Catch Me If You Can : The Amazing True Story of the Youngest and Most Daring Con Man in the History of Fun and Profit!

Author - Cerveris Michael ... [Goo?] [Posters]
Author - Frank Abagnale ... [Goo?] [Posters]
Author - Stan Redding ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Audio Cassette Book was reviewed on 31-Jul-2008.

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1) Audio Cassette Book Catch Me If You Can : The Amazing True Story of the Youngest and Most Daring Con Man in the History of Fun and Profit! by . ´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.



¤

2) Audio Cassette Book Catch Me If You Can : The Amazing True Story of the Youngest and Most Daring Con Man in the History of Fun and Profit! by . 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!¤

3) Audio Cassette Book Catch Me If You Can : The Amazing True Story of the Youngest and Most Daring Con Man in the History of Fun and Profit! by . 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.¤

4) Audio Cassette Book Catch Me If You Can : The Amazing True Story of the Youngest and Most Daring Con Man in the History of Fun and Profit! by . "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).¤

5) Audio Cassette Book Catch Me If You Can : The Amazing True Story of the Youngest and Most Daring Con Man in the History of Fun and Profit! by . 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.¤

6) Audio Cassette Book Catch Me If You Can : The Amazing True Story of the Youngest and Most Daring Con Man in the History of Fun and Profit! by . Frank W. Abagnale, alias Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams, and Robert Monjo, was one of the most daring con men, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history. In his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a pilot´s uniform and copiloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as the supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license, passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed over $2.5 million in forged checks, all before he was twenty-one. Known by the police of twenty-six foreign countries and all fifty states as "The Skywayman," Abagnale lived a sumptuous life on the lam-until the law caught up with him. Now recognized as the nation´s leading authority on financial foul play, Abagnale is a charming rogue whose hilarious, stranger-than-fiction international escapades, and ingenious escapes-including one from an airplane-make Catch Me If You Can an irresistible tale of deceit.

The uproarious, bestselling true story of the world´s most sought-after con man currently in development as a DreamWorks feature film.

"I stole every nickel and blew it on fine threads, luxurious lodgings, fantastic foxes, and other sensual goodies. I partied in every capital in Europe and basked on all the world´s most famous beaches."


From the Trade Paperback edition.¤

7) Audio Cassette Book Catch Me If You Can : The Amazing True Story of the Youngest and Most Daring Con Man in the History of Fun and Profit! by . When this true-crime story first appeared in 1980, it made the New York Times bestseller list within weeks. Two decades later, it´s being rereleased in conjunction with a film version produced by DreamWorks. In the space of five years, Frank Abagnale passed $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in every state and 26 foreign countries. He did it by pioneering implausible and brazen scams, such as impersonating a Pan Am pilot (puddle jumping around the world in the cockpit, even taking over the controls). He also played the role of a pediatrician and faked his way into the position of temporary resident supervisor at a hospital in Georgia. Posing as a lawyer, he conned his way into a position in a state attorney general´s office, and he taught a semester of college-level sociology with a purloined degree from Columbia University.

The kicker is, he was actually a teenage high school dropout. Now an authority on counterfeiting and secure documents, Abagnale tells of his years of impersonations, swindles, and felonies with humor and the kind of confidence that enabled him to pull off his poseur performances. "Modesty is not one of my virtues. At the time, virtue was not one of my virtues," he writes. In fact, he did it all for his overactive libido--he needed money and status to woo the girls. He also loved a challenge and the ego boost that came with playing important men. What´s not disclosed in this highly engaging tale is that Abagnale was released from prison after five years on the condition that he help the government write fraud-prevention programs. So, if you´re planning to pick up some tips from this highly detailed manifesto on paperhanging, be warned: this master has already foiled you. --Lesley Reed¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 28-Aug-2008, , 600-450-660-SBB-6IB-5YB-8

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