AMERICAN HEIRESS: Inside Patty Hearst’s Wild ‘70s Saga
This week’s Igloo Book Buzz title, AMERICAN HEIRESS: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes, and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin, takes readers on an unforgettable rollercoaster ride. Responding to the buzz surrounding his new book, which is being published by Doubleday on Tuesday, August 2, Mr. Toobin says, “Hearst’s story is an extraordinary window into a wild era: the poisonous, toxic ‘70s, when the idealism of the ‘60s yielded, for many, to an angry, anarchic rage. The kidnapping and its aftermath comes out of that madness. But it also has an enduring appeal for a simpler reason. It’s a mystery. Why did an apolitical 19-year-old heiress with one of the most famous names in America do what she did?” Answers to that question were investigated relentlessly and numerous remarkable revelations can be found in AMERICAN HEIRESS.
Bill Thomas, Senior Vice President, Publisher, Editor in Chief, Doubleday, edited the book, and says, “There are three essential skill sets for a narrative nonfiction writer: Ferocious research and reporting chops; a clean, powerful prose style; and storytelling that propels the reader through the pages. Jeffrey Toobin is the rare writer who is a master of all three skills, which are on vivid display in AMERICAN HEIRESS. It was a very fun book to edit – several times I wrote in the margin “THIS IS INSANE!!!” It’s a mind-boggling tale, packed with never-before-known details, and indelible characters. The fact that the country seems to be echoing the insanity of the mid-1970s only adds to the resonance of the book.”
Here is a sampling of the advance praise the book has generated:
“[D]efinitive and nuanced … [Toobin’s] thorough research, careful parsing of all the evidence, and superior prose make the book read like a summertime thriller.” Publishers Weekly, Starred review
“Toobin … has written an outstandingly detailed and insightful account of the Hearst case and its impact.” Booklist, Starred review
“[A] detailed but swiftly moving account of the 1974 kidnapping that mesmerized the nation … [T]he author’s considerable legal knowledge propels the narrative … [A] a well-informed, engaging work from a highly capable author.” – Kirkus
In the Wednesday (7/27) edition of The New York Times, Janet Maslin writes, “In an age of terrorism, the chronicle of how a sedate heiress named Patricia morphed into a gun-toting, invective-spouting revolutionary calling herself Tania holds a definite fascination.”
Reviews of AMERICAN HEIRESS are also scheduled for upcoming editions of TIME Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, and USA Today., among other outlets. An original essay by Mr. Toobin will be featured in The Wall Street Journal. He is also the subject ofEntertainment Weekly’s “Books of My Life” column as well as The New York Times Book Review “By the Book” column. His media appearances include spots on CBS This Morning;NPR’s Morning Edition and Fresh Air; C-Span’s Book TV, and Conan on TBS.
Mr. Toobin’s book tour will take him throughout the US during the month of August, kicking off on Monday (8/1) in NYC at Barnes & Noble Union Square, with the event moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
A New Yorker staff writer and the senior legal analyst at CNN, Mr. Toobin is also the bestselling author of THE NINE: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court and THE RUN OF HIS LIFE: The People v. O. J. Simpson, among other books.