Every Secret Thing, Patricia Campbell Hearst

"Every Secret Thing" is Patricia Hearst's attempt to explain what happened to her after she was kidnapped in the '70s by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a leftist militia group. The thing that made Hearst's kidnapping so bizarre (besides the fact that she was part of the Hearst family) was that she chose to join the group and, in fact, participated in bank robberies and other criminal activities. Hearst claimed brainwashing as a defense during her trial (bank robbery), which neither the judge nor the jury bought. The president (Carter), however, did, and she received clemency. Frankly, Hearst's explanation for her behavior is not all that convincing, perhaps because her defense -- brainwashing a la the kind suffered by prisoners or war -- is an intensely strange, unusual and hard to understand phenomon. Hearst, though a victim, is by no means an expert. An explanation by a medical expert would have added a lot to the average reader's understanding of why Hearst behaved as she did. In fact, I kind of think that Hearst was in a terrible position in trying to explain herself what happened. Having said all that, I now have a much better understanding of the political environment of the time, and the circumstances that led to extremist groups like the SLA. The book, overall, is boring and pedantic, poorly written and much too long. Somehow, despite her sensationalist topic, Hearst fails to engage the reader or even to create sympathy for herself.

Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief, Bill Mason with Lee Gruenfeld

If you're interested in reading a self-congratulatory exercise in ego, combined with self-serving justifications for criminal activity, this book is for you. The title (and the cover photography) promises stories of daring heists by a thief who mingles, tuxedo-clad, among the bejeweled and glittering. Actual anecdotes of jewel thieving are few and far between. We learn a great deal more than is interesting about his legal problems (and what exactly makes him a master if he's been caught?), his relationships with women, his involvement with Mob figures and drug deals... all told with great attention to the number of times Mason can climb up a rope using only his amazing upper-arm strength. In the last seven of 358 pages, Mason takes the time to admit that perhaps his chosen profession was less than acceptable and to say that - at this late date - that perhaps he had inflicted more than financial damage when he stole, and gee, he's kinda sorry about that. Borrow this one from the library if you must read it; the man doesn't deserve a cent in royalties.

Victoria's Daughters, Jerrold M. Packard

I knew a lot of about the long-lived, long-armed, long-loving Queen Victoria and when I read a reference to this book I was curious about about her daughters, about whom I knew nothing. "Victoria's Daughters" chronicles the lives of her five daughers, some of whom married royally and others of whom were quite retiring. The five princesses were in a bad position with an egocentric parent that never let them forget that she was the queen and also lived so long that they were never able to live independent lives. Vicky, Alice, Lenchen, Beatrice and Louise had their entire lives arranged by Victoria; Vicky and Alice were even outlived by their mother. The book is clearly sympathetic to the girls and fairly critical of Victoria's mothering skills in this fairly intimate look at the difficulties of royal life.