Customer Reviews

Lindbergh: The Crime

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Anyone who has studied the tousled hair and body language of Charles Lindbergh alongside that of John F. Kennedy will see some similarities, right down to the way they stuck their hands in the pockets of their suitcoats. The hero image of Lucky Lindy and that of the commander of PT-109. Here, Noel Behn makes a well-documented hypothesis that there was a cover-up in the Lindberg kidnapping case. His access to the archives of then New Jersey governor Hoffman, who was discredited by a corruption scandal at the moment he was raising doubts about Hauptmann's guilt (some have gone so far to say he was close to Fritzl Kuhn's "German-American Bund"), adds an additonal modicum of credibility to Behn's offering. When one reads Behn and then looks at what news icon Peter Jennings presented last year in his retrospective on the Lindberg case, Jennings becomes the moral equivalent of Dan Rather getting caught posing as a Mujaheddin rebel on his own news show. Behn suggests that there may have been no kidnapping at all and that Anne Morrow Lindberg's sister is the card in this game of Clue. The motive for the murder, jealousy. The motive for the cover up, the reputation of a young hero, the future of aviation, and the reputation of America's most powerful banking institution. Enter Col. Norman Schwarzkopf, the rigid, commander of the New Jersey State Police and father of our Desert Storm hero "Stormin (but not to Baghdad) Norman". Add Republican lawyer/dealmaker "Wild Bill" Donovan (who would become head of the OSS during World War II) to the mix. And the zealous prosecutor David Wilentz, who had lines open to organized crime and its legit businesses as some say the law firm that bears his name continues to have today. There was no "Grassy Knoll" here. But there was "the cemetery". Best for one to get the details oneself. What sets this work apart from others is that it dares to think outside the box on one of the great "crimes of the century". When examining the film footage of the trial, how dissimilar are the tirades of Wilentz against Hauptmann from those of Nazi Volksrichter Freissler against Colonel Von Stauffenberg, who placed the bomb under Hitler's desk in the Wolfschanze? The older sister of Anne Morrow Lindberg was spirited off to the United Kingdom, Behn tells us. There was the marraige of the sister to a British academic type, ensuing mental problems and an early death under strange circumstances. Considering that coming up with new revelations about the Lindberg "kidnapping" is about as difficult as obtaining the latest revelations about the progress of making public the texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Behn's work (including his hypothesis)has established the foundation upon which a yonger generation of journalists and investigative reporters can build.

This was the first book I read about the case-after reading several others I certainly don't support the conclusion-that Elizabeth Morrow "did it" in a fit of rage;nor, due to lack of documentation, will many others. That being said, it is a very entertaining and lively read and serves as a quite good primer for the actual story and sequence of events. It will be noted by students of the case that the scenario shares many of the elements of the hypothesis that I do buy, put forth by Ahlgren & Lemonier in Crime of the Century, that the coverup angle resulted from Lindbergh's role in the killing. Again, entertaining & hopefully will lead readers to further inquiry/investigation

The good news here is that is really a finely written book, with excellent commentary on the life and times of the tragic kidnapping and murder. The cast of characters is huge, and the author seems to bring in about anyone even remotely associated with the events. "JJ" the fraud, embezzler, secret agent, FBI con man;Hauptmann himself, who seems totally innocent and tells a great story even to the governor;Governor Hoffman, who feels there is a lot more to the story, and does his best to delay the execution; Schwarzkof, chief of NJ police;"Wild Bill" Donovan who "may have" been in the house the night of the crime. Why didn't Lindy go to the NYU celebration the night of the crime? The seemingly unanswered questions in this reckoning add up to the flimsiest excuse for a "Solution" you'll ever find! In fact, it is downright ridiculous! But like any controversial and famous crime, another case is built here, this time around a supposed culprit that is so bad , it detracts from the other may outstanding parts of this book!

I found this book to be extremely interesting. Noel Behn did an excellent job keeping my attention. He was able to present an amazing amount of detail while still making it easy to follow.

While well-written and intruiging, Behn leaves you with the idea that this is just too far-fetched to be plausible. The proof just doesn't add up, and it becomes apparent in short order. The author nearly admits it in the first chapter! There are better Lindbergh books out there. This would make a good historical fiction version

Having read several books regarding Lindgergh and the kidnapping of his baby, I found this to be the least plausible. His conclusion isn't well supported and seems to be making the pieces fit. Also, he introduces so many outside characters that you forget what or who you're reading about! It makes the idea of "six degrees of separation" into more like twenty. There are other "Crime of the Century" books out there that are better researched and supported.