The Hearsts: Father and Son

This first paperback edition of the classic family saga traces the American Century—which the Hearst family did so much to define—from San Juan Hill to San Simeon, from Patton's tanks to the Symbionese Liberation Army, all through the words of the scion of America's greatest publishing empire.

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.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Vapid, once-over-lightly reminiscences from the scion of a publishing dynasty who, at age 83, looks back on a privileged, eventful life through rose-colored spectacles. One of five sons of William Randolph Hearst, ``Bill'' (as he's generally known) recalls a bicoastal boyhood that kept him shuttling between a 31-room apartment in Manhattan and his father's California pleasure dome of San Simeon. A college dropout, the author was given a job as a beat reporter on his father's New York American. Appointed publisher in 1937 of what was then the Journal- American, he quickly became a fixture on the caf‚-society scene. During WW II, Hearst assigned himself to Europe as a correspondent; after the war, he returned to the same old stand, marrying his third wife (who's still with him) in 1948. Following the death of Hearst, Sr., in 1951, the author became the chain's editor-in- chief. Today, he remains titular head of editorial operations and writes a column for the empire's dwindling number of newspapers, but the family firm is controlled by professional managers. With scarcely a word here about his brothers (three of whom are now dead), Hearst offers often inane assessments of family members, friends, and acquaintances (on his father: ``He was in his own way like Pearl Buck who loved the land and the peasants of China''). Nor does Hearst provide keen insights on either the legendary journalists (Bob Considine, Dorothy Kilgallen, Westbrook Pegler, Walter Winchell) or many notables (Winston Churchill, Bing Crosby, Clark Gable, George Patton, George Bernard Shaw, etc.) with whom he came in contact. Hearst has a few harsh words for de Gaulle, Nehru, Richard Berlin (a corporate executive he accuses of working against the founder's legacy), and the producers of Citizen Kane. Otherwise, even in the case of niece Patty's abduction, he is the soul of circumspect discretion. An insider's memoir that reads like the self-censored testimonial of a loyal hack. The wispy text has over 100 photographs and other illustrations, including cartoons (some seen). -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Forty years after the death of the controversial media magnate William Randolph Hearst comes his son's memoir of the family and business. Unsurprisingly, the tone differs from critical biographies such as W.A. Swanberg's Citizen Hearst ( LJ 8/61). Although he lacked his father's flamboyance, Hearst Jr., now 83, was a publisher, editor, reporter, and columnist. He offers candid details of his family and personal life, and several of his journalistic tales are gripping, e.g., the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and interviews with Nikita Khrushchev and other Soviet officials for which he shared a 1956 Pulitzer Prize. The ordeals of his niece Patty Hearst also make for compelling reading. He contends his father should be treated more sympathetically by future historians. The Hearst Corporation remains a billion-dollar enterprise, so "Pop" must have done something right. Recommended for those interested in the history of journalism.
- Bruce Rosenstein, "USA Today" Lib., Arlington, Va.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.