The Chief: The Life of William Randolph HearstThe 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). |
Contents
A Son of the West | 3 |
To Europe Again and on to Harvard | 23 |
Something Where I Could Make a Name | 39 |
At the Examiner | 67 |
I Cant Do San Francisco Alone | 82 |
Hearst in New York Staging a Spectacle | 95 |
How Do You Like the Joumafs War? | 125 |
Representing the People | 145 |
Do You Know Miss Marion Davies the Movie Actress? | 337 |
Family Man | 351 |
Dream Houses | 362 |
Businesses as Usual | 377 |
A New Crusade Europe | 398 |
The Talkies and Marion | 409 |
Pretty Much Flattened Out | 423 |
An Incorrigible Optimist | 437 |
Candidate of a Class | 168 |
A Force to Be Reckoned With | 186 |
Man of Mystery | 202 |
Party Leader | 214 |
Hearst at Fifty Some Calm Before the Storms | 227 |
A War of Kings | 241 |
Hearst Hylan the Hohenzollerns and the Habsburgs | 260 |
Building a Studio | 277 |
Builder and Collector | 287 |
Marion Millicent and the Movies | 303 |
A Return to Normalcy | 315 |
Another Last Hurrah | 328 |
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Common terms and phrases
A. J. Liebling Adela Rogers St American Angeles April Arthur Brisbane asked attack August Bill boys Brisbane Bryan California campaign candidate carton Chief circulation Citizen Kane Coblentz Communists corporate Cosmopolitan daily December Democratic editors election Europe Examiner father February film friends George Hearst German Harvard Hearst Corporation Hearst papers Hitler Hollywood House JAMP January John Journal Julia Morgan July June letter Louella Parsons magazine March Marion Davies Mayer Millicent million morning mother Mussolini nation never newspapers Neylan nomination November October oh-SS organization PAHP party Phoebe political president publisher Pulitzer ranch Ranck readers reported Republican returned Roosevelt San Francisco San Simeon Senator September spend story studio Sunday Tammany telegrammed theater things tion votes wanted Washington week Will's William Randolph Hearst Willicombe Willie World WRH-JM WRH-PAH WRHP wrote Wyntoon York American York City