Although the 1932 kidnapping of aviator Charles Lindbergh’s baby was a worldwide sensation, it was only one of an estimated three thousand ransom kidnappings that occurred in the United States that year. The epidemic hit America during the Great Depression and the last days of Prohibition as criminal gangs turned kidnapping into the highly lucrative “snatch racket.” Wealthy families and celebrities purchased kidnap insurance, hired armed chauffeurs and bodyguards, and carried loaded handguns. Some sent their children to school or summer camp in Europe to get them out of harm’s way. “Recent Kidnappings in America” was a regular feature in the New York Times, while Time magazine included kidnappings in its weekly list of notable births, deaths, and other milestones. The Snatch Racket is the story of a crime epidemic that so frightened families that it undermined confidence in law enforcement and government in general. In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt waged a three-year War against Kidnappers with J. Edgar Hoover and his G-men (newly empowered to carry weapons and make arrests) on the front lines. This first U.S. war against terrorism revolutionized and modernized law enforcement in the United States, dramatically expanding the powers of the federal government in the fight against not only kidnapping but many new types of interstate crime. At the heart of the narrative are some of the most iconic names of the twentieth century: Rockefeller, Ford, Lindbergh, Roosevelt, Hoover, Capone, Schwarzkopf, and Hearst, all caught up in the kidnapping frenzy. The Snatch Racket is a spellbinding account of terrifying abductions of prominent citizens, gangsters invading homes with machine guns, the struggles of law enforcement, and the courage of families doing whatever it took to bring home the ransomed.

Ruth shows that the media gangster was less a reflection of reality than a projection created from Americans' values, concerns, and ideas about what would sell.

The biggest crime story in American history began on the night of March 1, 1932, when the twenty-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was snatched from his crib in Hopewell, New Jersey. The news shocked a nation enthralled with the aviator, the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic. American law enforcement marshalled all its resources to return “Little Lindy” to the arms of his parents—and perhaps even more energized were the legions of journalists catering to a public whose appetite for Lindbergh news was insatiable. In Little Lindy Is Kidnapped, Thomas Doherty offers a lively and comprehensive cultural history of the media coverage of the abduction and its aftermath. Beginning with Lindbergh’s ascent to fame and proceeding through the trial and execution of the accused kidnapper, Doherty traces how newspapers, radio, and newsreels reported on what was dubbed the “crime of the century.” He casts the affair as a transformative moment for American journalism, analyzing how the case presented new challenges and opportunities for each branch of the media in the days before the rise of television. Coverage of the Lindbergh story, Doherty reveals, set the template for the way the media would treat breaking news ever after. An engrossing account of an endlessly fascinating case, Little Lindy Is Kidnapped sheds new light on an enduring quality of journalism ever since: the media’s eye on a crucial part of the story—itself.

Peter Cheyney is perhaps best known for his short stories and novels about agent/detective Lemmy Caution. Caution was first portrayed as a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, and in later stories as a private detective. Another popular creation was the private detective Slim Callaghan who also appeared in a series of novels and subsequent film adaptations. He was constructed as a British response to the more hardboiled detectives of American fiction such as Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. A meticulous researcher, Cheyney kept a massive set of files on criminal activity in London, but these were destroyed during the Blitz in 1941; he however, soon began to replace his collection of clippings. He dictated his work. Typically he would "act out" his stories for his secretary, Miss Sprauge, who would copy them down in shorthand and type them up later… Lemmy Caution Books This Man Is Dangerous Poison Ivy Dames Don't Care Can Ladies Kill? Don't Get Me Wrong You'd Be Surprised Your Deal, My Lovely Never A Dull Moment You Can Always Duck Slim Callaghan Books The Urgent Hangman Dangerous Curves You Can't Keep The Change It Couldn't Matter Less Sorry You've Been Troubled Calling mr. Callaghan Dark Novels Dark Duet The Stars Are Dark The Dark Street Dark Hero Dark Bahama Lost Novels Death Chair The Gold Kimono The Sign On The Roof The Vengeance Of Hop Fi Other Novels Ladies Won't Wait The Curiosity Of Etienne Macgregor The Deadly Fresco Dressed To Kill Short Fiction The Alonzo Mactavish Omnibus Lemmy Caution Stories Slim Callaghan Stories Other Stories

The British crime fiction writer Peter Cheyney is the creator of the American FBI agent Lemmy Caution and the English detective Slim Callaghan. These characters were constructed as a British response to the hardboiled detectives of American fiction. In later years Cheyney’s style matured with the ‘Dark’ books, drawing wide praise during World War II for bringing more realism to espionage fiction. Although his works have suffered neglect in recent times, the fame of Cheyney’s novels in the post-war period cannot be underestimated, having sold over 5 million copies. For the first time in publishing history, this eBook presents Peter Cheyney’s complete works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Cheyney’s life and works * Concise introductions to the major texts * All 41 novels, with individual contents tables * The complete Lemmy Caution and Slim Callaghan books * Features rare novels and story collections * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the short stories * Rare uncollected tales appearing here for the first time in digital publishing * Easily locate the stories you want to read * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres CONTENTS: The Lemmy Caution Novels This Man is Dangerous (1936) Poison Ivy (1937) Dames Don’t Care (1937) Can Ladies Kill? (1938) Don’t Get Me Wrong (1939) You’d be Surprised (1940) Your Deal, My Lovely (1941) Never a Dull Moment (1942) You Can Always Duck (1943) I’ll Say She Does! (1945) G-Man at the Yard (1946) The Slim Callaghan Stories The Urgent Hangman (1938) Dangerous Curves (1939) You Can’t Keep the Change (1940) It Couldn’t Matter Less (1941) Sorry You’ve Been Troubled (1942) They Never Say When (1944) Uneasy Terms (1946) Calling Mr. Callaghan (1953) The Dark Series Dark Duet (1942) The Stars are Dark (1943) The Dark Street (1944) Sinister Errand (1945) Dark Hero (1946) Dark Interlude (1947) Dark Wanton (1948) You Can Call It a Day (1949) Dark Bahama (1950) Lady, Behave! (1950) Ladies Won’t Wait (1951) Other Novels The Vengeance of Hop Fi (1928) The Curiosity of Etienne MacGregor (1928) The Gold Kimono (1931) Death Chair (1931) The Deadly Fresco (1932) The Sign on the Roof (1935) Another Little Drink (1940) Night Club (1945) Dance without Music (1947) Try Anything Twice (1948) One of Those Things (1949) The Short Story Collections You Can’t Hit a Woman (1937) Knave Takes Queen (1939) Mr. Caution — Mr. Callaghan (1941) Making Crime Pay (1944) No Ordinary Cheyney (1948) Velvet Johnnie (1952) The Adventures of Julia (1954) He Walked in Her Sleep (1954) The Mystery Blues (1954) Miscellaneous Stories The Short Stories List of Short Stories in Chronological Order List of Short Stories in Alphabetical Order

The British crime fiction writer Peter Cheyney is the creator of the American FBI agent Lemmy Caution and the English detective Slim Callaghan. These characters were constructed as a British response to the hardboiled detectives of American fiction. In later years Cheyney’s style matured with the ‘Dark’ books, drawing wide praise during World War II for bringing more realism to espionage fiction. Although his works have suffered neglect in recent times, the fame of Cheyney’s novels in the post-war period cannot be underestimated, having sold over 5 million copies. This eBook presents Cheyney’s collected works, with numerous illustrations, rare texts, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Cheyney’s life and works * Concise introductions to the major texts * All 29 novels available in the US public domain, with individual contents tables * Features rare novels and story collections * The complete short stories * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the short stories * Rare uncollected tales appearing here for the first time in digital publishing * Easily locate the stories you want to read * Ordering of texts into chronological order and genres Please note: due to US copyright restrictions, 12 novels cannot appear in this edition. When new works enter the public domain, they will be added to the collection as a free update. CONTENTS: The Lemmy Caution Novels This Man is Dangerous (1936) Poison Ivy (1937) Dames Don’t Care (1937) Can Ladies Kill? (1938) Don’t Get Me Wrong (1939) You’d be Surprised (1940) Never a Dull Moment (1942) You Can Always Duck (1943) G-Man at the Yard (1946) The Slim Callaghan Stories The Urgent Hangman (1938) Dangerous Curves (1939) You Can’t Keep the Change (1940) It Couldn’t Matter Less (1941) Sorry You’ve Been Troubled (1942) Calling Mr. Callaghan (1953) The Dark Series Dark Duet (1942) The Stars are Dark (1943) The Dark Street (1944) Dark Hero (1946) Dark Bahama (1950) Ladies Won’t Wait (1951) Other Novels The Vengeance of Hop Fi (1928) The Curiosity of Etienne MacGregor (1928) The Gold Kimono (1931) Death Chair (1931) The Deadly Fresco (1932) The Sign on the Roof (1935) Another Little Drink (1940) Night Club (1945) The Short Story Collections You Can’t Hit a Woman (1937) Knave Takes Queen (1939) Mr. Caution — Mr. Callaghan (1941) Making Crime Pay (1944) No Ordinary Cheyney (1948) Velvet Johnnie (1952) The Adventures of Julia (1954) He Walked in Her Sleep (1954) The Mystery Blues (1954) Miscellaneous Stories The Short Stories List of Short Stories in Chronological Order List of Short Stories in Alphabetical Order