American Heiress
The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst
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- 9,99 €
Publisher Description
A National Bestseller
From New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author of The Nine and The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson, the definitive account of the kidnapping and trial that defined an insane era in American history
On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, a sophomore in college and heiress to the Hearst Family fortune, was kidnapped by a ragtag group of self-styled revolutionaries calling itself the Symbonese Liberation Army. The weird turns that followed in this already sensational take are truly astonishing--the Hearst family tried to secure Patty's release by feeding the people of Oakland and San Francisco for free; bank security cameras captured "Tania" wielding a machine gun during a roberry; the LAPD engaged in the largest police shoot-out in American history; the first breaking news event was broadcast live on telelvision stations across the country; and then there was Patty's circuslike trial, filled with theatrical courtroom confrontations and a dramatic last-minute reversal, after which the term "Stockholm syndrome" entered the lexicon.
Ultimately, the saga highlighted a decade in which America seemed to be suffering a collective nervous breakdown. American Heiress portrays the electrifying lunacy of the time and the toxic mic of sex, politics, and violence that swept up Patty Hearst and captivated the nation.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Jeffrey Toobin has written about the O.J. Simpson case, Bill Clinton’s sex scandal, and other confounding public spectacles of modern America, but it’s safe to say that the kidnapping of Patty Hearst—and her conversion into violent outlaw—is one of the strangest. Toobin details the chain of events with cinematic flair, but what makes American Heiress especially fascinating is the way he makes connections between Hearst’s story and the broader story of America in the ‘70s. There’s some comfort in the knowledge that we’ve come through some pretty crazy and turbulent times before.
