Catch Me If You Can

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: it is hard to belive one man was able to trick so many if he didn't scam me in this book then i think its great if he did it is one of the best books ever frank abagnale is a james bond of the really really big petty crime world

Rating:
Summary: Great airplane read
Review: I bought this book to read on the plane on the way to and from London. It is soooo good, I could never put it down. You get really into Frank's escapades, there were times I almost tried to warn him out loud not to do something. It amazed me how easy it was for him to pull his pranks, and it makes you wonder how much of that would be possible today. If you like true crime type books and love to get inside the mind of a compulsive criminal, this book would be great for you.

Rating:
Summary: If you liked the movie, you will love the book!
Review: I really enjoyed the movie, but I did not believe any of it. How could a 16 year old pull off all these scams posing successfully as an airline pilot, lawyer, doctor, and FBI agent. Only in Hollywood! I had to read the book to uncover the truth. To my amazement, almost nothing in the movie was dramatized. Frank Abagnale did it all. And, this even includes the acrobatic escape from a commercial plane as it lands.

The book depicts a far richer story than the movie. At the start, the family situation is more complex. The scams are more intricate. The career path is more extraordinary. The movie skipped over interesting jobs, including a stint as a college sociology teacher.

Also amazing is that this teenager acquired far more knowledge about the meaning of every single digit on a personal check than any banker I know. And, I know, having been engaged in banking and finance for over two decades.

Frank's character development make the whole story more likely. Frank was not your regular 16 year old dude. At 16, he could easily pass for a fit 25 year old. He was 6 feet tall, 170 pounds. He also acquired quite a real world education by hanging out with his Dad. His Dad exposed him to political, business, and social circles that teenagers do not know. Thus, Frank Abagnale, being a queen observer, learned quickly how adults behave among themselves.

Frank was also strikingly handsome, and confident. So, the story includes many romantic interludes. This aspect of life is described most tastefully. There is nothing graphic here. And, it does not detract from the story. To the contrary, women were a key element in this scammer's education. They were often insiders to the professions he attempted to fake.

There are a lot of close calls, where you feel Abagnale's cover is going to peel off for good. But, invariably he recovers elegantly from what appears like desperate situations.

In the last part of the book things finally go south. But, it is still fascinating. You learn about the awful prison standards and jail terms in France and Italy. You also find out how Sweden treats their own incarcerated people so much better.

In the Afterword & Q & A section, you are relieved that everything turned out well for this likable Robin hood like figure. He now leads a very successful life as a corporate consultant on fraud, happily married with kids. Hard to believe but true.

Rating:
Summary: The rest of the story...
Review: This book covers many things that the movie left out. For example, you learn why if you are going to commit crimes around the world, you might not want to commit any in France. (Their prison system is ROUGH.)

Perhaps if Mr. Abagnale hadn't compulsively committed crimes even when he had plenty of money, he wouldn't have nearly died in a French jail.

There is also a great interview at the end of the book where Mr. Abagnale discusses how to fight the war on terrorism among other things.

Rating:
Summary: Huge Disappointment
Review: I have a hard time understanding why so many people rave about this book. The premise sounded good, but the story is thin. I suppose some may have found his exploits amusing or believable, but for me it was a story with no substance, with a writing style that a teenager might identify with more than I did. My recommendation is not to bother reading it.

Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing for such an amazing life
Review: In most cases of book turned movie, the book far outweighs the level of excellence than the movie. In this case, however, the book pales in comparison to the movie. This can be attributed to many things. The most glaringly obvious reason is Mr. Abagnale's sex addiction. While a biography should illustrate what the subjects attitude and personality is, this book went as far as to mention women and sex every other page. By the third page I understood Mr. Abagnale's love and enjoyment of women and by the fourth I was already sick of it. This blantant redundancy certainly detracted from the book as it would in any book. The other issue I had with the book is his unapologetic disregard for authority, laws, and the human race. We are supposed to praise this guy and talk about how great he is? How is that possible when he put so many lives in danger and stole millions of dollars that could have been put to social programs and other venues. I had a tough time cheering for him on the sidelines simply because I do not agree with his mindset. Another problem is that by the 120th page, the book just gets boring. I had a tough time caring at all midway through the book. While it does pick up towards the end. The middle of the book just seems to be the same thing only in a different place. I may be acting overly critical, but someone needs to be since all the other reviews have deemed Mr. Abaganale a hero. Not quite, but he certainly did live an amazing and eventful life. It's not a bad read, just not a great one, which is what I expected.

Rating:
Summary: The adventure of a lifetime
Review: When I first read this book back in 1986 I couldn't put it down. After that I've read it three times, and it's always very entertaining. Mr. Abagnale goes in detail about how he deviced every fraud and also demonstrates in the process that he has an ability for understanding and manipulating human nature, like a biologist looking over mice in a maze. Though many of the things he did then can't be done now because of new security measures established by banks, the fact that he was able to do it is amazing. The movie based on this book by Spielberg is more "happy con man" than the book was because in the book you can sense that it wasn't all fun and girls, but Abagnale constantly had the stress of being caught in the back of his mind, pulsating like an aneurism about to burst. And there's a chapter in the book about his ordeal in an Italian prison which was very painful for him, mentally and physically. A must read.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating story of the biggest fake in America
Review: Had I not seen the movie of the same name, I would have never heard of this gem of a "true crime" story. Although I cannot condone the actions of the author, his story of impersonating an airline pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, and a university professor are nevertheless highly amusing and entertaining.

You've got to give Frank Abagnale a great deal of credit for the amount of intelligence he displayed in his efforts to live a life of luxury, while at the same time being able to play it cool in roles that any other 16 or 17 year old would be completely unable to play because of his or her lack of maturity.

The movie only gives a very brief overview of many of Mr. Abagnale's exploits - the book goes into far greater detail and is by far one of the most entertaining books that I have read this year. If you enjoyed the film, you'll want to read the book as well. Happy Reading!

Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: This book was highly entertaining, and sometimes I even laughed out loud at its great humor.
Many people seem to be criticizing that the book was not well written and is not descriptive, blah blah, but as for me personally I couldn't care less, as I like books that get straight to the point, and don't beat around the bushes so much. Which is part of the reasons why I liked this book so much!
Also, I don't know how truthful this book goes as to Abagnale's life and events, but despite that, it's still fun to read, fiction or nonfiction.
The only part of this book that got a little boring for me was when he was check swindling like crazy and I couldn't understand what was the point of it anymore, as he had so much freaking money.
About the ending, those that say that it leaves you hanging and it doesn't really have an ending are liars. On the next page, we are told exactly what happens next in Abagnale's life.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Quck Read
Review: Catch Me if You Can, by Frank Abagnale is a very entertaining book. While reading it I felt a strange urge to actually try some of the tactics Abagnale himself used. As he goes into great detail explaining how forging a check is done, and what all the numbers on a personal check mean. At times, you are so caught up in Frank's adventures that you forget this is a true story of a boy who never even reaches 21 before being thrown into three different prisons outside of the US. Yes, Frank Abagnale spent time in prisons in the US as well as Switzerland and France. And throughout his time as a theif, do you know what his vice was? Girls. That is the reality that kept bringing me back to the concept that Frank is simply a teenager. After all, he started check fraud to get more cash to take out countless girls. An irony I found while reading this book was the fact that I myself was on a plane to the Miami International Airport, where Frank frequented from. I actually found myself thinking, what if that pilot isn't real? It was crazy. This book truely let my imagination run wild, and made me think briefly about a life in crime. (not really) I reccomend this quick read for anyone looking for an enjoyable book, however if you saw the movie do not start this book asuming that the movie is exactly the same, they are actually quite different. There is also a very good interview with Abagnale at the end of the book. This is a comical, yet not laugh out loud, entertaining, true story that can be read over a weekend.