Dave's Author Page
Dr. John "Dave" Van Dyke is a writer, academic, and science educator. His essays have appeared in the links below. Van Dyke has been featured on internationally syndicated radio programs such as The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Our American Stories.
Dr. John D. Van Dyke has published a new book that aims to analyze and refute the conspiracy theories that attempt to exonerate Bruno Richard Hauptmann of the kidnapping and murder of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr.
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The Lindbergh Kidnapping and the Origin of the Viral Conspiracy Theory unpacks the lives of the two men at the center of the case: Charles Lindbergh, the heralded aviator and victim who later became a pariah for his opposition to US involvement in World War II, and Bruno Richard Hauptmann, the hapless illegal immigrant executed for the Crime of The Century.
The Lindbergh Kidnapping and the Origin of the Viral Conspiracy Theory also explores how conspiratorial thinking infiltrates our international psyche and why so many people believe in it.
Praise for ​The Lindbergh Kidnapping and the Origin of the Viral Conspiracy Theory
"I’ve watched Dave engage with the leading voices on the Lindbergh case, and his command of the evidence surpasses that of any other expert. Drawing from original research, court transcripts, and crime scene photos, this is investigative work at its finest. No hearsay, no motivated reasoning, no agenda—just the facts, examined with rigor and precision. It’s the most reliable account we have of one of the most notorious child kidnappings in American history."
-Alexander Reiman, Skeptic magazine
"Van Dyke hits the nail on the head: Charles Lindbergh had nothing to do with orchestrating the kidnapping or in any way causing the death of his toddler son, Charlie. The child’s murder was, in fact, the great tragedy of Lindbergh’s life—a tragedy I’m convinced he never got over, and one that changed the course of his life. Facts and evidence are the enemy of the conspiracy theorists, who speculate wildly that Lindbergh was behind the crime. Confirmation bias is their friend. Personally, I prefer scholarship."
-Robert Zorn, author of Cemetery John: The Undiscovered Mastermind of the Lindbergh Kidnapping
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"Thank you so much for writing this book! You have become one of the few voices of reason in the past several years. Your book ranks up there with the works of Jim Fisher, Robert Zorn and Richard Cahill." - Patti Amatucci
Van Dyke is a frequent contributor to Skeptic magazine.
Van Dyke has written for Michigan History magazine. In 2024, Van Dyke enjoyed his first cover story on The Beatles' performance in Detroit.
In 2020, Van Dyke successfully nominated his hometown of Buchanan, MI, to be Reader’s Digest’s “Nicest Place in America.”
Van Dyke writes for POPMATTERS.
Van Dyke also writes fiction.
Academic articles by Van Dyke.
Van Dyke was a frequent contributor to Roger Ebert's Journal.
