for dramatic storytelling makes it a pleasure to read. Though the author never states directly whether he believes Hearst's conversion was real, he provides all of the pieces needed for readers to assemble the puzzle for themselves. VERDICT An essential purchase. [See Prepub Alert, 2/29/16.]--Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.