The Lindbergh Kidnapping

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-This study covers the 1932 kidnapping/murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. and the subsequent arrest and trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Campbell devotes two chapters to the crime and its investigation and three to the trial, appeals, and execution. The book includes black-and-white photos, a map, numerous quotes, a time line, and annotated bibliographies. There are a number of errors and omissions, an inadequate index, a lack of specific dates (especially in the first chapter), and some internal inconsistencies. The trial descriptions repeat much of the material from the earlier part of the book and follow a dull "then he said, then he testified, then he sought" format. The author doesn't place the kidnapping in the context of the times (it was a common crime; from 1929 to 1932 the U.S. had 2500 such cases). Judith Edwards's The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping in American History (Enslow, 2000), which overlaps in audience, is thorough and avoids Campbell's awkward crime/trial separation.-Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.