Larry Cox, Tucson Citizen
He makes the case relevant and fascinating for the reader.

Gracie Gregg, Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX
Using a substantial body of evidence Tofel...offers a tentative, yet intriguing solution…

Ric Burns, documentary filmmaker
…Extraordinarily deft and skillfully written…[An] admirably understated book…

Wall Street Journal
…Offers a portrait of Tammany personalities and their intricate political deals…. The first book to piece together [Crater's] surprising story.

Midwest Book Review
Fans of true crime and New York City politics alike will be attracted to Vanishing Point, an excellent survey…

Dallas Morning News
It's a fascinating tale, even after all these years.

New York Post
An entertaining account…. For those who recognize the name, but don't know the fascinating story...this is the book....

New York Sun
With a newspaperman's eye for drama, Tofel covers...a great tale about a New York just beyond our living memory.

New York Law Journal
…Excellent… a vivid portrayal…. New York lawyers should find fascinating the depiction of a New York legal world…. Illuminating.

Smoke
…An intriguing mystery built around the author's compelling argument about the truth behind Crater's disappearance.

Book Description
The sudden disappearance of Judge Joseph Crater nearly 75 years ago led to perhaps the most famous missing persons case of the twentieth century. Within days, questions arose about his finances, and his liaison with numerous women. A revealing look at New York as the Jazz Age gave way to the Depression, and one of the most intriguing stories in the annals of uran America

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Among the most confounding missing persons cases of the twentieth century was the sudden disappearance in New York City in 1930 of Judge Joseph Crater. It has never been resolved.

A justice of New York's State Supreme Court, Crater vanished amid political scandal. Within days, questions arose about the judge's finances and his liaisons with numerous women. As his wife secluded herself in Maine, the search for Crater absorbed the attention of New Yorkers in a way nearly impossible to comprehend today. The New York City Police Department spent nearly fifty years, off and on, trying to find Crater before it gave up. The public frenzy about what happened to the judge provided impetus for scrutiny of New York's Tammany Hall political machine -- and ultimately for the vanishing of Tammany as well. Richard Tofel's scrupulous research does not offer a definitive solution to the Crater mystery, but Mr. Tofel builds an intriguing argument while his engaging narrative recreates a New York at the end of the Jazz Age, particularly its hurly-burly politics. Vanishing Point is the first careful examination of the Crater phenomenon and includes a formidable cast of characters. Here is one of the most engrossing mystery stories in the annals of urban America.

SYNOPSIS

Tofel's investigation of the 1930 disappearance of Joseph Crater, a New York State Supreme Court justice, takes the reader to Tammany Hall and Jazz Age night clubs. Tofel, assistant publisher of the Wall Street Journal and a Dow Jones vice-president, reconstructed the story from newspaper accounts and literature about the era, which he records in his list of sources. Although Tofel does not solve this mystery, he provides a fascinating look at New York as the Great Depression was about to eclipse the Jazz Age. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Smoke

...An intriguing mystery built around the author's compelling argument about the truth behind Crater's disappearance.

Dallas Morning News

It's a fascinating tale, even after all these years.

Midwest Book Review

Fans of true crime and New York City politics alike will be attracted to Vanishing Point, an excellent survey...

New York Law Journal

...Excellent... a vivid portrayal.... New York lawyers should find fascinating the depiction of a New York legal world.... Illuminating.

New York Times Book Review

...Shrewd, terse, engrossing study....Read all 9 "From The Critics" >

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

RIC BURNS

...Extraordinarily deft and skillfully written...[An] admirably understated book... — DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER