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The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst
The definitive and “utterly absorbing” biography of America’s first news media baron based on newly released private and business documents ( Vanity Fair ).
In The Chief , David Nasaw presents an intimate portrait of William Randolph Hearst, famously characterized in the classic film Citizen Kane, and whose influence was nearly as great as many world leaders.
A brilliant business strategist, Hearst controlled the largest publishing empire in the United States, including twenty-eight newspapers, the Cosmopolitan Picture Studio, radio stations, and thirteen magazines. He quickly learned how to use this media stronghold to achieve unprecedented political power.
The son of a gold miner, Hearst underwent a public metamorphosis from Harvard dropout to political kingmaker; from outspoken populist to opponent of the New Deal; and from citizen to congressman.?
With unprecedented access to Hearst’s personal and business papers, Nasaw details Heart’s relationship with his wife Millicent and his romance with Marion Davies; his interactions with Hitler, Mussolini, Churchill, and every American president from Grover Cleveland to Franklin Roosevelt; and his acquaintance with movie giants such as Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, and Irving Thalberg.
An “absorbing, sympathetic portrait of an American original,” The Chief sheds light on the private life of a very public man (Chicago Tribune).
In The Chief , David Nasaw presents an intimate portrait of William Randolph Hearst, famously characterized in the classic film Citizen Kane, and whose influence was nearly as great as many world leaders.
A brilliant business strategist, Hearst controlled the largest publishing empire in the United States, including twenty-eight newspapers, the Cosmopolitan Picture Studio, radio stations, and thirteen magazines. He quickly learned how to use this media stronghold to achieve unprecedented political power.
The son of a gold miner, Hearst underwent a public metamorphosis from Harvard dropout to political kingmaker; from outspoken populist to opponent of the New Deal; and from citizen to congressman.?
With unprecedented access to Hearst’s personal and business papers, Nasaw details Heart’s relationship with his wife Millicent and his romance with Marion Davies; his interactions with Hitler, Mussolini, Churchill, and every American president from Grover Cleveland to Franklin Roosevelt; and his acquaintance with movie giants such as Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, and Irving Thalberg.
An “absorbing, sympathetic portrait of an American original,” The Chief sheds light on the private life of a very public man (Chicago Tribune).
736 pages, Paperback
First published June 16, 2000
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About the author
David Nasaw
19 books175 followersDavid Nasaw is an American author, biographer and historian who specializes in the cultural, social and business history of early 20th Century America. Nasaw is on the faculty of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he is the Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Professor of History.
In addition to writing numerous scholarly and popular books, he has written for publications such as the Columbia Journalism Review, American Historical Review, American Heritage, Dissent, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, The London Review of Books, and Condé Nast Traveler.
Nasaw has appeared in several documentaries, including The American Experience, 1996, and two episodes of the History Channel's April 2006 miniseries 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America: "The Homestead Strike" and "The Assassination of President McKinley". He is cited extensively in the US and British media as an expert on the history of popular entertainment and the news media, and as a critic of American philanthropy.
In addition to writing numerous scholarly and popular books, he has written for publications such as the Columbia Journalism Review, American Historical Review, American Heritage, Dissent, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, The London Review of Books, and Condé Nast Traveler.
Nasaw has appeared in several documentaries, including The American Experience, 1996, and two episodes of the History Channel's April 2006 miniseries 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America: "The Homestead Strike" and "The Assassination of President McKinley". He is cited extensively in the US and British media as an expert on the history of popular entertainment and the news media, and as a critic of American philanthropy.
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December 7, 2025
"I don't know how to run a newspaper. I just try everything I can". Charles Foster Kane, the faux William Randolph Hearst in CITIZEN KANE
William Randolph Hearst is one of those few figures in American history of whom we think of the fictional portrayal first and the man second, in this case, thanks to Orson Welles. Yet Hearst would still be counted as a giant in American life even if Welles had not savagely parodied him on film. More than any other figure before or since, from Walter Winchell to Andy Warhol, publishing tycoon Hearst erased the line between news and entertainment and made celebrities out of murderers, Wall Street barons (Donald Trump would be unthinkable without W.R. Hearst), and crooked politicians. In that sense he was a populist, leveling the playing field so that anyone could become a star. This extended to his politics as well. Elected to Congress as a Democrat, he held presidential ambitions but fell victim to bad timing. He had to simultaneously compete with a genuine populist, The Great Commoner, William Jennings Bryan, and later a paternalist elitist, Woodrow Wilson. Hearst fueled the 1898 Spanish-American War through "yellow journalism" but wisely counseled the U.S. to stay out of World War I until public opinion shifted him into jingoism again. The Chief, as his employees called him, really did "run out of liquid cash", as Kane says in the film, during the Great Depression, and had to accept loans from his mistress, movie star Marion Davies. This is a largely favorable and sizeable biography of a flawed titan who still looms large over American politics and media, and for Hearst that meant the same thing.
William Randolph Hearst is one of those few figures in American history of whom we think of the fictional portrayal first and the man second, in this case, thanks to Orson Welles. Yet Hearst would still be counted as a giant in American life even if Welles had not savagely parodied him on film. More than any other figure before or since, from Walter Winchell to Andy Warhol, publishing tycoon Hearst erased the line between news and entertainment and made celebrities out of murderers, Wall Street barons (Donald Trump would be unthinkable without W.R. Hearst), and crooked politicians. In that sense he was a populist, leveling the playing field so that anyone could become a star. This extended to his politics as well. Elected to Congress as a Democrat, he held presidential ambitions but fell victim to bad timing. He had to simultaneously compete with a genuine populist, The Great Commoner, William Jennings Bryan, and later a paternalist elitist, Woodrow Wilson. Hearst fueled the 1898 Spanish-American War through "yellow journalism" but wisely counseled the U.S. to stay out of World War I until public opinion shifted him into jingoism again. The Chief, as his employees called him, really did "run out of liquid cash", as Kane says in the film, during the Great Depression, and had to accept loans from his mistress, movie star Marion Davies. This is a largely favorable and sizeable biography of a flawed titan who still looms large over American politics and media, and for Hearst that meant the same thing.
February 18, 2023
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Although more recent biographies of Hearst are now available, David Nasaw's "The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst" remains the standard biography of this idiosyncratic media tycoon. Nasaw is a biographer and Professor of History at City University of New York. His most popular books are biographies of Joseph P. Kennedy (which I liked) and Andrew Carnegie (which I loved).
William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) is a remarkably fascinating, but often infuriating, biographical subject. He was born with a silver spoon nearby...if not quite in his mouth. But he learned the art of hard work and perseverance from his father - a self-made mining millionaire. Handed a golden goose (the San Francisco Examiner) at the age of twenty-four, he built an enormous media empire which survives to this day.
Hearst also served as a congressman and unsuccessfully ran for President of the United States, Mayor of New York City (twice) and Governor of New York. Although he was married for nearly fifty years, Hearst enjoyed life with a "domestic partner" for more than thirty years. And his Hearst Castle is a uniquely eclectic and popular West-Coast tourist destination.
Nasaw tackles this imposing media mogul skillfully, leaning on previously unavailable sources including many of Hearst's personal and business papers. The book's narrative spans just over six-hundred pages and dispassionately dissects Hearst's personal and professional lives with appropriate depth if not with consistently tantalizing texture.
Particularly well-described are Hearst's relationship with his absentee father and ever-present (meddlesome) mother, his fiscal profligacy, his relationships with his wife Millicent and paramour Marion, and the difficulties he encountered building his home near San Simeon. In addition, while some biographers might analyze Hearst's empire in a way only an accountant could love, Nasaw is thoughtfully parsimonious with the detail he provides.
But for all its merits, this biography exhibits some clear shortcomings. Hearst's life and travels are ideally suited to dramatic literary scene-setting. And a biographer could provide unparalleled access to the world of muckraking journalism, New York politics and the breathlessly beautiful California vistas. But readers will find the narrative significantly less "colorful" than it could have been; all-too-frequently it exudes an impassive facts-only feel.
In addition, while the construction of Hearst's California mansion is nicely described, anyone who has visited this impressive home will wish that Nasaw had more fully described its remarkable layout and design. And readers familiar with Citizen Kane are likely to wish Nasaw had dived far more deeply into the similarities and differences between Orson Welles's character and Hearst himself.
Overall, though, David Nasaw's "The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst" is a well written and thoroughly researched biography of this renowned media mogul. While not quite as absorbing as Nasaw's biography of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, "The Chief" is unmistakably rewarding and seems likely to remain the definitive biography of Hearst for the foreseeable future.
Overall rating: 4 stars
Although more recent biographies of Hearst are now available, David Nasaw's "The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst" remains the standard biography of this idiosyncratic media tycoon. Nasaw is a biographer and Professor of History at City University of New York. His most popular books are biographies of Joseph P. Kennedy (which I liked) and Andrew Carnegie (which I loved).
William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) is a remarkably fascinating, but often infuriating, biographical subject. He was born with a silver spoon nearby...if not quite in his mouth. But he learned the art of hard work and perseverance from his father - a self-made mining millionaire. Handed a golden goose (the San Francisco Examiner) at the age of twenty-four, he built an enormous media empire which survives to this day.
Hearst also served as a congressman and unsuccessfully ran for President of the United States, Mayor of New York City (twice) and Governor of New York. Although he was married for nearly fifty years, Hearst enjoyed life with a "domestic partner" for more than thirty years. And his Hearst Castle is a uniquely eclectic and popular West-Coast tourist destination.
Nasaw tackles this imposing media mogul skillfully, leaning on previously unavailable sources including many of Hearst's personal and business papers. The book's narrative spans just over six-hundred pages and dispassionately dissects Hearst's personal and professional lives with appropriate depth if not with consistently tantalizing texture.
Particularly well-described are Hearst's relationship with his absentee father and ever-present (meddlesome) mother, his fiscal profligacy, his relationships with his wife Millicent and paramour Marion, and the difficulties he encountered building his home near San Simeon. In addition, while some biographers might analyze Hearst's empire in a way only an accountant could love, Nasaw is thoughtfully parsimonious with the detail he provides.
But for all its merits, this biography exhibits some clear shortcomings. Hearst's life and travels are ideally suited to dramatic literary scene-setting. And a biographer could provide unparalleled access to the world of muckraking journalism, New York politics and the breathlessly beautiful California vistas. But readers will find the narrative significantly less "colorful" than it could have been; all-too-frequently it exudes an impassive facts-only feel.
In addition, while the construction of Hearst's California mansion is nicely described, anyone who has visited this impressive home will wish that Nasaw had more fully described its remarkable layout and design. And readers familiar with Citizen Kane are likely to wish Nasaw had dived far more deeply into the similarities and differences between Orson Welles's character and Hearst himself.
Overall, though, David Nasaw's "The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst" is a well written and thoroughly researched biography of this renowned media mogul. While not quite as absorbing as Nasaw's biography of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, "The Chief" is unmistakably rewarding and seems likely to remain the definitive biography of Hearst for the foreseeable future.
Overall rating: 4 stars
July 1, 2021
After a spat of reading biographies that aren't really biographies, it was refreshing to read one that was.
I really didn't know too much about Hearst, but now I do.
During his heyday, Hearst was one of the most powerful men in America. While we generally think about power in the form of wealth or politics, Hearst mastered the art of multi-tiered marketting/news.
Hearst built up an empire of Newspapers, radio, TV, and film empires. He used those sources to boost the influence and circulation of the other. If a Hearst produced movie were coming out, he'd use his media sources to provide positive reviews. Then the movie might have one of the lead characters explain how they know the story is true because they read about it in a Heart owned newspaper or radio station.
Hearst was not above making his newspapers part of the news (in fact he relished in it). Often times his papers would flount their own success/actions. Headlines would boast the papers success or role in reporting the news and failures of others. If the news didn't exist, he created it and claimed other media souces didn't have same resources he had.
For example, prior to the Spanish American War, Hearst hired a highly respected correspondent. He sent the correspondent to Cuba to cover the insurrections going on in Cuba. When the correspondent failed to report anything, he started publishing stories of the rebels.
By the time the Maine exploded, he had primed America for war. Before there was any evidence of the cause of the explosion, Hearts media declared it was an act of war. Hearst bragged about how his coverage lead the US to war.
First really good bio of the year.
I really didn't know too much about Hearst, but now I do.
During his heyday, Hearst was one of the most powerful men in America. While we generally think about power in the form of wealth or politics, Hearst mastered the art of multi-tiered marketting/news.
Hearst built up an empire of Newspapers, radio, TV, and film empires. He used those sources to boost the influence and circulation of the other. If a Hearst produced movie were coming out, he'd use his media sources to provide positive reviews. Then the movie might have one of the lead characters explain how they know the story is true because they read about it in a Heart owned newspaper or radio station.
Hearst was not above making his newspapers part of the news (in fact he relished in it). Often times his papers would flount their own success/actions. Headlines would boast the papers success or role in reporting the news and failures of others. If the news didn't exist, he created it and claimed other media souces didn't have same resources he had.
For example, prior to the Spanish American War, Hearst hired a highly respected correspondent. He sent the correspondent to Cuba to cover the insurrections going on in Cuba. When the correspondent failed to report anything, he started publishing stories of the rebels.
By the time the Maine exploded, he had primed America for war. Before there was any evidence of the cause of the explosion, Hearts media declared it was an act of war. Hearst bragged about how his coverage lead the US to war.
First really good bio of the year.
July 8, 2009
This is a long book! I had a hard time rating this book because I went through so many ups and downs with it. I loved the first 200 pages, was semi-bored by the next 100 pages, and then it went back and forth from there. Much of why I did not like some of this book had more to do with my own political outlook which is so very different from Hearst's. Hearst is the embodiment of everything I abhor about the news media - he started it. He was the kind of man who created the news (as opposed to just reporting it), decided how the people were going to think by dictating exactly what articles and editorials would be printed, and much of what they were going to say. When there wasn't news, he made it up. There was nothing impartial about Hearst or the papers he owned - they pressed his agenda heavily. For these reasons (and the fact that politics generally bore me and he was a big politician - or tried to be), I struggled through many parts of this book.
However, that said, he was certainly a fascinating man who knew what he wanted and had a strong drive to achieve it. This was a very well researched book - I think Nasaw read the biographies and autobiographies of every peron in any way associated with Hearst, positive or negative, as well as a lot of non-published material in order to write this book. I felt that this was a relatively unbiased account of Hearst's life and I think that Nasaw did a pretty good job presenting Hearst, his life and accomplishments, and his relationships honestly. After reading it, I feel I have a very good feel for who Hearst was, what made him that man, and how others felt about him. This is as complete a biography as I would imagine one to be as it seems that Nasaw read all the others for us and incorporated them into this account.
If you are interested in the history of the media (from one side of spectrum), or curious about the life of W.R. Hearst, this is a great book and I highly recommend it. However, be forewarned that it is very long and can drag in parts. Hearst lived a long life and this book covers everything from before he was born until after his death, personally and professionally. I don't think the whole book will appeal to many, but I think parts of it will appeal to most - you just have to weed through th rest to get to the parts you're most interested in.
However, that said, he was certainly a fascinating man who knew what he wanted and had a strong drive to achieve it. This was a very well researched book - I think Nasaw read the biographies and autobiographies of every peron in any way associated with Hearst, positive or negative, as well as a lot of non-published material in order to write this book. I felt that this was a relatively unbiased account of Hearst's life and I think that Nasaw did a pretty good job presenting Hearst, his life and accomplishments, and his relationships honestly. After reading it, I feel I have a very good feel for who Hearst was, what made him that man, and how others felt about him. This is as complete a biography as I would imagine one to be as it seems that Nasaw read all the others for us and incorporated them into this account.
If you are interested in the history of the media (from one side of spectrum), or curious about the life of W.R. Hearst, this is a great book and I highly recommend it. However, be forewarned that it is very long and can drag in parts. Hearst lived a long life and this book covers everything from before he was born until after his death, personally and professionally. I don't think the whole book will appeal to many, but I think parts of it will appeal to most - you just have to weed through th rest to get to the parts you're most interested in.
December 30, 2019
A full review to follow. Suffice it to say that this is a good look into the life of the publishing giant and yes, Citizen Kane is mentioned in depth.
November 11, 2014
As a big fan of Orson Welles and "Citizen Kane" I thought I was long overdue in learning more about William Randolph Hearst. David Nasaw's biography "The Chief" seemed to be a highly regarded choice and I'm glad I took the time.
While the book is an extensively researched and authoritative life history of a grand American figure, only a short chapter near the end is about Kane. That's fine, as the whole story of Hearst's life, family, work and politics does an admirable job of helping the reader understand why he was much more than a very rich man with a lot of newspapers to use as a bully pulpit. The author gives us a broad and deep portrait of a man with many gifts, and an equal number of flaws, who could have achieved much more if he had only been a bit less stubborn and polemical. The same could be said of his personal life. WRH could dish out the criticism but was never able to take it. Worse yet, he didn't listen to his financial advisers when they told him to stop spending money he didn't have. That failure, along with some unpopular political views that led to boycotts of his papers, led to his downfall.
While I will still enjoy watching "Citizen Kane" I'm glad I now have a better understanding of the man who inspired it, even if the movie doesn't quite do him justice.
While the book is an extensively researched and authoritative life history of a grand American figure, only a short chapter near the end is about Kane. That's fine, as the whole story of Hearst's life, family, work and politics does an admirable job of helping the reader understand why he was much more than a very rich man with a lot of newspapers to use as a bully pulpit. The author gives us a broad and deep portrait of a man with many gifts, and an equal number of flaws, who could have achieved much more if he had only been a bit less stubborn and polemical. The same could be said of his personal life. WRH could dish out the criticism but was never able to take it. Worse yet, he didn't listen to his financial advisers when they told him to stop spending money he didn't have. That failure, along with some unpopular political views that led to boycotts of his papers, led to his downfall.
While I will still enjoy watching "Citizen Kane" I'm glad I now have a better understanding of the man who inspired it, even if the movie doesn't quite do him justice.
November 25, 2017
Having been to the Hearst castle at San Simeon, I have always wanted to know more about the life of William Randolph Hearst. The inspiration for the classic film “Citizen Kane”, Hearst was a wealthy publishing magnate whose knack for creating news reminds one of TMZ’s Harvey Levin in today’s world. Hearst could take items that on the surface might not mean much and transform them into newsworthy events. He was “a master at constructing news from nothing.” Today, the Hearst empire still continues in various forms including sports, magazines, entertainment, and internet. This bio was quite good overall, but the writing style seemed rather dry at times.
September 11, 2015
This is a very well-written and thoroughly researched biography about one of the most influential - arguably the most influential - newspaper publisher ever. Nasaw spent a lot of time researching this, and you can tell as you read through the book. While some biographers focus much more on the professional or business sides of their subjects, and less on the personal one, Nasaw expertly navigates both and intertwines them - much as Hearst had them intertwined.
Nasaw details the amassing of a fortune in mining by Hearst's father, George, and how his mother, Phoebe, constantly dominated his life and meddled in it until she died, even though Hearst was well into middle age by then. Hearst was spoiled rotten - getting everything and anything that he wanted. This started in childhood and continued throughout his life except for about eight years during the Great Depression. And, even then, the reductions forced on him would have been unfathomable to 99.99% of the rest of the world.
I actually found parts of this book to be somewhat annoying - not because of the writing, but because of Hearst himself. He was just not a likeable person. Megalomaniacal, arrogant, imperial, autocratic, obdurate, war-monger when he should not have been (Spanish American War) and then an isolationist in WWI and WWII. The chapters about him continuing to buy art collections, residences, and the never-ending construction of his various castles just got to be too much for me to read about. I understand why Nasaw did this, as later on he uses it to show just how exorbitant and financially overextended Hearst had become.
Interesting chapter towards the end about the film "Citizen Kane." I wish Nasaw had analyzed the parallels and differences between the film and the real Hearst a little more. Excellent ending about the Hearst dynasty and what happened to it. Nasaw is a fine biographer and I will definitely read some more of his work.
Grade: A-
Nasaw details the amassing of a fortune in mining by Hearst's father, George, and how his mother, Phoebe, constantly dominated his life and meddled in it until she died, even though Hearst was well into middle age by then. Hearst was spoiled rotten - getting everything and anything that he wanted. This started in childhood and continued throughout his life except for about eight years during the Great Depression. And, even then, the reductions forced on him would have been unfathomable to 99.99% of the rest of the world.
I actually found parts of this book to be somewhat annoying - not because of the writing, but because of Hearst himself. He was just not a likeable person. Megalomaniacal, arrogant, imperial, autocratic, obdurate, war-monger when he should not have been (Spanish American War) and then an isolationist in WWI and WWII. The chapters about him continuing to buy art collections, residences, and the never-ending construction of his various castles just got to be too much for me to read about. I understand why Nasaw did this, as later on he uses it to show just how exorbitant and financially overextended Hearst had become.
Interesting chapter towards the end about the film "Citizen Kane." I wish Nasaw had analyzed the parallels and differences between the film and the real Hearst a little more. Excellent ending about the Hearst dynasty and what happened to it. Nasaw is a fine biographer and I will definitely read some more of his work.
Grade: A-
August 6, 2016
This might as well be an authorized biography because Nasaw's overly sympathetic writing glosses over Hearst's every flaw. This dry and repetitive puff piece is utterly partial to a man who made his fortune exploiting the false promise of universal stardom and inciting inter-cultural animosity. A hedonist from birth to death, Hearst will make readers thankful that he isn't the only model for how a tycoon can act. As for David Nasaw-- well, let's just say I won't be buying his forthcoming volume on Joseph Kennedy (his fetish for lush meglomaniacs hardly entices).
June 20, 2025
A first rate biography and anyone needing more substantive support than my word I recommend you read the reviews at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/200.... But that doesn't make it a scintillating read. It is the best biography Hearst is likely to get for a very long time. If he gets another, and I have my doubts he ever will, it will be because he has inspired a work of art (Citizen Kane) not because his life is worth investigating. In the end Hearst as a legend is more interesting then the reality.
March 9, 2024
David Nasaw remains even handed throughout, only occasionally and slightly tending more towards flattery, certainly more impartial than I stayed while reading.
As an aside, you may’ve heard me shout, Ha!, at Nasaw’s assessment, written in 2000, that “…publishers and media moguls would learn from Hearst’s negative example to keep their politics out of their publications, so as not to offend potential readers, advertisers, or investors.”
As an aside, you may’ve heard me shout, Ha!, at Nasaw’s assessment, written in 2000, that “…publishers and media moguls would learn from Hearst’s negative example to keep their politics out of their publications, so as not to offend potential readers, advertisers, or investors.”
April 2, 2022
David Nasaw seems like a super under rated biographer to me. Are enough people talking about him? Maybe I just don’t know where people talk about biographers.
This is an excellent book about William Randolph Hearst, who leaves a very complicated legacy. He helped usher in opinion based journalism targeted at influencing the masses toward particular political viewpoints. Though his politics changed all over the place through his life, a lot of his takes aged horribly like paying Mussolini and Hitler for columns.
He also helped introduce comics to newspapers, was a pioneer in films, and was the despairing subject of Citizen Kane. A lot of his success certainly has to be attributed to inherited wealth, as his father was a millionaire from the Gold Rush. Hearst had to be one of the most prodigious spenders of money in American history, essentially always expanding his empire through debt upon debt. His burn rate was today’s equivalent of tens of millions per year on personal projects and art collections alone. A pretty interesting character I didn’t know much about before the book. I left unsure what to really think of him, which is a compliment to the author’s balanced depiction.
This is an excellent book about William Randolph Hearst, who leaves a very complicated legacy. He helped usher in opinion based journalism targeted at influencing the masses toward particular political viewpoints. Though his politics changed all over the place through his life, a lot of his takes aged horribly like paying Mussolini and Hitler for columns.
He also helped introduce comics to newspapers, was a pioneer in films, and was the despairing subject of Citizen Kane. A lot of his success certainly has to be attributed to inherited wealth, as his father was a millionaire from the Gold Rush. Hearst had to be one of the most prodigious spenders of money in American history, essentially always expanding his empire through debt upon debt. His burn rate was today’s equivalent of tens of millions per year on personal projects and art collections alone. A pretty interesting character I didn’t know much about before the book. I left unsure what to really think of him, which is a compliment to the author’s balanced depiction.
May 16, 2010
William Randolph Hearst is one of the more interesting historical characters. He was an enigma; a prude and yet he lived openly with his mistress for thirty-five years. As the author David Nasaw says in the beginning "he was a big man with a small voice; a shy man who was most comfortable in a crowd."
If you're interested in ridiculous amounts of money, enigmas, conglomerates, politicians, architecture, a bad spending habit, the New York night life, mistresses, Zigfield Follies, the silent film era, Hollywood, reporters, newspapers, mining and Forty-Niners, Harvard dropouts and people who were important enough to have an Orson Welles movie made about them, Hearst is the guy for you.
However, if you don't like weighty text, 600 page biographies about one person, or an endless supply of day-to-day telegrams and letters written as long as one hundred and thirty years ago, you might not enjoy this biography.
Just read Hearst's Wikipedia page, pick up "Citizen Kane" at Blockbuster and watch A&E's special on San Simeon on Netflix Instant.
If you're interested in ridiculous amounts of money, enigmas, conglomerates, politicians, architecture, a bad spending habit, the New York night life, mistresses, Zigfield Follies, the silent film era, Hollywood, reporters, newspapers, mining and Forty-Niners, Harvard dropouts and people who were important enough to have an Orson Welles movie made about them, Hearst is the guy for you.
However, if you don't like weighty text, 600 page biographies about one person, or an endless supply of day-to-day telegrams and letters written as long as one hundred and thirty years ago, you might not enjoy this biography.
Just read Hearst's Wikipedia page, pick up "Citizen Kane" at Blockbuster and watch A&E's special on San Simeon on Netflix Instant.
March 14, 2017
Really excellent in-depth biography of publishing czar William Randolph Hearst (among other business ventures). There's even a chapter on "Citizen Kane" which was certainly based on Hearst, and which suffered at the box office as a result of Hearst's wrath.
I took the tour of Hearst Castle a little over 40 years ago and it was interesting to read about the many years that it took to build, furnish, and continually refurbish the estate.
**#34 of 120 books pledged to read/review during 2017**
I took the tour of Hearst Castle a little over 40 years ago and it was interesting to read about the many years that it took to build, furnish, and continually refurbish the estate.
**#34 of 120 books pledged to read/review during 2017**
November 15, 2012
A grand portrait of a man who helped define his era and participated in all of its great events.
If Hearst is remembered for anything today, though, it is probably for his portrayal by Orson Welles as the dark and brooding "Citizen Kane" (1941), a tycoon obsessed with mortality and power. There are aspects of Charles Foster Kane in Hearst, as Nasaw points out, but in fact Hearst's most defining attribute was his childish jovialness, something the comes across throughout this biography.
The son of a Western mining millionaire and Senator, Hearst grew up in California bereft of worry or want, blessed with a doting mother who tried to compensate for his father's absences with constant fawning attention. The result was a perpetually joyful and confident young adult, supremely sure of himself and his position in the world. At Harvard, despite his short lineage and outlandish clothes, he bought his way into all the choicest clubs with expensive entertaining and gifts. When he dropped out, he returned to San Francisco to buy the Examiner newspaper and showered it with money until it bested all of its competitors. He performed a similar trick in New York, where his Journal surpassed Joseph Pulitizer's World after Hearst up bought up all of Pulitizer's writers and comic strip artists. Hearst then snak money into creating some of the first color Sunday comics. No expense was too great, and Hearst always knew his money and his drive could get him through almost any difficulty. The more surprising thing is that his drive caused all this spending to bring in real returns, and his papers paid back what he put into them. He soon bought up enough newspapers in fact to have 10% of the nation's subscribers reading his words every day, 20% on Sundays when his color comics and special Sunday magazine came out.
Yet his papers were largely fodder for his political dreams. It was no secret that he wanted to be President, and he devoted much of the first 50 years of his life to that end. After a short term as congressman, he used the mouthpiece of his papers to try and become the Democratic Party's 1904 presidential candidate. A national outcry against the "radical", however, caused him to lose delegates at the convention. He moved on to a campaign for the New York mayoralty, on his own "Municipal Ownership" ticket. Despite being denounced as a demagogue and a rabble-rouser by all the respectable papers, he came within a hair's breadth of winning, and certainly only lost because of Tammany skulduggery. Another close campaign, this time for the New York governorship as a Democrat, but without crucial Democrat support, caused him to lose faith in the party entirely. His attempts to run a mechanic for President in 1908 on his "Independence League" ticket faded out, and represented his last plausible chance at real power.
Even after he should have lost hope, however, he kept trying, and in any case kept trying to wiggle his way close to the seat of power, using his papers to puff up anyone whom he thought might grant him access and a friendly ear. He would shamelessly praise any politician who invited him, even temporarily, into their inner-circle. As he turned more conservative and isolationist in his later years, he even fawned over Hitler and Mussolini, both of whom became syndicated columnists for the Hearst newspapers in the 1920s, and both of whom were very grateful for the high rates Hearst paid his writers.
There's much more here of course: such as how Hearst created some of the first movie newsreels and how he became the largest player in silent-era Hollywood. Sometimes Nasaw spends too much time dealing with all his picayune projects, and lavish spending habits, but the overall picture is a wonderful look at early 20th century America, seen through the eyes of one of its most peculiar products.
May 3, 2014
Let me first say that I had never read anything about William Randolph Hearst before getting this book. I bought it because I had just read a good biography on Joseph Pulitzer and Hearst came into Pulitzer's life right as he made it big and also his health problems started. So that interested me,as did the movie Citizen Kane. As a 7th grader somehow I had ended up in a class called Plays, Film and Fantasy. It that class we discussed plays and films and thats the first time I heard of Orson Welles.
I have read several biographies on Orson Welles and also about the film Citizen Kane. So I had a natural dislike of William Randolph Hearst. Needless to say, this book was a revelation to me. To my great surprise WRH was a liberal Democrat years ahead of the Democratic party. From the time he arrived in New York City and started to build his empire he was on the side of the working man and against the Trusts that owned the water, sewer, electricity, etc...
He put his mouth where his money was by using his growing newspaper empire to express his views. This really really surprised me. I had only known about Hearst being a rich and powerful tycoon that spent too much money on art and houses. He spent a good part of his life fighting for workers rights and the poor. He made enemies in his own political party because of it. He made a run at some political positions, but his working man philosophy made his party reject him.
This is really a great book. It's easy to read and from what I've read it has the most personal information of any Hearst biography. The author is skilled at making this a fun read too. That's quite a skill for a biographer. Even if you don't have a serious interest in WRH there is so much information about other historical figures that any history buff will thoroughly enjoy this.
Two things that I found funny about WRH that I never knew were 1) he was way over his head in debt his whole life, but made people believe he was extremely rich, 2) he is one of the world's biggest hypocrites when it mattered most in American history.
All that working man stuff and workers rights went out the window as soon as a real Democrat took the office of President and started to implement these ideas into real life. WRH wrote the whole Conservative playbook that is still used today by Republicans against Democrats to try to convince people that progressive ideas not only don't work, but are either communistic, socialist, or fascist by nature. He also created the hype around universities being over-run with liberal professors and that the United States Government was full of communists trying to destroy the American way of life.
This came so late in the book and his life that I was really surprised when it happened. Thankfully, it destroyed him personally and financially. His editorials that used to be read by most people and politicians were ignored after a couple of years of his hypocrisy. He was or felt he was a world influencer and thought he could sway Adolf Hitler and Mussolini, who he paid to write editorials for him. He was also late to the party to realizing that Hitler was a psychotic murderer with a limited education.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves history. WRH was famous from the late 1880's all the way into the late 1940's, so you get information on a lot of famous people along the way. The writing is superb.
I have read several biographies on Orson Welles and also about the film Citizen Kane. So I had a natural dislike of William Randolph Hearst. Needless to say, this book was a revelation to me. To my great surprise WRH was a liberal Democrat years ahead of the Democratic party. From the time he arrived in New York City and started to build his empire he was on the side of the working man and against the Trusts that owned the water, sewer, electricity, etc...
He put his mouth where his money was by using his growing newspaper empire to express his views. This really really surprised me. I had only known about Hearst being a rich and powerful tycoon that spent too much money on art and houses. He spent a good part of his life fighting for workers rights and the poor. He made enemies in his own political party because of it. He made a run at some political positions, but his working man philosophy made his party reject him.
This is really a great book. It's easy to read and from what I've read it has the most personal information of any Hearst biography. The author is skilled at making this a fun read too. That's quite a skill for a biographer. Even if you don't have a serious interest in WRH there is so much information about other historical figures that any history buff will thoroughly enjoy this.
Two things that I found funny about WRH that I never knew were 1) he was way over his head in debt his whole life, but made people believe he was extremely rich, 2) he is one of the world's biggest hypocrites when it mattered most in American history.
All that working man stuff and workers rights went out the window as soon as a real Democrat took the office of President and started to implement these ideas into real life. WRH wrote the whole Conservative playbook that is still used today by Republicans against Democrats to try to convince people that progressive ideas not only don't work, but are either communistic, socialist, or fascist by nature. He also created the hype around universities being over-run with liberal professors and that the United States Government was full of communists trying to destroy the American way of life.
This came so late in the book and his life that I was really surprised when it happened. Thankfully, it destroyed him personally and financially. His editorials that used to be read by most people and politicians were ignored after a couple of years of his hypocrisy. He was or felt he was a world influencer and thought he could sway Adolf Hitler and Mussolini, who he paid to write editorials for him. He was also late to the party to realizing that Hitler was a psychotic murderer with a limited education.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves history. WRH was famous from the late 1880's all the way into the late 1940's, so you get information on a lot of famous people along the way. The writing is superb.
January 31, 2021
David Nasaw's 600-page biography of the newspaper and multimedia tycoon is probably the definitive one. The book explores Hearst's amazing life in all its contradictory trajectories, progressive early in life, conservative later. The 1890s term "yellow journalism" was coined to describe Hearst's (and publisher Joseph Pulitzer's) use of shameless journalistic sensationalism; Hearst made a fortune railing against entrenched monopolistic political powers on behalf of his working class readers. He was a prescient pioneer in creating a synergistic business model exploited later by even larger corporate giants, making movies based on short stories already published in his magazines and newspapers, and then, full circle, promoting those same movies (often starring his mistress and life-long companion, Marion Davies) in his magazines and newspapers.
Hearst lived and spent large, constantly updating his castle in San Simeon, CA, owning on the same land what was the largest privately owned zoo in the world, nearly every day ordering enough antiques from auction catalogs that they filled entire warehouses (German comic books were one of the first things he collected as a boy; later, the merchandising of comic strips he published in his newspapers helped keep his company afloat during hard times). Hearst had a voracious, devil-may-care personality, optimistic, fun-loving, generous to friends and employees. He was also politically naïve, letting his American isolationist prejudices lead him to believe and trust the "good intentions" of the pre-WWII Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Director Orson Welles said (out of self-preservation) at the time of his making Citizen Kane that his film was not based on Hearst. That he said it wasn't is patently ridiculous, and yet he was inadvertently correct. Neither Hearst or Marion Davies were much like the characters Welles and screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz put on the screen. The real people were ever more nuanced, complex and interesting.
Nasaw's book is eminently readable, painstakingly researched, and careful to keep the author's personal views out of the picture most of the time. Beginning with mining operator George Hearst (born in 1820) and ending with the aftermath of Hearst's passing in 1951, the scope of the story is huge and mesmerizing.
Hearst lived and spent large, constantly updating his castle in San Simeon, CA, owning on the same land what was the largest privately owned zoo in the world, nearly every day ordering enough antiques from auction catalogs that they filled entire warehouses (German comic books were one of the first things he collected as a boy; later, the merchandising of comic strips he published in his newspapers helped keep his company afloat during hard times). Hearst had a voracious, devil-may-care personality, optimistic, fun-loving, generous to friends and employees. He was also politically naïve, letting his American isolationist prejudices lead him to believe and trust the "good intentions" of the pre-WWII Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Director Orson Welles said (out of self-preservation) at the time of his making Citizen Kane that his film was not based on Hearst. That he said it wasn't is patently ridiculous, and yet he was inadvertently correct. Neither Hearst or Marion Davies were much like the characters Welles and screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz put on the screen. The real people were ever more nuanced, complex and interesting.
Nasaw's book is eminently readable, painstakingly researched, and careful to keep the author's personal views out of the picture most of the time. Beginning with mining operator George Hearst (born in 1820) and ending with the aftermath of Hearst's passing in 1951, the scope of the story is huge and mesmerizing.
January 13, 2021
David Nasaw's, "The Chief: The Life Of William Randolph Hearst," is a long, comprehensive, detailed, exceptionally well written biography of a man whose influence was nearly as great as many world leaders. His publishing empire, during the nineteen twenties and thirties, made up twenty percent of newspaper readership across the country. He was also a major player in the advent of the movie business and he immediately understood that this new medium could be as powerful, if not more so, than newspapers and radio. He served a term in the U.S. Congress. He had the likes of Mussolini, Churchill, and Hitler writing for his papers. He influenced the policies of presidents, such as F.D.R. and Hoover.
Yes, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father struck it rich during the gold rush in California, and other parts of the country. But his son took the money left to him and made it into something so large and powerful that, few people left with that amount of money, could have conceived of doing what he did.
He was as controversial as they come, an obsessive collector of art and real estate, who thrived on having people around him. During my reading of this book I thought, at times, of Mr. Hearst as a genius and other times I thought of him as a reckless businessman and an egoist, and by the end of the book I was undecided about whether he was a genius or reckless businessman, a visionary or an opportunist, but the one thing I was positive about was his lasting influence and his deserving place and stature in the history of the country.
Yes, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father struck it rich during the gold rush in California, and other parts of the country. But his son took the money left to him and made it into something so large and powerful that, few people left with that amount of money, could have conceived of doing what he did.
He was as controversial as they come, an obsessive collector of art and real estate, who thrived on having people around him. During my reading of this book I thought, at times, of Mr. Hearst as a genius and other times I thought of him as a reckless businessman and an egoist, and by the end of the book I was undecided about whether he was a genius or reckless businessman, a visionary or an opportunist, but the one thing I was positive about was his lasting influence and his deserving place and stature in the history of the country.
October 22, 2014
This is a more positive portrait of Hearst than I am accustomed to , especially as I just finished Orson Welles' biography. It's easy to see why Welles (who gained fame as a director in the Federal Theater Project) hated the man because by the 1930s, Hearst completely changed course from Progressive to self appointed Communist witch hunter. He was convinced the New Deal harbored anti-American elements and printed slanderous articles to that effect almost daily for years (later, he began attacking Roosevelt personally, a mistake which almost cost him his empire).
Throughout the book I found it hard to figure out if Hearst actually believed anything he said. Was he plain crazy to attack Roosevelt the way he did, or did he simply misread the mood of the country in an attempt to aggrandize himself? One thing was clear, politicians -- even FDR -- did not want to antagonize him. He almost became Mayor of New York on a Progressive ticket (though Tammany stole the election via the use of hired goons at the polls). However, because he had amassed a large number of followers who read his papers, he was able to browbeat the machine into enacting some of his platform.
If the Chief had stayed out of politics and stuck to things he was fairly good at (newspapers, radio and film), his reputation would be better today.
Throughout the book I found it hard to figure out if Hearst actually believed anything he said. Was he plain crazy to attack Roosevelt the way he did, or did he simply misread the mood of the country in an attempt to aggrandize himself? One thing was clear, politicians -- even FDR -- did not want to antagonize him. He almost became Mayor of New York on a Progressive ticket (though Tammany stole the election via the use of hired goons at the polls). However, because he had amassed a large number of followers who read his papers, he was able to browbeat the machine into enacting some of his platform.
If the Chief had stayed out of politics and stuck to things he was fairly good at (newspapers, radio and film), his reputation would be better today.
March 14, 2022
A lot of people don't remember who William Randolph Hearst was...but this is an excellent biography that depicts the life of a man who completely changed the business of journalism, served as a United States Senator, and wielded more power and influence than any one person ever should. The vastness of his wealth and the sheer volume of his many newspaper and magazine circulations enabled Hearst to not only mold public opinion but to also shape political policy. Hearst pushed his own political beliefs so hard in his papers that it eventually led to a temporary downfall of his empire which took many years to rebuild. He was never particularly concerned with the truth as much as he was with pushing his own agenda. For him, the end always justified the means. And any problems that occurred along the way...just throw money at it.
However, Hearst once said...and I am paraphrasing, "To read history is to search for the clues that will help you understand what is happening now". This is very true! So much of the social and political environment which Hearst lived in is very similar to our modern environment. It is interesting to read this biography, written 22 years ago, about a man who was born before the end of the Civil War and lived till 1951, and realize we are simply repeating so much of what has happened before and we have not learned from it!
However, Hearst once said...and I am paraphrasing, "To read history is to search for the clues that will help you understand what is happening now". This is very true! So much of the social and political environment which Hearst lived in is very similar to our modern environment. It is interesting to read this biography, written 22 years ago, about a man who was born before the end of the Civil War and lived till 1951, and realize we are simply repeating so much of what has happened before and we have not learned from it!
January 26, 2011
A lot of people have been to Hearst castle; that enormous palace located on the Pacific Coast Highway a little after the quaint town of Cambria. If you’ve been, you know that it was built by incredibly wealthy Hearst family and primarily by William Randolph Hearst. But who is the man behind the marble halls and stairways? And if you haven’t been to Hearst Castle, after reading this book, you’re going to want to.
In The Chief the reader gets an insight into Hearst’s life, from the very beginning, with his rise to riches, the glamorous parties he held at his home with celebrities, and how his life came to a close. With almost seven hundred pages of information on the life of one of the riches men in the world, as well as a thorough index and pictures throughout, this is a book that can benefit all.
Originally published on December 3rd 2001.
For over 500 book reviews, and over 40 exclusive author interviews (both audio and written), visit BookBanter.
In The Chief the reader gets an insight into Hearst’s life, from the very beginning, with his rise to riches, the glamorous parties he held at his home with celebrities, and how his life came to a close. With almost seven hundred pages of information on the life of one of the riches men in the world, as well as a thorough index and pictures throughout, this is a book that can benefit all.
Originally published on December 3rd 2001.
For over 500 book reviews, and over 40 exclusive author interviews (both audio and written), visit BookBanter.
February 4, 2012
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.
April 16, 2012
This book is a very timely read, given what is happening right now with media, Rupert Murdoch, and the interaction between media and politics. There are extraordinary, parallels between Hearst, how much media he controlled, and how he used that control to spread his political beliefs, and what is going on with Murdoch and Fox news.
If you are looking for a book that slams Hurst and the power he had acquired, then this is not the book for you. This is an easy to read, but rather scholarly book, that outlines Heart's life, his rather impressive attachments, and his struggles. The author includes lots of references, and is very clear when the information he has might not be verifiable, or when there are areas of Hearst's life where the author was not able to collect sufficient information.
Anyone who is interested in media, how much it has influence on the national discussion, or how it impacts our national politics, really should take the time to read this book.
Now I'm off to watch Citizen Kane......
If you are looking for a book that slams Hurst and the power he had acquired, then this is not the book for you. This is an easy to read, but rather scholarly book, that outlines Heart's life, his rather impressive attachments, and his struggles. The author includes lots of references, and is very clear when the information he has might not be verifiable, or when there are areas of Hearst's life where the author was not able to collect sufficient information.
Anyone who is interested in media, how much it has influence on the national discussion, or how it impacts our national politics, really should take the time to read this book.
Now I'm off to watch Citizen Kane......
November 29, 2017
Very thorough bio (also way too long) of a thoroughly unlikeable man. I kept being reminded of Trump -- spoiled rich boy, arrogant but the only talent he had was for stirring up trouble, opinionated with no factual basis for his opinions, beyond self-indulgent, horrible taste, unsuccessful businessman that only stayed afloat because of clever, hardworking people around him who were very loyal for no apparent reason other than keeping a ridiculously overpaid job. Changed his thinking whenever he thought it suited his business. Used the social media of the day (newspapers, newsreels and syndicated columns) to toot his own horn and spread his half-baked ideas. Even thought he should be president, even though he had no experience, training or common sense. Infuriated me the whole time I read it, but I'm not sorry I read it.
June 13, 2019
Just saw the film "Citizen Kane" again after many years. My son went with me to the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley to view it. He had not seen it before. He considered it at once artistically brilliant, and timeless because of its portrait of human nature. The film is based, at least in part, on William Randolph Hearst, who was a grandiose narcissist.
The fiery journalist, Ambrose Bierce, described Hearst as follows....
"Most people know the story of William Randolph Hearst and his publishing empire, but I want to add this note about him personally: He had not a friend in the world. Nor does he merit one. He is inaccessible to the conception of an unselfish attachment or a disinterested motive'
True of Kane and William Randolph Hearst
The fiery journalist, Ambrose Bierce, described Hearst as follows....
"Most people know the story of William Randolph Hearst and his publishing empire, but I want to add this note about him personally: He had not a friend in the world. Nor does he merit one. He is inaccessible to the conception of an unselfish attachment or a disinterested motive'
True of Kane and William Randolph Hearst
October 11, 2022
I liked it, almost 20 hours audio book but stuck with it. Loved the detail from the letters. Of school and learning that newspaper publishing in 1890s SF isn't that in similar to running a local news company in Dubai in 2022.
The book is well laid out, giving enough time to each topic like wars, politics, and Citezen Kane etc.
It would have been good to have more business info but as a biography it's well balanced
The book is well laid out, giving enough time to each topic like wars, politics, and Citezen Kane etc.
It would have been good to have more business info but as a biography it's well balanced
August 1, 2024
Fascinating. I picked up this book because I'm planning a trip to San Simeon and wanted to know more about its background and WRH before visiting. I knew little about Hearst before reading this and found it absorbing and fascinating. He was a businessman who claimed to earn everything on his own while starting with a significant family boost (and remaining on an "allowance" for quite some time). He was bombastic, never afraid to make his opinions known and believed he would be president some day. He served two terms as a US representative for NY and lost his bids for NY Governor. He ran for NYC mayor and lost that race by 3,472 votes; while there were few doubts that Tammany had stolen the election from him, there was never a recount. He continued to influence elections through his newspapers. He was an incredible builder, both in his businesses and in real estate. While staying married all his life, he lived with his mistress for the last 25 years of his life. His influence on media was profound -- he knew early that "an event becomes news only when journalists and editors decide to record it," and that "Well-written partisan political coverage sold more newspapers than dry, distanced 'they were here and said this' stories." When championing John N. Garner for the Democratic party candidate for President, he stressed "America first." While a Democratic populist for most of his life, he became a Republican later when he became disillusioned with FDR. He was truly brilliant and an incredibly hard worker who spent money like he'd never run out of it. He almost went bankrupt and for a few years his business was essentially controlled by his creditors, yet his heirs are worth an estimated $22 billion today.
June 12, 2024
William Randolph Hearst was born in California in 1863 to a wealthy family. His father was a millionaire mining engineer, which afforded WRH a lot of luxury and educational opportunities. WRH took over the management of his father's newspaper in 1887, which served as the launch point for his media empire. WRH married Millicent Wilson in 1903 but carried on several extramarital affairs. His long-term mistress was Marion Davies, with whom he was linked from 1917 to 1951. They never legally married. WRH remained legally married, but separated, to Millicent Wilson until his death. WRH also had five children with Millicent. WRH was a controversial figure for his political and personal bias that infiltrated the news media he owned. WRH died in 1951, aged 88.
This book was massive. It was almost 800 pages. This was highly detailed and related a tremendous amount of facts. I have never read anything by this author but was pleased with the attention to detail and level of research that was put into this biography. I learned a lot about William Randolph Hearst and his media empire from this book, which was certainly the goal.
This book was massive. It was almost 800 pages. This was highly detailed and related a tremendous amount of facts. I have never read anything by this author but was pleased with the attention to detail and level of research that was put into this biography. I learned a lot about William Randolph Hearst and his media empire from this book, which was certainly the goal.
December 11, 2024
William Randolph Hearst was and was not Charles Foster Kane. However, Marion Davies absolutely was not Susan Alexander Kane. Why start a review of a bio of Hearst in this manner? Because his life, mor than 70 years after his death, has been intrinsically intertwined with that of Orson Welles' fictional newspaper tycoon to a point where the real Hearst has been lost...and certainly poor Marion Davies has faired even worse.
I you want to try to quantify Hearst to today...he was one part Rupert Mudoch...one part Donald Trump. Like Murdoch he was adept at integrating new media in to existing media and using them to promote each other...and to distribute his propaganda. Like Trump he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, was a poor student, constantly relied on influxes of money from his parents and later from various creditors to keep his businesses afloat, and dabbled in politics (though less successfully).
David Nasaw has given us a voluminous biography of probably the most important publisher in the U.S. history up to the time the work was written. The son of a self-made miner, William Randolph Hearst was given the San Francisco Examiner by his father to get him to give up a mistress with whom he was too openly consorting. To be fair to Hearst he did turn it in to a successful newspaper. When Hearst wanted to expand in to New York, he had to beg his mother for the money...which was given to him to give up another mistress. Again he turned around the New York Morning Journal and in his battle with Joseph Pulitzer created yellow journalism and the Sunday comics page as it came to be known.
We get a portrait of a complicated man. One who went from a progressive to being reactionary red-baiter. Who was so set against any entanglements in Europe that he was willing to overlook and forgive almost anything done by Mussolini and Hitler, while constantly urging war in the Americas and in Asia. Who was an early promoter of a homeland for the Jewish people and being at least neutral toward America's black population, while spewing the vilest racism against East Asian peoples.
This is just an exhaustive biography of a very important and very flawed American. One that I'm still trying to digest. It's a lot...but it's worth it.
I you want to try to quantify Hearst to today...he was one part Rupert Mudoch...one part Donald Trump. Like Murdoch he was adept at integrating new media in to existing media and using them to promote each other...and to distribute his propaganda. Like Trump he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, was a poor student, constantly relied on influxes of money from his parents and later from various creditors to keep his businesses afloat, and dabbled in politics (though less successfully).
David Nasaw has given us a voluminous biography of probably the most important publisher in the U.S. history up to the time the work was written. The son of a self-made miner, William Randolph Hearst was given the San Francisco Examiner by his father to get him to give up a mistress with whom he was too openly consorting. To be fair to Hearst he did turn it in to a successful newspaper. When Hearst wanted to expand in to New York, he had to beg his mother for the money...which was given to him to give up another mistress. Again he turned around the New York Morning Journal and in his battle with Joseph Pulitzer created yellow journalism and the Sunday comics page as it came to be known.
We get a portrait of a complicated man. One who went from a progressive to being reactionary red-baiter. Who was so set against any entanglements in Europe that he was willing to overlook and forgive almost anything done by Mussolini and Hitler, while constantly urging war in the Americas and in Asia. Who was an early promoter of a homeland for the Jewish people and being at least neutral toward America's black population, while spewing the vilest racism against East Asian peoples.
This is just an exhaustive biography of a very important and very flawed American. One that I'm still trying to digest. It's a lot...but it's worth it.
May 30, 2016
This book was a tough one for me. In dealing with a character as large and influential as Hearst I was expecting it to be a long book and also to spend a lot of time on his publishing empire that covered and influenced the whole country. David Nasaw certainly does cover this extensively. He seems to be a writer that relishes researching his subjects thoroughly and he is able to convert the volumes of research into a readable and comprehensive book. But Hearst was more than a publisher and radio man - he was a celebrity and one of the worlds most famous men during his lifetime. Who else in history could have weekend guests that might include Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Louis B Mayer and various Governors, Mayors and Hollywood elites. Hearst is as famous for these parties as he is for his, often, contradicting that he espoused in his newspaper and it is this man that is missing. There is a scene at the beginning of 'Citizen Kane' - a movie that Hearst will always be associated with - that shows a cinematic news reel about Kane's life and showing the commonly known aspects of his life. When the newsreel ends a producer is heard saying that everyone knows these things about Kane but not about the man. What made him tick? Why did he build a Xanadu on a hill and marry a showgirl who was his mistress? What made Kane citizen Kane? From this premise a movie is built and in the end as the trinkets of Kane's life are being burnt the reporters are left with more questions that answers. This book is much like that. Hearst lived a long and fascinating life. He built a publishing empire that still stands and collected artwork obsessively while hobnobbing with the power players in politics, entertainment and literature but after reading this book that man still remains a mystery to me.
This book is well researched and complied and no part of his life is left out. But the writing always seem to be from a distance and seems incomplete. The building of San Simeon is heavily chronicled but the reason why Hearst spent so much time and money building it is not. He was heavily involved in the building of the home that carries his name. What drove him to chose one door over another or put a zoo on the grounds? Hearst was as big as any man has ever been but he was a man and men have a reason to do what they do. None of that is explored in this book. Hearst relationship with his sons is glossed over and left me unsatisfied. Also how did he feel about all the strangers living in his home for weeks on end and why did he keep inviting them back? Why did he support Hitler and Mussolini long after the world had called them out? There are too many holes in the character of Hearst in this book for me to give it a glowing review. That's a shame because the writing in this book and the way the research is organized are all admirable. The chapters about the great depression and his decline as a force on American culture are all top level writing. A master class in biographical writing but I was never there in the moment and book left me feeling that I had just seen a cable TV bio rather than an in depth portrait of man who lived a very public life.
This book is good biography but it is not great biography and at 600+ pages I was expecting more.
This book is well researched and complied and no part of his life is left out. But the writing always seem to be from a distance and seems incomplete. The building of San Simeon is heavily chronicled but the reason why Hearst spent so much time and money building it is not. He was heavily involved in the building of the home that carries his name. What drove him to chose one door over another or put a zoo on the grounds? Hearst was as big as any man has ever been but he was a man and men have a reason to do what they do. None of that is explored in this book. Hearst relationship with his sons is glossed over and left me unsatisfied. Also how did he feel about all the strangers living in his home for weeks on end and why did he keep inviting them back? Why did he support Hitler and Mussolini long after the world had called them out? There are too many holes in the character of Hearst in this book for me to give it a glowing review. That's a shame because the writing in this book and the way the research is organized are all admirable. The chapters about the great depression and his decline as a force on American culture are all top level writing. A master class in biographical writing but I was never there in the moment and book left me feeling that I had just seen a cable TV bio rather than an in depth portrait of man who lived a very public life.
This book is good biography but it is not great biography and at 600+ pages I was expecting more.
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