The Chief Paperback – Illustrated, 6 September 2001

Really enjoyable biography, 600 pages but reads like a novel.

Arrived in perfect condition

The Chief is a well researched and excellent addition to the life of William Randolph Hearst who built the Hearst media empire. This is not a Hearst can do no wrong type of biography and strikes a very balanced tone in assessing the Chief's successes and his failures. There is excellent research done into his family life and how those relationships played out through his parents, his wife and his mistress. His role in newspaper publishing and Hollywood is discussed and for those who had any faith left in the press it will be shattered by the time you are done with this book. The yellow journalism of the Gilded Age and the political machines that were backed by the papers is a fascinating yet scary thing to read about. Don't be put off by the daunting number of pages in the book as it is a quick read and you actually feel as though you want more information in certain areas although given the lack available it is not possible. Overall a truly excellent book and well worth the time to read.

Enjoyable. Informative.

This book is about William Randolph Hearst, the political publishing magnate who drew opinions so strong that Orson Welles that modelled Citizen Kane on him.This book might be a little dated now. It was first published in 2000, and has been sitting on my “To Read” list since that time. I’ll be honest. I knew little about the Hearst family before starting this book. I was aware of Patty Hearst, and the SLA, and that Welles portrayed Hearst as a megalomaniacal puppeteer who pulled people’s strings across the US, to watch them jump to his tune.Naturally, things are… more complex than that. Was Hearst a Anti-WWII, red baiting Anti-Communist yellow journalist who could be both racist and Anti-Semitic in his later life? Absolutely. He was most of those things, most of his life, and it almost cost him everything in the late 1930. Yet he could also be a pro-municipal ownership Democrat, many of whose positions were taken on by FDR. The book will encourage you to see him both ways. Like everyone, Hearst is complicated.In short, the book is thorough, and will give you a nuanced view of Hearst. It’s just possible you might not always like him, though, by the end of the book.