Searching for Patty Hearst - by Roger Rapoport (Paperback)

About the Book

"On the night that Patty Hearst was kidnapped in 1974, journalist Roger D. Rapoport, was a short drive away in his El Cerrito home. He quickly became one of the primary reporters covering the saga as it unfolded in real time. His reporting gave local and national readers a window into one of the most bizarre and polarizing crimes in U.S. history. Using the techniques of fiction, Rapoport gives voice to much of the story that fell outside of the bounds of journalistic coverage. Rapoport takes on such questions as: Why did Patty participate in the kidnapping of a high school student hours before six of the SLA kidnappers were killed in a firefight with the Los Angeles police department? Did celebrity coroner Thomas Noguchi, whom Rapoport interviewed, mishandle the autopsies of six SLA victims? Why did Patty's lawyers dump her fiancâee Steve Weed as a key witness at her trial at the last minute?"--Publisher marketing.

Book Synopsis

On the night that Patty Hearst was kidnapped in 1974, journalist Roger D. Rapoport, was a short drive away in his El Cerrito home. He quickly became one of the primary reporters covering the saga as it unfolded in real time. His reporting gave local and national readers a window into one of the most bizarre and polarizing crimes in U.S. history. Now, fifty years later, he has written a novel, Searching for Patty Hearst, that draws heavily from that time. In this compelling new book, he explores alternative theories of the crime and delves into the complex psychology of many of the key actors in a drama that kept the country riveted. Using the techniques of fiction, Rapoport gives voice to much of the story that fell outside of the bounds of journalistic coverage. "I wrote this novel because I believed the American public deserved nothing but the truth," he says. With a wry sensibility and insider knowledge that Rapoport is one of the few people to possess, Searching for Patty Hearst, goes beyond the tabloid headlines to tell the story in all its depth. Rapoport takes on such questions as: Why did Patty participate in the kidnapping of a high school student hours before six of the SLA kidnappers were killed in a firefight with the Los Angeles police department? Did celebrity coroner Thomas Noguchi, whom Rapoport interviewed, mishandle the autopsies of six SLA victims? Why did Patty's lawyers dump her fiancée Steve Weed as a key witness at her trial at the last minute? It's often said that fiction can offer insights into the truth that reporting can't. If that is the case, the story of Patty Hearst, the SLA, and the kidnapping that carved them into the American psyche just may be told for the first time with Searching for Patty Hearst.

--Lorna Garano

From the Back Cover

Fifty years on from her legendary kidnapping, the definitive novel has finally been written.

On the night that Patty Hearst was kidnapped in 1974, journalist Roger D. Rapoport was a short drive away in his Bay Area home. He quickly became one of the primary reporters covering the saga as it unfolded in real time. His reporting gave local and national readers a window into one of the most bizarre and polarizing crimes in U.S. history. Now, fifty years later, he has written a novel that draws us back to that time. In this compelling new book, he explores alternative theories of the crime and delves into the complex psychology of many of the key actors in a drama that kept the country riveted. Using the techniques of fiction, Rapoport gives voice to much of the story that fell outside of the bounds of journalistic coverage.

With Rapoport's wry sensibility and insider knowledge Searching for Patty Hearst is able to go beyond the tabloid headlines to tell the story in depth.

Why did Patty participate in the kidnapping of a high school student hours before six of the SLA kidnappers were killed in a firefight with the Los Angeles police department?

Did celebrity coroner Thomas Noguchi mishandle the autopsies of six SLA victims?

Why did Patty's lawyers dump her fiance Steve Weed as a key witness at her trial at the last minute?

Does the city of Stockholm having anything to do with this?

It's often said that fiction can offer insights into the truth that reporting can't. If that is the case, the story of Patty Hearst, the SLA, and the kidnapping that carved them into the American psyche just may be told here for the first time.

--James Sparling

Review Quotes

"Rapoport's book is a knowledgeable reimagining, cleverly plotted, stylishly told."--Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune

--Rick Kogan "Chicago Tribune" (2/20/2024 12:00:00 AM)

"I've known Roger Rapoport for nearly 60 years since he began his investigative journalism career at The Michigan Daily, the student newspaper in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has always combined meticulous research guided by a passionate drive for clarity and justice in the world. 'The Search for Patti Hearst' blends all of his skills into a fascinating narrative in which the bedrock facts of the story are illuminated by fictional nuances that logically tie up many of the loose strands and controversies that have fascinated readers and media sources for years. This is a brilliant and compelling book."

--Larry Kirshbaum, former CEO of Time-Warner Book Group

"No question, the most important book about the whole Patty Hearst episode. (Rapoport is) the human being who knows the most about the case, covered it most consistently."

--Robert Scheer, KCRW NPR, The Scheer Report

The kidnapping of Patty Hearst was one of the most extraordinary stories of its time, and all of us who followed it imagined, many times, the conversations, inner struggles, and clandestine meetings that must have taken place out of our sight. How nice it is to now see the skilled Roger Rapoport weave such ingredients, and his own extensive knowledge of the case, into this gripping, evocative, and suspenseful novel.

--Adam Hochschild, author American Midnight and King Leopold's Ghost.