Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable... in more ways than one...
Review: We've got a con man telling us all the amazing things he did before he was old enough to drink- passing as a pilot, a college professor, passing the bar exam without ever finishing high school, living off bad checks and not missing his family for the several years he was off in Europe swindling everyone he could there. What are we to believe? I don't know any sixteen year olds with the wherewithal to keep a pile successful exploits like this secret. I'd really be interested in knowing if French prisons (were/are) really like this. Abagnale claims he spend 6 months in complete and utter darkness, naked, sleeping on a stone floor, using a bucket for waste that was only emptied every month or so. Who knows? I haven't seen the movie, and maybe it's a good one. But is it true? I have no idea. This is a con man, after all. Maybe he's only as truthful as the way he made his name.
Rating: 
Summary: Riveting!
Review: I had seen the movie and decided to check out the book. What makes it such a compelling story is that it is TRUE! It's amazing how you can find time to read a book when the story is so intriguing--I was reading it every free moment throughout the day, and did not want it to end. I enjoyed the Q&A with the author in the back of the book. I'm glad he finally straightened out and is now using these abundant talents for good purposes.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: A fast read -- perfect for taking on a plane or suffering through a waiting room. I got immersed in the details of Abagnale's cons. He's not your basic criminal: few "paper-hangers" learn the intricacies of the Federal Reserve system and the complex workings of a major international airline. It was like watching someone solve a giant puzzle. As he says, he was young and it was all a big game to him when he began. As he grew older he realized more of what he was doing, but he had gotten accustomed to the roller coaster ride. And although he did bilk institutions out of a lot of money, he more than repaid his debt by serving as a security consultant. I wish the US Government would heed his advice, presented in an appendix, on dealing with terrorists.
Rating: 
Summary: I heard Him tell his story on the radio one night...
Review: I heard him tell his story on the radio one night about five years ago. I was captivated by his stories of crime and eluding capture and made a mental note of his name. Years later, a few nights ago as a matter of fact, I was browsing Amazon for a new book and his name came to mind. After searching for several minutes I located this book and excitedly placed my order. I breezed through the book in one day. I have to say that I am astonished at the man. He is likely to be the most self-centered, egomaniacal, lustful, lying, dishonest, cheating, con man to ever live. I found it difficult to enjoy the book due to my extreme distaste for his remarkably disrespectful treatment of the opposite sex, and his worship of self and money. I don't recall that the radio broadcast gave me the impression of his character that this book so clearly portrays. I thought that he was just an inventive and creative thief that you could love despite his penchant for bouncing checks; but instead I find that he is a man that treats women like toilet paper and has no respect for anyone. I began reading this wanting to like him in spite of his crimes, thinking that he had changed his ways over the years. But the book clearly displays his present character, and he doesn't seem to have changed a bit. He revels in his past without remorse or regret. The book is somewhat interesting to read but it has a major flaw. The most disappointing thing about this book; what made me decide to give only two stars; is the complete lack of an ending. There is no "part two". There is no follow-up that I can find. The story ends just when I was beginning to become interested. So, in a nutshell; egomaniacal man that worships his ..., his intellect and his money, goes on an incredible journey of deceit and theft that culminates in...nothing. The book has no ending. I am sorely disappointed in him for his actions and for his book.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent and fun biography.
Review: Catch Me If You Can is an excellent that anyone can pick up and read. The title just catches you and the rest will hold you back until you are finished.
Catch Me If You Can details the life of Frank Abagnale, a 16 year old who is good at catching details. When his parents divorced, he ran away, further into New York city and began his five year long crime spree.
He found that he had a knack for parting people with their money through scams, starting with his father. Once in NYC, he found that airplane pilots and crews had a certain amount of respect. Soon, he had bluffed his way into a uniform and wings, and looked the part of a pilot. He then forged a pilot's license, certificate and ID card. He then took advantage of the system, in which a pilot could travel for free to get from place to place, called Deadheading. Using this, he was able to travel all over the world on rival airplanes.
Along the way, Abegnale began to forge Pan Am checks, making many stunning replicas and cashing them in at banks.
When he was nearly caught, he 'retired' to Atlanta, saying that he was a doctor. A neigbor of his found out and he was soon working at the local hospital for a while, learning as he went. After that, he posed as a Harvard Law graduate, forging a transcript and licence, and practised law for a while. Finally, he found a job as a teacher, learning his lessons before the classes he taught.
This was all before he was twenty one.
He picked up on airplanes again, and after a while, was caught in France and thrown into jail. From France, he was transfered to Sweden and then to the US. There, he made several escapes before finally being caught. This book was an excellent and exciting read. This guy really travelled around and made nearly 2.5 million dollars before he was caught.
In addition to his adventures, the book puts an interesting light on check forging, which Abegnale said would become increasingly easier as technology improved. He was able to pass off countless checks, some perfect replicas of the origenals. I was only slightly disappointed with the book in two ways. The first was that Sean O'Reily, the FBI agent that tracked him down, only appeared in a couple scenes, and then only briefly. He is not a major character, and while I have not seen the movie, I would have liked to have seen him more, and how he accually tracked him down.
The second is believability. Abegnale's exploits are out there, and I had some trouble believing him at times. His escapes are exciting, but are just hard to believe. At other times, it seems that he had too much luck and too many lucky breaks before he was caught. I would imagine that there is some exageration at several points
However, it certainly makes an exciting story, and is still well worth getting.
Rating:
Summary: The True Story Of A Real Fake
Review: Catch Me If You Can, by Frank Abagnale Jr. is a delightful story of a real fake. Frank led a fairly normal childhood yet would constantly skip school and go hang out with his friends, sneaking into movies and shoplifting. He found his friends mischief to be amusing, yet immature and ignorant.
When he was only 15 he had taken [a large sum of money]from his father.
In his lifetime he faked the qualifications of a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, and a screenwriter, bouncing checks wherever he went. Frank was finally arrested in France when he was recognized by a stewardess. He was sentenced to the Perpignan's House of Arrest for the duration of one year. He had been transferred to many other prisons and escaped many different times since then. He was eventually caught. While on parole, astonishingly enough, he got a job informing banks about many techniques to look out for in check swindlers. From that, he got a job at the FBI's Financial Crime Unit.
Rating:
Summary: A whirlwind of a story!
Review: After watching and loving the movie, I absolutely had to read the book! I knew the book was written 20+ years ago, and is a true crime/memoir, so I had to know -- was everything in the movie true or were parts added to give it that Hollywood excitement? The tricks and scams pulled in the movie were so unbelieveable. So imagine my surprise... Frank Abagnale, Jr. is most likely the smartest, most brilliant con man that ever lived. How he duped as many people as he did is beyond me. But he did it -- over and over and over again. It all begins when Frank's father gives him his first car at age 16 and all the female attention he receives as a result. Spending money on the ladies is his new hobby and forging checks and pulling scams is how he does it. And from that point on, the journey only gets more twisted and wild. It is quite obvious throughout the pages of this book that Frank is rather pleased with himself and all he's gotten away with. Catch Me If You Can is truly a fun book to read, especially knowing that it is all true despite its high "unbelieveability" quotient. Frank Abagnale Jr. was one heck of a gutsy kid, and the ride on which readers are taken is full of surprises and mouth-gaping astonishment. A real whirlwind of a read.
Rating:
Summary: extraordinarily captivating
Review: This book is awesome! The story is so amazing it is hard to believe. Each chapter makes you want to read the next,just to see what Frank will try next. And it is always something more amazing than the con before! I read this book faster than almost any other I have read.
Rating:
Summary: Brazen, but where's the cleverness?
Review: What I find entertaining about stories of con-men are the cleverness or detail in their frauds. Abagnale's scams are all the same--passing bad checks. He occasionally does something a little clever--his printing of checks, his social engineering, his narrow escapes, and his escapade with the UofA coeds--but for the most part it's the same routine, over and over. I was hoping to see some more variety. Kevin Mitnick's book _The Art of Deception_ is more entertaining than this, as well as having much more practical value. I also recommend the David Mamet film _House of Games_, _The Spanish Prisoner_, and the books on con games by Victor Santoro, Chuck Whitlock, and M. Allen Henderson over this one.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: I purchased "Catch Me If You Can" shortly before the movie was released because I wanted to read the book first. This book is hilarious in places and at times it was hard to believe the cons are actually for real and not fabricated. An entertaining, funny read, I think most will enjoy the book. Can't way to see the movie.
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