Everyone living in the United States in 1974 most likely remembers the name of Patty Hearst. We couldn't help it as the press latched onto this dramatic story of American royalty, kidnapping, terrorists, money, and social injustice. We were fascinated by Patty Hearst and her captivity. Was she brainwashed, suffering Stockholm syndrome, or was she a spoiled rebellious young woman looking for some excitement in her ordinary life, playacting at being an urban guerrilla? Or was she honestly converted to seeing the unjust world of wealth vs. poverty so obvious in the city of Los Angeles? All this was 40 years ago, and today Patty Hearst is a matronly widow who involves herself with show dogs and all the other facets of upperclass wealth.
Toobin has written a fascinating account of the mystery of Patty Hearst, which he states is very much a story of America in the 1970s, a nation shattered by the recent scandal of Watergate and political shenanigans of the Nixon Whitehouse. The Hearst kidnapping spurred a national debate about victimhood, and Toobin's book brings to light new letters and information to help us form a more complete picture of this time period.
Patty Hearst was taken from the Berkeley apartment which she shared with her fiancé, Steven Weed. She was a mere 17 when she became engaged to Weed, who comes out very poorly in the book. The group responsible for the kidnapping called themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small group of only nine members led by an escaped convict, Donald DeFreeze known as Cin. The SLA was able to hoodwink the press and police into thinking them a much larger organization, and they skillfully manipulated the media into keeping them in the spotlight for well over a year. Patty was kept in a closet blindfolded for 57 days, all the while fed a trope of the evils of parasitic capitalism with her father, Randy, as the chief villain. Soon after being freed from her cell, Patty became a full fledged member of the SRA, taking part in robberies and becoming adept at making bombs and handling guns. All this was well publicized and watched with fascination by the public. Eventually, most of the members of the SRA were killed in a spectacular shootout, again on live t.v., which Patty watched from a motel room with her lover, Steve Soliah. They were on the run and were able to successfully evade the FBI until 1975.
Toobin claims that Patty is a survivor. In order to survive she became Tania with her revolutionary comrades. When finally captured, after her arrest, she once again put on her pearls and twinset and became the brainwashed college girl. This was the basis of the defense sketchily prepared by F.Lee Bailey who the family hired to defend her. It turns out Bailey was more interested in writing a book about the case than in preparing a convincing defense. Patricia Hearst was sentenced after a sensational trial. She was eventually pardoned by President Carter after only serving a bit of jail time. And thus, she retreated into suburban life after marrying her bodyguard, Bernie Shaw. The author sums up by stating, "Patricia led the life for which she was destined. She did not turn into a revolutionary. She turned into her mother."
This is a well-written book about a period of turmoil in America. In many ways, it was a bizarre time in our history. It is worth looking back up and taking any lessons it might offer. I highly recommend the book to all readers. It would be an excellent choice for a book club discussion.
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