Product details: - Paperback: 219 pages
- Author: Stan Redding, Frank Abagnale
- Publisher: Mainstream Publishing
- Publication Date: 2003-01-23
- Studio: Mainstream Publishing
- Manufacturer: Mainstream Publishing
- Package Dimensions: 7.64 x 49 x 75 inches
Customer reviews:  superior to the movie, 2004-08-19
I'll admit it. I never would have read this book if it was not for the movie that came out last year. I still haven't seen the movie but decided that perhaps the book would be interesting since it was written by the subject of the movie. I didn't learn until the end of the book (in a Q&A section with the author) that this was written in 1980. Abagnale has a very easy going style and it almost feels like he is right there next to you telling you this wild story of his youth.
Catch Me If You Can is an interesting, exciting, fast paced novel that is a pure joy to read. I don't know if I can put it better than that. This was a book that I simply did not want to put down and I flew through the book. The plot of the memoir is the criminal career of Frank Abagnale (he has since paid his debt to society and now works to prevent exactly the sort of crime that he once committed). Frank Abagnale was a con man. He began his career at a young age (15) conning gas station attendants to give him cash when he pays with his father's credit card. The leads to Frank leaving home, moving to New York City and trying to begin an honest life. Unfortunately, Frank's one main vice is women, and to be with women he needs to have more money than a 16 year old high school dropout can earn. So he begins to con. Frank's primary method of conning was passing bad checks. However, he found that it is easier to make the con if he is a member of a well respected profession. Frank researches every role that he plays so that he will be as convincing as humanly possible without actually having to do that job. In some cases, he was able to con so well that he was paid for it and he didn't have to forge checks. The professions that Frank had impersonated were: Pilot, Doctor (he was paid to be on staff but not actually have to practice for nearly a year), Lawyer (he managed to pass the bar on his third try and worked as a laywer despite having no background in law), and a Professor (he taught two summer courses). The reason everything worked so well was that Frank is an extremely smart man and nobody expected this sort of con. As was expected (and as Frank expected), he was eventually caught (and escaped, and was caught again), and part of the book dealt with Frank's ride through the prison systems (France and Sweden play prominent roles). I can't say enough good things about this book. It was so interesting to read and I would recommend it to anybody. -Joe Sherry  Wits, Charm and Ego, 2004-03-09
I'm conflicted. I saw the movie before reading this book. Having seen the movie, I find objectivity impossible.
Frank Abagnale tells of his adventures living the life of James Bond without the killing, using his wits and charm to get what he wants. It is romanticized, but plausible. Do I advise you to read the book first so as to avoid the skew of injecting Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio? You know the successful movie. It is hard not to hear DiCaprio's voice while reading Frank's dialogue. Because the movie has such skilled actors and good editing, it comes across tightly and exciting. Do I instead advise you to watch the movie first because it will be easier to imagine the details of check fraud production? The book is not well-edited, and suffers from mediocre writing, and any help moving it along will help. The book is less fun than the movie. There is much more to absorb, more details to consider, and more of Abagnale in the story. His ego plays heavily into the text, and this gets old. His story does not end with this book, but additional chapters haven't been included. How true is it all? Who can say? Some of it is verifiable, but Abagnale was, in many cases, the only one there. He fabricated so much of his existence, knowing when it is the truth and when it is storytelling is impossible. To enjoy the book, the reader must take the author at his word. The parental drive Frank wants from Carl feels less evident, missing the sensitive looks and words as played in the movie by Hanks and DiCaprio. In reading other 'how I lived as a criminal' books by cons like Jack 'Murph the Surf' Murphy, I have had to remember writing skill isn't why they are authors. It is proficiency in thievery, conning, or some other great misdeed. The movie fooled me into believing this book would be different. However, just like Murphy, Abagnale is a man whose life is redeemed. The book doesn't cover this. There is something oddly heroic about a guy who has managed to fool a lot of people just by pretending. While applauding Abagnale's crimes are wrong, his ingenuity is amazing. He was good enough for the government to cut a deal with him. That's Tom Sawyer with more pluck and style. We wish were that smart and suave. This creates morality layers, but a book worth reading and thinking about. Read "Catch Me If You Can," then see the movie. Customers who bought this item also bought:
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