| Description |
xxix, 430 pages, 8 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary |
"The Great Depression was a time of incomparable financial desperation in America. Thugs with submachine guns and square-jawed G-men have long dominated the vernacular images of fear, lawlessness, and corruption set against the decimating poverty of that decade. But little known-until now-are the many serial dramas that played out in homes and hideouts, courtrooms and cold cases across the country. In a time of panic, legal lethargy, corruption, and incompetence, there was one sure-fire means to make money, one that was seized upon by both criminals and resourceful civilians. Best of all, one likely to go unpunished: kidnapping. Gritty, visceral, and thoughtfully reported, The Kidnap Years chronicles a forgotten time in America's history when the economic hardships of the Great Depression and the low legal risk of kidnapping led to a sweep of abductions that afflicted all corners of the country"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Contents |
The organization man -- Fathers and sons -- The doctor -- A dressmaker with a vision -- Beloved innocent -- The boy in the wall -- The younger twin -- Sane or insane? -- A case like no other -- A friendly farmer -- Another doctor taken -- Hope and heartbreak -- Chasing the money -- The profiler -- Two victims -- The man who loved trees -- Strictly business -- Criminal and family man -- In the Mile High City -- A brewer is taken -- Doting mother, devoted son -- A sheriff taken prisoner -- From hot springs to slaughter -- Mary's ordeal -- "Jake the barber" -- Roger "the terrible" -- A prince of Albany -- A banker with a heart -- The oil tycoon -- A momentous month -- The people's fury unleashed -- Toughy's torment continues -- Brewer, banker, victim -- A gambler folds his hand -- What might have been -- A sordid donouement -- Evil resurfaces -- In gun-blazing pursuit -- Vigilance at the gas pump -- Closing the ring -- In the world's spotlight -- Heir to a timber empire -- Devil at the door -- Ambushed on the road -- A man of God is taken -- The luckless one -- Tubbo and Touhy (Act II). |
| Subject(S) |
Kidnapping -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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Crime -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
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True crime stories.
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| ISBN |
9781492694793 (hardcover) |
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Other Resources
