Patty Hearst & The Twinkie Murders

Overview

Patty Hearst & The Twinkie Murders is darkly satiric take on two of the most famous cases of our era: the kidnapping of heiress Patty Hearst and the shocking assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and gay leader Harvey Milk. As a reporter for the Berkeley Barb, Paul Krassner was ringside at the spectacular California trials, and his hilarious deadpan style captures the nightmare reality behind the absurdities of the courtroom circus. Using his infamous satiric pen and investigative chops, Krassner gets to the truth behind the events: the role of the police and FBI, the real deal with Patty and the SLA, and what really happened in Patty's infamous closet. Also included is a merciless exposé of the "Taliban" wing of the Gay Movement and their scandalous attacks on alt-rock star Michelle Shocked. The Outspoken Interview features an irreverent and fascinating romp through the secret history of America's radical underground—names will be named.

Reviews

"Krassner is an expert at ferreting out hypocrisy and absurdism from the more solemn crannies of American culture."  —New York Times

"Krassner not only attacks establishment values; he attacks decency in general."  —Harry Reasoner, ABC News

"Krassner has the uncanny ability to alter your perceptions permanently."  —Los Angeles Times

"The FBI was right—this man is dangerous—and funny, and necessary." —George Carlin on Paul Krassner

"As soon as we decided to create the Huffington Post, I knew I wanted Paul Krassner involved."  —Arianna Huffington

"Patty Hearst & the Twinkie Murders: A Tale of Two Trials is a must-read for anyone interested in the period, in the dirty realities behind the illusion of large media, or in political research in general." —Joseph E. Green, dissentingviews.com

"Experiencing Krassner's writing is extraordinary. It is straight out brilliantly written and reasoned prose describing the unbelievable and utterly outrageous and mind boggling hypocrisy of aspects of American culture." —examiner.com

"Satirist Krassner is darkly funny; he's also a reporter. In this collection of courtroom tragi-farces, (Krassner shows that) if justice is blind, she clearly has an overcompensating sense of the absurd." —Michael Simmons, High Times

Author Biography

Paul Krassner is an author, a journalist, a comedian, and the creator of the Realist, the legendary underground magazine that many credit as the beginning of the radical “new journalism” of the 1960s. Wielding satire as a weapon, he began the assault on middle America that is known today as the “counterculture” and is still a hero to radicals and a menace to the establishment. He lives in Palm Springs, California.