A review by _karinaiello_
The Kidnap Years: The Astonishing True History of the Forgotten Kidnapping Epidemic That Shook Depression-Era America by David Stout

3.0

Tricky to rate because while this is well-written and there is nothing specifically that I would take out of it, it still felt about 100 pages too long. Idk. I didn't hate it, but it would be hard for me to recommend to anyone. Read this if the subject matter appeals to you. Also, if you want to skim through about 40 different stories of kidnappings and the development of the FBI during the time, but not go deep into anything related (mafia/corrupt cops, J. Edgar Hoover, extreme poverty/class difference during and after the Depression and the Dust Bowl, the beginning of WWII and the anti-Semitism and racism that Lindbergh and Hoover both displayed while both being heralded as some weird heroic figures...) Idk times were different I guess. The author was a reporter for the NYT for 28 years and this definitely feels like 46 newspaper articles tied together with the theme of kidnappings. Lots and lots of facts, dates, names, dollar amounts, etc.