The Chief: The Life Of William Randolph Hearst, David Nasaw, c. 2000

The Chief: The Life Of William Randolph Hearst, David Nasaw, c. 2000

I: Great Expectations

Chapter 1: A Son of the West

father: George Hearst
the 1000-mile trek from Missouri to California, 1850

William Randolph Hearst:
son of the West
son of the Gold Rush, San Francisco
the child and the city grew up together
second half of the 19th century
1860 --> 1870 --> 1880 -- population growth

CA gold boom from the late 1840s to early 50s
followed by the Nevada silver boom, early 1860s

Silver mined west of the Mississippi ended up in San Francisco

George Heart, b. 1820 / 1821 -- Scotch-Irish!! Missouri.

George's father: William Hearst -- a miner. Father and son often went to the mines together.

George: 22 y/o when father William died; WRH's grandfather.

1848: rumors of gold strike, California

1848: confirmed by President James Polk

1850: George -- among a group of 15, including cousins -- MO to CA

ended up in Grass Valley / Nevada City; buying up / selling / trading claims in quartz mines.

Nevada City, CA. 

A direct shot: 

Nevada City, CA --> Grass Valley (suburb) --> Sacramento --> San Francisco: NE directly SW diagonal from Nevada City / Grass Valley to San Francisco -- three hours drive today.

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Chapter 2: To Europe Again And On To Harvard

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Chapter 3: "Something Where I Could Make A Name"

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II: Proprietor and Editor

Chapter 4: At The Examiner

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Chapter 5: "I Can't Do San Francisco Alone"

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Chapter 6: Hearst In New York, "Staging A Spectacle

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Chapter 7: "How Do You Like The Journal's War

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III: Publisher, Politician, Candidate, and Congressman

Chapter 8: Representing the People

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Chapter 9: "Candidate for a Class"

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Chapter 10: "A Force To Be Reckoned With"

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Chapter 11: Man of Mystery

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Chapter 12: Party Leader

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Chapter 13: Hearst At Fifty: Some Calm Before the Storm

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IV: Of War And Peace

Chapter 14: "A War of Kings"

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Chapter 15: "Hearst, Hyland, the Hohenzollerns, and the Hapsburgs"

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V: A Master Builder

Chapter 16: Building a Studio, July 22, 1916

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Chapter 17: Builder and Collector, p. 287

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Chapter 18: Marion, Millicent and the Movies, p. 303

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Chapter 19: A Return to Normalcy, p. 315

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Chapter 20: Another Last Hurrah, p. 328

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VI: King and Queen of Hollywood

Chapter 21: "Do You Know Marion Davis, the Movie Actress?" p. 337

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Chapter 22: Family Man, p.351

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Chapter 23: Dream Houses, p. 362

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Chapter 24: Business as Usual, p. 377

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Chapter 25: A New Crusade: Europe, p. 398

Herbert Hoover -- Mayer (Louis B) and Hearst

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Chapter 26: The Talkies and Marion, p. 409

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VII: The Depression

Chapter 27: "Pretty Much Flattened Out" p. 423

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Starting again, March 22, 2025

Chapter 28: "An Incorrigible Optimist"

Chapter 29: The Chief Chooses a President

VIII: New Deals and Raw Deals

Chapter 30: Hearst at Seventy, p. 469

Chapter 31: Hearst and Hitler, p. 488

Chapter 32: The Last Crusade, p. 500

IX: The Fall

Chapter 33: The Fall, p. 527

Chapter 34: "All Very Sad, But We Cannot Kick Now", p. 543

Chapter 35: Citizen Kane, p. 564

Chapter 36: Old Age, p. 575

Epilogue, p. 604

FAMILY

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Grandfather

William Hearst, mentioned once, p. 4

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Father and Mother

George Hearst, mentioned often; birth, p. 4
Phoebe Apperson Hearst, many entries

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William Randoph Hearst: The Chief

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Wives

William Randolph Hearst,  -- two wives, Millicent Willson Hearst and actress Marion Davies. -- incorrect

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Children

 George Randolph Hearst, many entries; birth, p. 179

William Randolph Hearst, Jr, multiple entries, birth, 217 -- three wives

Bill, Jr, revealed in 1991, the break-up / divorce of his father and Millicent, due to Marion Davies

• Alma Walker, second wife, divorced 
• Lorelle McCarver, third wife, divorced 
• Austine McDonnell,  outlived WRH; she remarried after WRH, Jr died;

John Randolph Hearst, many entries, birth 218, 224

David (Elbert) Hearst; mentioned often; birth, p. 252 (TWIN); b. 1915

Randolph Apperson Hearst, a few entries, b. 252 (TWIN); b. 1915

In the Hearst family, "Apperson" refers to Phoebe Apperson Hearst, the wife of George Hearst, and mother of William Randolph Hearst, a prominent figure known for her philanthropy, feminism, and role in the suffrage movement.

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Grandchildren

John Hearst, Jr (Bunky), mentioned 580, 582, 583 - 584

Patty Hearst: mentioned only once; in the epilogue, p. 606

George Hearst, Jr, one mention, p. 582

Phoebe Hearst, mentioned once, p. 582 - 583

 

 

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Abbreviated Bios

Patricia Hearst, who prefers to be called Patricia rather than Patty,[2] was born on February 20, 1954, in San Francisco, California,[3][4] the third of five daughters of Randolph Apperson Hearst and Catherine Wood Campbell. She was raised primarily in Hillsborough and attended the private Crystal Springs School for Girls there, Sacred Heart in Atherton, and the Santa Catalina School in Monterey.

She attended Menlo College in Atherton, California before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley.

Hearst's grandfather William Randolph Hearst created the largest newspaper, magazine, newsreel and film business in the world. 

Her great-grandmother was philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst. The family wielded immense political influence and had opposed organized labor, gold mine workers' interests, and communism since before World War II.

Hearst's father was among a number of heirs to the family fortune and did not control the Hearst interests. 

Her parents had not considered it necessary to take preventive measures to ensure their children's personal security. At the time of her abduction, Hearst was a sophomore at Berkeley studying art history. She lived with her fiancé Steven Weed in an apartment in Berkeley.