Stanley N. Alpert, The Birthday Party

The Birthday Party

Stanley N. Alpert

Putnam, January 2007, $24.95

ISBN: 0399154027

On January 21, 1998 near his Manhattan apartment, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley Alpert is abducted by three kidnappers, Ren, Sen, and in charge Lucky. He was selected not because of his work, which mostly involved environmental law, but because he had the look of money. This is Mr. Alpert's story of how he survived his ordeal when most kidnappings end tragically. The book is divided into two sections, "Mouse" in which he is a victim trying to survive, and "Cat" in which he is free and with friends, and law enforcement go after the trio based on what he learned during his captivity. Readers will fully appreciate this stunning account, especially the Mouse segment in which Mr. Alpert provides a survival manual on how he came out of this alive to celebrate his thirty ninth birthday (his thirty-eighth was the day after he was snatched off the street), as he admits the most important ingredient besides trying to remain calm is luck. The Cat portion is also well written, but reads more like a standard law enforcement manual, so it does not contain the uniqueness of the abduction segue. This is an excellent true crime thriller, as related by victim and supporting legal documents.