The Trial of Patty Hearst: The Captive Mind by Céline Fitzmaurice with Full Cast (Narrators)

Rated:  4 Star rating

I just finished listening to the audiobook The Trial of Patty Hearst: The Captive Mind by Céline Fitzmaurice, and it was a really interesting listen.  It is pretty short, lasting only about an hour and a half, but it adds a lot of drama into that time.  Instead of just a regular narrator, it uses a full cast of actors to play lawyers, witnesses, and experts.

Because it uses real courtroom transcripts from back then, it feels more like a radio play or a documentary drama. The story is about the real 1976 trial of Patty Hearst, the rich newspaper heiress who was kidnapped by a radical group called the Symbionese Liberation Army, led by Donald DeFreeze  One of the greatest details is that instead of demanding cash for ransom, they ordered her father, Randolph Hearst, to fund a massive program, giving millions of dollars in free food to California's poor.  Her family actually tried to do it, but the distribution turned into a total mess, and they kept her anyway. 

A couple of years later, she was put on trial for helping them rob a bank.  Her defense team argued she was brainwashed and terrorized, with people like Truman Capote pointing to what we now call Stockholm syndrome.  

On the other side, prosecutors showed pictures of her holding a gun during the robbery and played tapes of her, saying she joined them willingly. 

The audiobook shows both sides without forcing you to pick one.  It really makes you think about how fear can change a person and how much the media can influence a trial.  It moves fast, but it is an interesting, easy to follow look at a crazy piece of history.  

I was a young child, maybe about 7 or 8, and I remember listening to this story. It was so interesting to me that I still remember parts of it today.  I definitely recommend giving it a listen.

Thank you, NetGalley, Trials of the Century Audiobooks, Céline Fitzmaurice, author, and FullCast narrator, for this audiobook review consideration.  All review opinions are my own.

#NetGalley 

#TrialsoftheCenturyAudiobooks

#ClassicCrime

#CélineFitzmaurice author

#FullCast narrator

#TheTrialofPattyHearst

http://goodreads.com/patriciasreadingroom

http://www.patriciasreadingroom.blogspot.com

This is a review of the audiobook