August 17, 2016. 7:30 pm. Buy tickets here. At the Writers Guild Theater, 135 S. Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90211.
Ticket: $25.
You’ve read Jeffrey Toobin‘s articles in The New Yorker, and you’ve seen him on CNN, discussing hot-button subjects including gun control, the politics and decisions from the Supreme Court, and on judicial battles from the extraordinary to the seemingly less extraordinary. In Toobin’s hands, all cases become relevant and extraordinary, because his skill is the translation and subsequent analysis of decisions whose far-reaching consequences we never considered. He makes it easy for us.
But we also know Jeffrey Toobin for his remarkable books that seem to crystallize an era: among them, The Nine, on the personalities, functions and dysfunctions of the Supreme Court; The Run of His Life:The People v. O.J. Simpson, on what the media loved to call The Trial of the Century; and The Oath:The Obama White House and the Supreme Court. Toobin’s new book takes us back to the 1970’s, to the shocking kidnapping of Patty Hearst. American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst remind us of the chaos, the almost unbelievable story of Patty Hearst’s abduction and subsequent crimes, surrounded by black and white revolutionaries who called themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army. The personalities who turn up along the way are almost as surprising as those who showed up in The People v. O.J. Simpson.
It takes great talent to make great television. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, the terrific limited series which ran earlier this season on FX, was created by two screenwriters, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Nominated for 22 (22!!!) primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited Series, and Writing for a Limited Series, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story is a lesson in turning recent American history into a thorough exploration of culture, race, law and contemporary society into the most thrilling and compelling television. They retooled Toobin’s book on O.J. Simpson, released 20 years ago, into a riveting television series that reminded us of the murder, the circus of the trial, and the moment in time which the trial occupied. Toobin’s American Heiress is now in their hands. If they do to American Heiress what they did to The People V. O.J. Simpson, we are in for a wonderful movie. We hope they have it for us soon.
Jeffrey Toobin’s new book, American Heiress, will be available for purchase at the program, and he will sign them for you.