MP3 Audios - Biography

From San Juan Hill to San Simeon, from Pattons tanks to the Symbionese Liberation Army,
the Hearst name has been at the forefront of American life for over a century.

As founder of the largest U.S. prewar media empire, William Randolph Hearst, Sr. forever changed the face
of American journalism by using his newspapers to aid in forcing the outbreak of the Spanish-American War.
As a public figure he was larger than lifefirst as ambitious congressman, then as reclusive yet active
businessman in the famous castle that rises above the Pacific at San Simeon. The elder Hearst was known
for his extravagance as well as his long affair with Marion Davies, images that were highly embellished in
Orson Welless reproach of the Hearst persona, Citizen Kane.

In The Hearsts: Father and Son, William Randolph Hearst, Jr., and co-author Jack Casserly tell the extraordinary
story of an American family from the gold-diggings of California to the present Hearst media empire. They also
profile a cavalcade of reporters and columnists who became the stars of the Hearst newspapers, and portray the
colorful New York nightlife of the 1930s and 1940s.

San Francisco's Jeff Riggenbach has narrated more than fifty titles for Blackstone Audiobooks. He is an author, contributing editor, and producer and has worked in radio for the last thirty years. He is a recipient of the "Golden Mike" Award for his work in radio.