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Summary: "Amazing" Falls Short of Describing This Man's Life
Review: I had a copy book years ago and read and reread it 'til it finally disintegrated. Once you start reading it you won't be able to put it down. I couldn't believe the things this man got away with. Airline pilot, doctor, etc, etc. etc. He did it all. It also details the time he spent in foreign prisons after capture. The TRUE LIFE experiences of this "con artist" far exceed any stories you've read or heard before. You won't be disappointed by this book. I'm glad to see it finally back in print and hope the rumors of a movie or possible TV series come true.
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Summary: Catch Me if you Can - Frank Abignale
Review: This non-fiction story is fast paced and keeps you wondering if it could possibly be true. The tale of his imprisonment is just as spellbounding as the period of time in which Frank Abiignale was on his spree of deceit and fraud. Sounding similar to the show "The Pretender" he a led a very short but interesting life of crime and to this day is still paying the price.I learned of Frank Abignale when I worked with a "FraudProof Check" that he helped to design.
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Summary: A Must Read
Review: This is a hard to believe but impossible to put down true life account of Frank Abagnale's early life. I could not believe the situations he was able to get away with and how close he came to getting caught on numerous occasions. I recommend this book to everyone that wants an interesting journey into the life of one of the best con men in the world. You will never forget it!
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Summary: This guy is real, despite what "doubters" might think.
Review: I read this book three times and have the oft-mentioned taped lecture of Abagnale. For those who "doubt" that he is real or that he consults for a living, I saw Frank on the nightly news (ABC or NBC) some years ago and he did a whole bit on how to prevent check fraud. The bit introduced Frank and showed his firm in Texas. Frank personally demonstrated how to make a fake check with a PC, as well as how to prevent fraud. He is real. If he embellished his stories, such is the way it goes. He isn't lying about his adventures. His book was scrutinized heavily when it was published 20 years ago. If you haven't read it, you'll love it.
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Summary: Great Book - fascinating
Review: Definitely the best true crime book I ever read. Probably because this book is written in the first person by the con artist himself - Frank Abagnale. It is truly an amazing story. His writing come across as very honest, regretful in some places, and not in others. By the end of this book you may find this person one of the most intriguing you ever came across. You will not hate him because of his crimes, but just be left in amazement of the life he has lead.
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Summary: Possibly the greatest con man of the century
Review: Psychiatrist Richard Restak, in his seminal book on Object Relations Theory, _The Self Seekers,_ devoted a chapter to Abagnale. Although I wonder if the complete truth is presented in this book (the author, after all, is a con man), there was enough truth for Restak to use him as an example. Most con men are Anti-Social Personalities (what used to be called psychopaths or sociopaths) because they had no conscience. Restak didn't consider Abagnale a sociopath; he considered him an 'as-if' personality; someone who in a sense has no true personality of his own, so he 'creates' one. Which is what Abagnale did when he imitated airplane pilots and doctors. What Abagnale did have in common with his brethen the narcissist/borderline/psychopath is the lack of human feeling. In Abagnale's case, his soon-to-be wife turns him in to the police; Frank, not surprisingly, is relieved to be rid of her. This book, although fascinating, is in a sense superficial because it gives no depth as to just what in the world was wrong with Abagnale. To understand it fully, it should be read along with Restak's book.
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Summary: Frank Abagnale-----Catch Me If You Can
Review: Some of the brightest minds in the world are criminal---an odd paradox that actually makes sense once you step out of the obvious ethical issues. The first kind of criminal, the common thug, is brutal, violent, classless and often easily caught. The second, the misguided mastermind, is brilliant, creative,committed and nearly impossible to catch. Frank W. Abagnale, Jr. was the epitome of the latter. Frank Abagnale ran away from home when he was sixteen and became very quickly disillusioned by his insatiable appetite for the opposite sex and the lack of opportunities offered to a high school dropout to afford such an expensive addiction. His temporary solution of bouncing checks soon became a one-man international check writing industry. Along the way he was able to pull off some extraordinary feats of genius. He cashed two and one-half million dollars in fraudulent checks in every state and twenty-six foreign countries over a five-year period. Between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one, he successfully posed as a pilot, an assistant attorney general, a college professor and a pediatrician. Apprehended by the French police when he was twenty-one years old, he served time in the French, Swedish and United States of America prison systems. After five years, he was released on the condition that he would help the United States government without remuneration. This is one of the best books I have read. It is an easy read, but full of fun and information. It's a keeper that you will want to read over and over again.
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Summary: VERY SUSPICIOUS
Review: Have read many reviews from people who have discovered discrepancies. For one thing, the U of South Carolina club that called him ahead of time, ahead of his planned lecture there, regarding discrepancies---Abagnale never showed up. The State Police helping him load money into his car is too far fetched to even believe. These reviews from young people: before you go gah gah, ask a wiser person this question: Is this guy Abagnale stretching everything or some things?
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Summary: I have met Frank........he is for real
Review: In the late 1970's I first learned of this book in the National Enquirer, I was serving a prison term for very similar activities. Being the brave soul I am, I contacted the publisher who forwarded my letter to Frank. Frank visited me at the Purdy Treatment Center (women's prison in Washington state). A couple of years later, after my release, I traveled to Houston to meet with him - I wanted to be a part of his consulting firm. Needless to say the timing was not right and it never happened. He impressed me and was a big contributing factor to me getting my life together. I am now a very successful professional with a Fortune 1000 company. Believe his story - for I too have lived that life.
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Summary: Very interesting but ...... suspect
Review: I have a tape of a live performance given by Frank and also have his book. There are discrepancies between the tape and the book. In general things are the same but the book adds some of the course details of his sexual escapades that taints the overall story and some of the details in the book differ significantly from the tape. It also seems odd to me that a multimillion dollar consulting firm wouldn't have a web site, but do a search for Frank Abignale and see what you come up with. Who knows... maybe the bigest con is the book and the tape.
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