Rating: 
Summary: Living Vicariously as the World's Most Suave Fake
Review: I saw the movie first, and was interested in reading the novel thereafter. It was as good as, or better than, the movie.First of all, everything from the movie is here, but explained with greater accuracy and details: Frank's family, his first con, why he ran away, how he became a co-pilot, and his crazy affairs with airline stewardesses. Although he starts and ends the novel with an air of boastful pride, it's hard for readers to hate him. In fact, it's so much easier to be amazed at his confidence, his suave nature with women, and the precarious situations he gets into. Instead of seeing Frank as the egotistical boy with uncontrollable urges, readers are able to identify with Frank, as he also reveals his fears and feelings of loneliness that accompanied him as a wanted felon. So many things were left out of the movie that the book details fabulously. We learn about his days as a sociology teacher, his nights as a doctor, and how he really passed the bar. Along the way, readers follow Frank's clever train-of-thought, learning a few things about check fraud along the way (which are discussed in just the right amount so that it isn't boring but interesting). His intimate moments were also exciting to read, as he recanted how his persuasion and confidence helped him fulfill his libidinous desires. What I also personally liked was that all of Frank's intimate details were described in such a sexy and non-gratuitous nature, leaving the dirty stuff to the imagination. Finally, the book ends with a lasting impression of Frank's months in the French prison. Here, the glorified image of the con man is put into a greater and more realistic perspective, symbolic of how Frank grew up to see his consequences, and how he began thinking about some of the individuals he hurt. It also puts a moral imprint on the book, suggesting that there are repercussions to a selfishly hedonistic lifestyle. In all, an extremely entertaining novel that was hard to put down. This is definitely a great summer read, and a good recommendation to those who dislike reading -- they'll be hooked on this one till the very end!
Rating: 
Summary: Almost unbelievable -- rivetting!
Review: I would say that this book pushes the ability for the reader to suspend their disbelief... except that it is all true! This is the kind of book that you don't want to put down. The main character (the author) manages to pull off an incredible series of frauds, at an incredibly young age. After reading this book, I felt the urge to learn as much as I could about this man, and started doing research on the web for more information. A fascinating story about an incredible person...
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: 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.
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