The Case That Never Dies: The Lindbergh Kidnapping (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "In May 1927 Charles Augustus Lindbergh astonished the world by being the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic from New York to Paris..." (more)
Key Phrases: police carpenters, cut nail holes, conceded writings, New Jersey, New York, Colonel Lindbergh (more...)

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Product Description

When Charles Lindbergh's baby son was mysteriously taken from his home near Hopewell, New Jersey, in 1932, the world was shocked. It happened during the worst period of the Great Depression, at a time when kidnapping neared epidemic proportions across the nation. Despite the overwhelming publicity the case received both at the time and in all the years since, many controversies surrounding the "Crime of the Century" and subsequent trial have never been resolved. The Case That Never Dies is a comprehensive study of the Lindbergh kidnapping, investigation, and trial, placing it in the context of the Depression, when many feared the country was on the edge of anarchy.

Historian Lloyd C. Gardner delves deeply into aspects of the case that remain confusing to this day. These include Lindbergh's dealings with crime baron Owney Madden, Al Capone's New York counterpart, through gangland intermediaries, as well as the inexplicable exploits of John Condon, a retired schoolteacher who became the prosecution's chief witness. The initial investigation was hampered by Colonel Lindbergh, who insisted that the police not attempt to find the perpetrator because he feared the investigation would endanger his son's life. He relented only when the child was found dead.

After two years of fruitless searching, a German immigrant, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, was discovered to have some of the ransom money in his possession. Hauptmann was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. Throughout the book, Gardner pays special attention to the evidence of the case and how it was used and misused in the trial. Whether Hauptman was guilty or not, Gardner concludes that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of first-degree murder.

The Case That Never Dies draws upon never-before-used FBI records that reveal the animosity between J. Edgar Hoover and Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of the New Jersey State Police. The story is filled with incredible twists and turns that continue to fascinate people. Set in historical context, this book offers not only a compelling read, but a powerful vantage point from which to observe the United States in the 1930s, as well as contemporary arguments over capital punishment.

About the Author

Lloyd C. Gardner, a professor of history at Rutgers University, is the author of over a dozen books on U.S. foreign relations. Among the awards he has received are two Fulbright Professorships and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press; illustrated edition edition (May 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813533856
• ISBN-13: 978-0813533858
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #191,946 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beware The Theorists, August 1, 2004

By	R D Purdy (Newport, Wales) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There is something in the nature of crimes of note (and the conspiracies and competing theories they engender) that bring out the zealot in all of us. Such seems to be the case with the reactions to Dr Gardner's The Case That Never Dies : The Lindbergh Kidnapping. As noted elsewhere, Dr Gardner is the first professional historian to tackle the case, at least in book form. And his credentials are impressive: a professor of history at Rutgers University and the recipient of two Fulbright Professorships and a Guggenheim Fellowship. But credentials count for little when faced with the competing theories of die-hard case followers.

Dr Gardner's work is without doubt the best researched of all books on the case and a raft of new information is brought to the fore, all of it meticulously footnoted. However, where Dr Gardner differs from previous authors is his overall approach to analysing the case and the evidence. While the other major works are best described as "theory" books - i.e. they set out to prove Hauptmann innocent or Hauptmann guilty and wear such motives on their sleeves - Dr Gardner instead attempts to put the events in historical context and draws parallels with modern day attitudes to capital punishment. He poses more questions than he answers; he gives fertile ground for additional research. This, perhaps, is the nub of the problem for the self-appointed experts.

Discourse on the case today tends to focus on competing - and hotly disputed - theories. There is no generally accepted truth of the Lindbergh case, save that accepted in a court of law in Flemington in 1935. And that, after all, is but one theory. What seems to have enraged the natives is Dr Gardner's refusal to adopt a particular theory, his reluctance to draw conclusions, to join them on whatever side of the fence they happen to be. But that is a reflection of the book that they wished to read (or in some cases write) rather than the book which Dr Gardner - as is his right - chose to pen.

The book itself does contain some typos and there are some minor errors (and other alleged errors which are in fact just differences of interpretation), but to distort these into damnation of the book as a whole is to rather miss the point. For any student of the crime, this is an indispensable read and the most thorough reference book on the case. One doesn't have to agree with all of Dr Gardner's interpretations because the evidence itself is presented so clearly and is so well referenced that anyone who wishes to research further can do so off the back of Dr Gardner's hard work. The book focuses on the central timeline and the arrest and conviction of Hauptmann. The tangential stories of hoaxers Curtis and Means are given little further exposure as Dr Gardner chooses to concentrate on the meat of the case.

Expertise on the Lindbergh case is not measured through any long-service medal, or by commitment to any official theory but rather by recognising that however much one does know, one does not know everything. And that is what Dr Gardner offers: something for every student of the case, new or old. And given the mountain of literature on the case already, what more can anyone ask but that?

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Filled with long forgotton and lost details, February 10, 2006

By	Kevin F. Klein (Chester, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After reading the other reviews I was apprehensive about purchasing this book, but I was pleasently surprised by it. The author has spent much time ferreting out those small but important details that make the Lindbergh kidnapping so enigmatic and entrancing. While there may be mistakes to be found in this work, I don't think they in any way detract from the overall balance of the book. I found Lloyd Gardner's book to be insightful and well tempered. Highly recommended for the serious or first time Lindbergh kidnapping reader.

20 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Anyone but Hauptmann - Red Herrings That Never Die, July 29, 2004

By	Allen Koenigsberg (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The dust jacket of The Case That Never Dies by Lloyd Gardner (Rutgers Univ Press, 2004), states this is the first book [on the LKC] by a historian. Whether Hauptmann was guilty or not, Gardner concludes there was insufficient evidence to convict him of first degree murder. Hmmm... what then was he guilty of? Manslaughter, extortion, bad luck, or anti-German prejudice?

There is much newly uncovered documentation, mainly from the FBI Records at College Park, Maryland, and the NJSP Archive. But totally omitted, for reasons that are unclear (for 3 years of delving), are the repositories known as the Bronx DA'a Papers and the NYPD Archives. Charles Appel's Treasury Report on Hauptmann's handwriting, and detailed analyses on ransom bill passing prior to the notorious shoebox discovery, are simply ignored.

Unfortunately, despite the advertising, the CTND is simply the latest book that has tried to sort through endless reams of data, but still manages to get many historical details egregiously wrong.

Characters and dates, ages, and other book titles are mangled throughout - misspelling even Hauptmann's name and that of the fortune tellers Peter and Mary Birrittella (two different ways on the same page), and even the 'Sheraton' Theatre in Greenwich Village. Sometimes Joe Perrone is John Perrone. On p. 305, he claims that Hauptmann's German-English Dictionary never appeared at the Trial - but it WAS introduced by the Prosecution and is listed in the Exhibits section.

The technique used in the chapters on personalities mainly concern innuendo - why was CALjr's picture on the Wanted poster taken from his first birthday party (it wasn't), and why did Betty Gow really use those safety pins to fasten Charley's blanket the night of Mar 1, 1932? We are ominously told (p. 410) that the baby was suffering from a rare malady called (craniotobes) - brittle bones of the head. The correct term is actually craniotabes and its definition is quite the opposite - excessive softening of cranial structures. The truth, rather banal, is that the child suffered from rickets, for which he was being treated by daily doses of Viosterol and artifical (ultraviolet) light - a fact freely admitted in the diet published in the newspapers. Statements in one chapter are contradicted in another, as if the author has not read his own book.

For example, some lost inventory cards have been found at the NJSPM which indicate that plaster casts were made of footprints at Hopewell - not specifically however of the footprint under the window. On p. 369, we are told that the State Police kept this exculpatory information from the Defense, and yet on p. 319, we are reminded that the very same details were openly printed on the front page of the NY Times (in a highlighted box), before the Trial (Sept 28). So which is it?

There are 2 photos of John Condon making the most of his new found fame and a single line, in passing, that JFC (alone) refused to accept any of the Lindbergh reward money. Rarely is an honest gesture understood. A mysterious footnote that Katy Fredericksen was having an affair the night she claimed that Anna was working is given as a Confidential Source. No further explanation... This is worthy of Startling Detective magazine, and keeps the pulp tradition of the 1930s alive.

What about the myths that have accumulated about the LKC over the years - should an historian help to dispel those? It doesn't happen here - on p. 19, once again we read that Lindbergh (forgot about a speaking engagement in NYC) on that fateful Tuesday. But the original records at NYU show exactly what happened - Lindbergh's secretary was misinformed and he thought he had agreed to show up on Friday, but not to speak. Chancellor Brown's wife had died in the interim and the date was sent in error.

Gardner deserves credit for locating the Mar 1-15, 1932 Reliance Payroll (at the NJSPM) - the one so touted by Scaduto and Kennedy as holding the key. So why not show it? Aha - Hauptmann's name is not there, as the Prosecution always said.

Should anyone get this book? I have to say (reluctantly) "yes." Despite my serious reservations about the poor use of the documentation and the self-defeating methodology and tone, Gardner does manage to cite a lot of material which will prove endlessly useful - to others.