Nominated for the American Library Association’s 2001 list of Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers!
Some of the most significant trials of the 20th century dealt with such chilling issues as kidnapping, murder, spying, school segregation, and freedom of the press. Read about teenage murderers Leopold and Loeb, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, accused spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Brown v. the Board of Education, Charles Manson, the Pentagon Papers, and the O. J. Simpson murder trial. Learn how these landmark cases captured the nation's attention—and decide for yourself whether justice was served.
Hi-Lo: RL 4.5; IL 4–9.
American Justice: Seven Famous Trials of the 20th Century is available in paperback (PB) and reinforced library binding (RLB) editions. Perfection Learning, 2000; 79 pages; PB ISBN 0-7891-2869-1; RLB ISBN 0-7807-7831-6.
To order the book, please call 1-800-831-4190, fax 1-712-644-2392, or click
here. And be sure to check out
American Justice's companion volume,
American Justice II: Six Trials That Captivated a Nation.
Note: The publisher also offers Accelerated Reader® software and a Teacher Resource for this title.
There's enough drama in the seven famous trials described in this entry in the Cover-to-Cover series to ensure that young readers won't want to put this book down. Without sensationalizing, Owens paints a vivid, sometimes horrific picture of the criminal mind at its worst. Beginning with Leopold and Loeb’s kidnap and murder of Bobby Franks, the book shares stark details, with bulleted facts that make easy, yet gripping, reading. Encapsulated case-file facts, excerpted courtroom testimonies, and plenty of photos and sketches add to the appeal of the book, which in both format and reading level . . . will speak to middle-school readers as well as to older reluctant readers. Other trials include the Lindbergh baby's kidnapping, the gruesome Tate-LaBianca murders, and Brown v. Board of Education. Boldface vocabulary terms appear throughout the text and are cross-referenced in the glossary.
On March 1, 1932, Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh's baby was kidnapped. The baby's name was Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. He was 20 months old.
Anne put him to bed that night. He had a cold, so she made sure he was warm and comfortable.
Anne left his side at 7:30 p.m.
The nursemaid was Betty Gow. She was still in the nursery when Anne left. She tidied up. She made sure the baby was covered. Then she opened a French window halfway.
Betty checked a short time later. The baby was fast asleep.
The Lindberghs had dinner at about 8:30.
At 10:00, Betty entered the nursery. It was time for another routine check. She shut the window and turned on the heater.
Then she turned toward the crib. It was empty!
She quickly found Anne. She asked, "Do you have the baby, Mrs. Lindbergh?"
Anne did not.
"Perhaps Colonel Lindbergh has him, then," said Betty.
The women searched the house. Charles didn't have the baby. None of the other servants had the baby. He was gone.
Charles examined the baby's room. The window was unlatched. It was open just a crack. A white envelope rested on the sill.
Charles didn't touch it. He knew it was a ransom note. And it was evidence.
He called the police at 10:25. Within 20 minutes, state law enforcement agencies had been notified. By 11:00, the investigation was well under way.
Excerpt © 2000 Perfection Learning.
© 2003–2007 by L. L. Owens
All rights reserved.
