"On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, a sophomore in college and heiress to the Hearst family fortune, was kidnapped by a ragtag group of self-styled revolutionaries calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. The weird turns that followed in this already sensational tale are truly astonishing--the Hearst family trying to secure Patty's release by feeding all the people of Oakland and San Francisco for free; bank security cameras captured 'Tania' wielding a machine gun during a robbery; the LAPD engagedin the largest police shoot-out in American history; the first breaking news event to be broadcast live on television stations across the country; and then there was Patty's circuslike trial, filled with theatrical courtroom confrontations and a dramaticlast-minute reversal, after which the term 'Stockholm syndrome' entered the lexicon. Ultimately, the saga highlighted a decade in which America seemed to be suffering a collective nervous breakdown. American Heiress portrays the electrifying lunacy of the time and the toxic mix of sex, politics, and violence that swept up Patty Hearst and captivated the nation." --
