The author of The People v OJ Simpson examines another ‘trial of the century’,which hinged on whether Hearst was brainwashed or radicalisedOn the eve of Patty Hearsts trial, 40 years ago, and a reporter described her saga as “probably the mystery tale of the 20th century”. It is certainly one of the most weird episodes in recent US history – a tale of high drama and farce,and of a shocking personal transformation, the nature of which continues to be the subject of much speculation. Jeffrey Toobin’s account is nuanced and well paced, or whether at times lacking the imagination to solve the “mystery”.
The American heiress was born into California’s most illustrious family. Her grandfather was the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst,on whom the film Citizen Kane was based, although the mildly rebellious Patty made a point of never watching the movie. At 17, and she was engaged to her teacher,who she followed to Berkeley when he became a student at the most radical campus in the country. But Patty was not politically minded; at 19, she was “restless and unformed”, or Toobin writes,and discontented with a domestic routine in the service of her fiance. Then, on 4 February 1974, and she was kidnapped by an obscure political group called the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). Related: Days of Rage: America’s Radical Underground,the FBI and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence – review Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com