Fass (History/Univ. of Calif., Berkeley) focuses her grim study on the public's reaction to the horrific crime of kidnapping, from Charley Ross to Polly Klaas.
The 1874 kidnapping of four-year-old Charley Ross, the first for ransom, captivated the public for years after, and Fass writes well of Charley's gradual transformation from lost child to holy innocent, celebrated in newspapers and in a bestselling book written by his father. The media frenzy that greeted Charley's disappearance—decades later, men still claimed to be the lost boy—turned into a frightful circus that was responsible for the loss of more than one victim as kidnappers panicked in the glare of publicity. Fass also profiles Betty Jean Benedicto, a baby-snatcher who gained weight to imitate pregnancy and starved herself to mimic Hanna Marcus, the depressed mother of the child she had stolen. Benedicto was released early by a sympathetic judge—and with the best wishes of the Marcuses, who felt Benedicto treated their baby kindly. She went on to steal another infant. Male kidnappers, unsurprisingly, are dealt with more severely by the public. In 1924, Leopold and Loeb, the University of Chicago prodigies who killed 14-year-old Bobby Franks, were viewed as homosexual devils. And Richard Hauptmann, whether guilty or not of killing the Lindbergh baby in 1932, was executed for the crime. Modern kidnappings, like that of Etan Patz, are viewed as the work of a pedophile with a desire to exploit a child through pornography or prostitution. While most current kidnappings are more along the lines of a noncustodial parent stealing the child, and stranger kidnappings are still very rare, in the public's view, sexual predators lurk everywhere. Fass writes about organizations that provide "kidnap insurance," and the histrionic tactics used to make parents aware of purportedly rampant pedophilia in this country.
Despite its academic tone, a sad book with compelling stories.
"A rare combination of riveting narrative and acute, provocative historical and cultural analysis."—Sissela Bok, Harvard University
"Through incisive analysis of historical and contemporary cases, Fass highlights changes in social awareness and public response to kidnapping since its emergence into public consciousness at the time of the first known U.S. child ransom abduction in 1874...Fass has written extensively on issues of youth and culture and challenges those concerned with child welfare to examine the commercial portrayal of childhood, which sanctifies vulnerability and at the same time exploits it."—Booklist
"More than a retelling of some of the most famous kidnapping cases of the past 120 years, [Kidnapped] places the crimes in an historical context, showing how each mirrors the social concerns of the times and, as a result, becomes a portrait of parental anxiety."—Susan May, California Monthly
"In her riveting Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America,...Fass gives us a tour of the crime parents fear most, offering one terrifying detail after another. But Fass...provides more than a detailed guide to the horrors of child abduction. Her task here is to plot the way this crime has evolved and to look closely at how we as a society choose to regard it."—Penelope Rowlands, San Franciso Chronicle
"This is a very scary book, and very important as the fear of this crime seems to escalate. In the end, Fass speaks as much from her heart as her head."—Jane Clifford, San Diego Union-Tribune
"A heartfelt and disturbing book...Kidnapped is not only a convincing analysis of child abduction; it is a compelling example of how studies of the past can illuminate the present and suggest alternative futures."—The Journal of American History
