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kimmeyer's review against another edition
3.0
The narrative here is wider ranging and less cohesive than I would have liked, but this was a thoroughly readable and really interesting look at some kidnappings and other kidnapping-adjacent true crime events.
nixbix_reads's review against another edition
5.0
It's not often that you can say that a book about kidnapping is an entertaining read, but this book is. I found this to be well researched & well written. The book has stories about many kidnappings but mainly focuses on the Lindbergh kidnapping, and references the repercussions of this in kidnappings that happen after. I liked how the author referred back to previous cases, and also described the progress of the Lindbergh case over months while other kidnappings had occurred. Well worth a read if you are interested in this era of history.
Thanks to Sourcebooks (non-fiction) & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Sourcebooks (non-fiction) & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
lisettemarie's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 50% this book was so poorly written I couldn’t continue. It was so all over the place with timeline and which particular kidnapping he was talking about I couldn’t keep anything straight.
kaiciemesser's review
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Child death, Death, and Murder
notesfromthebookdrop's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an advance copy of the book!
On one hand, there was a lot of history in this book that I wasn’t aware of and found deeply interesting. On the other, the biggest issue I had was that a few of the stories got chopped up across the whole book instead of being resolved within the same section(s) of the book, so I sometimes had a hard time following what the story was. Overall I found the book interesting and informative, though the style wasn’t always one I enjoyed.
On one hand, there was a lot of history in this book that I wasn’t aware of and found deeply interesting. On the other, the biggest issue I had was that a few of the stories got chopped up across the whole book instead of being resolved within the same section(s) of the book, so I sometimes had a hard time following what the story was. Overall I found the book interesting and informative, though the style wasn’t always one I enjoyed.
sjburton's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it, though the second half was a bit harder to follow than the first.
lawyergobblesbooks's review against another edition
2.0
This book has enormously interesting elements but it desperately needed a good editor to tell the author that some stories of the "kidnap years" were more interesting and essential than others. Too often it felt like a catalogue of the crimes, with several chapters devoted to incidents that started to bleed together. I found myself really bored by everything except the Lindbergh story by the end. Such an intriguing topic that deserved a more focused historian.
mkmoore's review against another edition
4.0
Super interesting! Who knew? I thought it’d be a book about child kidnapping but it was more about the gangstas if the 1930s.
booksuperpower's review against another edition
4.0
The Kidnap Years: The Astonishing True History of the Forgotten Kidnapping Epidemic That Shook Depression-Era America by David Stout is a 2020 Sourcebooks publication.
Back in the 1930’s kidnapping became almost an epidemic. It wasn't just children and babies that fell victim, but adults too.
This book examines these kidnappings, some familiar, some not- and yes, I suppose it is fair to say, this kidnapping rampage has been largely forgotten about. But, at the center of the book is the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping. It was that case that tipped the scales and forced a hardline crackdown. For me though, it was the lesser known cases that made the book interesting, especially since the Lindbergh kidnapping, as well as one or two others mentioned in this book, has been examined ad nauseum, and as far as I could tell there was nothing new about those cases printed here.
There are other famous or infamous people in this book, though, besides the Lindbergh's. The FBI and Hoover’s involvement were also featured prominently at times. The author stayed on topic, and did not veer into personal commentary, for the most part, which was fine by me.
The organization is a little uneven spreading out some cases throughout the book, instead of putting all the information into one or more chapters, running consecutively. This was a little distracting for me, but a minor quibble.
Otherwise, the book reflects the desperation of the thirties, as well as the way money, greed and politics, all bled together to create the perfect climate for the kidnapping crime sprees of the decade.
Anyone who enjoys history or true crime will want to consider giving this book a try.
4 stars
Back in the 1930’s kidnapping became almost an epidemic. It wasn't just children and babies that fell victim, but adults too.
This book examines these kidnappings, some familiar, some not- and yes, I suppose it is fair to say, this kidnapping rampage has been largely forgotten about. But, at the center of the book is the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping. It was that case that tipped the scales and forced a hardline crackdown. For me though, it was the lesser known cases that made the book interesting, especially since the Lindbergh kidnapping, as well as one or two others mentioned in this book, has been examined ad nauseum, and as far as I could tell there was nothing new about those cases printed here.
There are other famous or infamous people in this book, though, besides the Lindbergh's. The FBI and Hoover’s involvement were also featured prominently at times. The author stayed on topic, and did not veer into personal commentary, for the most part, which was fine by me.
The organization is a little uneven spreading out some cases throughout the book, instead of putting all the information into one or more chapters, running consecutively. This was a little distracting for me, but a minor quibble.
Otherwise, the book reflects the desperation of the thirties, as well as the way money, greed and politics, all bled together to create the perfect climate for the kidnapping crime sprees of the decade.
Anyone who enjoys history or true crime will want to consider giving this book a try.
4 stars