The Hearsts

The Hearst family has both covered the news and been splashed across its headlines for decades. William Randolph Hearst, Jr., (who died in 1993) details his long publishing career, including the famous and infamous who made the news or wrote about it. He describes himself as a newspaperman like his father but "without his brains or moxie." He also attempts to show us a kinder, gentler William Randolph Hearst, Sr. The family saga, told in a telegraphic style, is read smoothly and unpretentiously by Jeff Riggenbach. This history in sound bites is a natural for audio though an abridged account might hold more listeners to the end. D.L.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

September 30, 1991
Columnist and editor-in-chief of the Hearst newspapers, Hearst Jr. is heir to the publishing empire founded by his father. In this brisk, unpretentious, opinionated autobiography, he expectedly defends Hearst Sr. as a ``true populist'' who made ``massive contributions'' to journalism. Not so predictably, he partially blames his mother, Millicent, for the marital breakup caused by her husband's long-term affair with alcoholic actress Marion Davies. Writing with veteran reporter Casserly, Hearst Jr. recounts the saga of his grandparents George and Phoebe, who left a Missouri farm for California's gold fields, becoming multimillionaires. He offers a stirring account of his own adventures as a WW II correspondent and nostalgically recreates the New York City news beat of the 1950s and '60s. He also records encounters with Churchill, Nehru, Damon Runyon, Clark Gable, Thatcher, Carter; and offers barbed commentary on such figures as Walter Winchell (``a real bastard'') and LBJ (``one of the loneliest men I ever met''). Photos. 60,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo.