Stanley Alpert
Author, "The Birthday Party"
Stanley Alpert is a former federal prosecutor and the author of "The Birthday Party," a memoir about how he survived being kidnapped on his 38th birthday. Alpert spent 25 hours held hostage by men who offered him drugs and threatened to kill his father, but he eventually convinced them to release him. Using clues he had memorized while captive, Alpert then lead FBI and NYPD agents to his kidnappers within mere hours. Alpert is also an environmental lawyer and a former federal prosecutor.
Big Think's interview with Alpert, in which he recounts his experience and gives advice about how to survive a kidnapping, is part of our Ultimate Survivor Stories series.
Being able to retain some sense of control during his kidnapping—albeit small—helped Alpert overcome the trauma of the experience.
▸
4 min
—
with
Humanizing yourself and creating a bond with your captor enhances your chances of survival, but sometimes you will also need to be deceptive.
▸
6 min
—
with
The NYPD and FBI both agree that Alpert should not have survived his kidnapping; Alpert shares with us the strategies he used to stay alive.
▸
8 min
—
with
Former federal prosecutor Stanley Alpert was kidnapped at gunpoint on his 38th birthday, kept his wits during the harrowing 25-hour ordeal, convinced his captors to release him, and then helped […]
▸
7 min
—
with
A conversation with the writer and kidnapping survivor.
▸
24 min
—
with