 "An embellished story of a fake" | 2008-05-15 |
| - Reviewed By estiej |
'Catch me if you can' is a fairly entertaining, badly written fiction book that served as a base for a very entertaining, well directed fiction movie. It's not an amazing true story as the blurbs proclaim.
Don't reach for this book if you want to read a true-to-fact autobiography. 'Catch me if you can' is a ghostwritten, highly embellished in style and content, largely implausible narrative that diverts from what probably really happened as much as the Spielberg movie diverts from the book. In words of Abagnale himself:
'I was interviewed by the co-writer only about four times. I believe he did a great job of telling the story, but he also over dramatized and exaggerated some of the story. That was his style and what the editor wanted. He always reminded me that he was just telling a story and not writing my biography. This is one of the reasons that from the very beginning, I insisted the publisher put a disclaimer in the book and tapes.'
I have yet to find this disclaimer in my copy. I like fiction and don't mind reading it as long as the author (or the publisher) doesn't try to sell it as a true story. Reading 'Catch me if you can' I had an increasing feeling that I was being conned. I swallowed all the tall tales of his forgeries, swindles and impersonations hook line and sinker, but the devil, as usual, is in details.
Funnily my suspicions were aroused only when I found out he was fluent in French despite the fact that a few pages earlier he used an interpreter to communicate in that language.
The description of his incarceration in a French hellhole of a prison is unbelievable to the point of ridiculous, but still the time is extended from 6 months he purportedly served to about one year.
Then he's rescued by a Swedish policewoman Jan Lundström. Fine. I understand that all names in the book have been changed but Jan is a male name in Sweden. At this point I couldn't suspend my disbelief any longer and I put the book down unfinished.
A few words about the style of writing. It's about as overdone as the facts it's supposed to desribe and nearly unreadable.
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 "A Real Kick in the Head" | 2008-04-23 |
| - Reviewed By tamblyn5 |
| I gave it 4 stars only because I reserve 5-star ratings for books I could not have lived without reading, so to speak. But it is a fascinating account, and if you like knowing that it's a big world out there with people doing interesting things, you'll probably enjoy this book. Abagnale is obviously intelligent and likes to have fun -- an infectious combination. I'm interested now in reading his follow-up, The Art of the Steal: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business from Fraud, America's #1 Crime. I suspect his advice will be more helpful than the dispirited, obfuscating "instructions" of the credit reporting agencies! |
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| "Good Interesting Read" | 2008-03-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3K398ZEWJ6TY9 |
| I read this book right after seeing the movie in theaters because of how much I liked the movie. The book is a great addition to the movie because you will get to read a lot of the stories that didn't make it into the movie and read the non-hollywood version of the actual events. |
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 "great pulp especially for a short plane trip!" | 2007-09-27 |
| - Reviewed By booksellersean123 |
"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."
don't you realize how silly it is to complain that stuff happens in the movie(fictional) and not in the book (factual). |
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 "Fun" | 2007-07-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: AJ98YA4Y333BK |
| This is a fun book. Abagnale's intelligence and wit come through, though the writing is a bit stilted and the material quite dated. But Abagnale's ability to exploit appearances and to exploit the level of trust necessary for society to work is fascinating and very funny. Perhaps his most interesting con is his relationship with women. This is the ultimate con game, I'm afraid, and the book would have been far better had he explained his con in this regard and had he come to terms with it. Also, the book ends quite abruptly and is unsatisfying in explaining how Abagnale ultimately came to terms with himself. |
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| "When you do get caught make something of it" | 2007-06-29 |
| - Reviewed By yemons |
| We sat in the second row as we listened to Abagnale recount his escapades as a con artist. His regret of his actions has led him to a life focused on preventing others from following his footsteps. That prevention includes his own consulting agency, training FBI agents, and lecturing us on identity theft. The serious moment of identity theft silenced the audience showing that Abagnale had earned respect. What Kyle and I took from that speech, besides some great antidotes on how to get money from an ATM machine, was a renewed concern about the protection of our own identity. Take note that both the book and the movie are media-hyped versions of the true story. This doesn't take anything from the read but it does make the reader ask questions of probability. I love the fact that Abagnale (Doesn't his name just roll off the tongue?) is still good friends with the FBI agent, Joseph Shea, whom helped to capture him. |
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| "May be the greatest imposter in history" | 2007-05-12 |
| - Reviewed By bigdogspotty |
| Frank Abignale is one of the most original and interesting characters of the century. By the time he was old enough to vote, he had been an airline pilot, lawyer, doctor and womanizer of the first magnitude. Well written and hard to put down. |
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| "Great book" | 2007-03-09 |
| - Reviewed By sp5of72 |
| This was a very fascinating and fun read but entirely different than the movie which I thoroughly enjoyed as well. That's why I bought the book. I would say the movie is very loosely based on this book. I highly recommend both to anybody who likes fun and wants a good laugh. |
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| "Frank Abagnale" | 2007-02-22 |
| - Reviewed By gajusa |
| I was at a convention a few years ago where Frank Abagnale, spoke of the stories in this book. His astounding and confounding stories of his life intrigued me to buy the book. It is a book I couldn't put down, even when my eyes were tired and sleepy. The movie was entertaining but was only a short version of the book. |
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| "Excellent Book" | 2007-01-28 |
| - Reviewed By abaga |
I read Franks book years ago when he came to my city to do a talk for Bankers. I was one of 15 people in the room for this particular day. I was thoroughly fascinated by him. The book was equally fascinating.
I saw the movie once it came out and was not as impressed by it. I chalked that up to seeing the real Frank Abignale Jr.
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