Subtitle: The Lindbergh Kidnapping
Author: Lloyd C. Gardner
Subject: Criminology/History/New Jersey and the Region
Cloth ISBN 0-8135-3385-6
Pages: 496 pp., 30 b&w illus.

Praise for The Case That Never Dies

Winner of the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance Book Award for Scholarly Non-Fiction
2005 Honor Book by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities

"The Case That Never Dies does not tell us definitively who kidnapped and killed Charlie. But I would not be surprised if other readers also conclude that had Gardner, with his curiosity, keen understanding of human behavior and first-rate analytical mind, been involved with the original investigation, this story would have had a significantly different ending."-Trenton Times

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 most likely 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.

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.