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Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake
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...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
November 19th 2002
by Broadway
(first published 1980)
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This is the true crime book that inspired the fun movie starring DiCaprio and Hanks. Truly amazing what Abagnale, a guy who never finished high school, got away with, such as impersonating an airline pilot, a lawyer and a teacher...and all at a very young age. Sometimes the veracity of his claims may be in doubt, as after all, he was a con man, but even if half of it happened as he describes it, it serves as a lesson in human relations, namely that you should never trust what your eyes or ears t...more
"What I learned from this book," Goodreads asks? That "con man" really does mean "confidence man": the more you act like you deserve something, the more likely you are to get it.
A precocious child who devised clever modes of personal gain, Frank A. grew into an even smarter man. He faked college degrees, professional affiliations, career histories - pretty much everything, including his name. Without any relevant schooling, throughout his life he "...more
A precocious child who devised clever modes of personal gain, Frank A. grew into an even smarter man. He faked college degrees, professional affiliations, career histories - pretty much everything, including his name. Without any relevant schooling, throughout his life he "...more
This is honestly the best book I have read in a long time. It's one of the few that I couldn't put down and had to know what was going to happen next. I know I had already seen the movie, but the book was better. I was disappointed to find out that the movie was actually a watered-down version of the story, and that the events were shuffled around and sometimes completely made up to go along with the flow of the movie. The actual story is much harsher and emotional, and there is really no ca...more
Catch Me If You Can is an excellent novel. For me, the fact that it’s a non-fiction tale made it all the more engaging. It’s easy to read countless fiction books and, when things are getting interesting or horrifying, you can say “it’s all make-believe.” With this book, you must remind yourself that this really happened. Abagnale really pulled this stuff off at such a young age.
The plot seems to be one that most people are familiar with so I won’t go into it much, but I will say that it is...more
The plot seems to be one that most people are familiar with so I won’t go into it much, but I will say that it is...more
Although I knew the ghostwriter, Stan Redding, as far back as the 1970s and in the 1980s when this shot to the top of the bestseller lists, I never sat down to read it until 2008. When I was done, I couldn't understand the fuss. I've had to chalk it up to the tenor of the times, in which any sort of true confession like Abagnale's would seem a revelation. In addition, I am sure the excitement of such an accomplished, child-prodigy con artist overshadowed the omission of some elements I would hav...more
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This memoir is by a man considered by many police agencies to be one of the cleverest con men they had ever pursued. By the age
of 17, he was successfully impersonating a PanAm pilot, deadheading around the country and using fake identification to cash NSF
checks. He was almost caught in New Orleans, but convinced the FBI and local police that his credentials were authentic -- he had, after all, managed to pull the wool over experienced airline pilots -- but he was pretty lucky, too, b...more
of 17, he was successfully impersonating a PanAm pilot, deadheading around the country and using fake identification to cash NSF
checks. He was almost caught in New Orleans, but convinced the FBI and local police that his credentials were authentic -- he had, after all, managed to pull the wool over experienced airline pilots -- but he was pretty lucky, too, b...more
Have you met Frank Abagnale.... err.... Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams, or Robert Mojo? They are all the same man. AND not a fictional man either... but a con man of epic intelligence and a "no fear" attitude that brought him far.
During Franks great conning years he sweet talked his way into a pilots uniform and co piloted a Pan Am jet... this "Pan Am" masquerade brought him money, fame, and women from all over the world. Frank also practiced law with...more
During Franks great conning years he sweet talked his way into a pilots uniform and co piloted a Pan Am jet... this "Pan Am" masquerade brought him money, fame, and women from all over the world. Frank also practiced law with...more
I loved the film, but nearly gave up on the book several times. Abagnale is keen to be cool - using slang that I don't understand, he is also lavisious about women, which I found irritating to read, and he is really annoyingly chuffed with himself for fooling so many people, without much of a concience. He brags that he made it a rule not to con money from individuals, but conning money from a big organisation just means that you hit a lot more individuals, because big organisations are owned by...more
I was first introduced to this book on a long bus ride by our coach driver. That he preceded his recommendation with "I don't read books, but..." didn't immediately propel "Catch Me If You Can" onto my mental to-read list. In any case, as we listened to the audio book version for the next hour or so, Frank Abagnale's tale of his conman and forger past, certainly entertained. It's taken 8 years and a feature film version (which I haven't seen) for the book and I to finally ...more
An astonishing and entertaining account of the escapades of a teenaged con-man. Given the nature of Frank's crimes, he is hardly a hero. However, in many ways he is an inspirational figure. I have observed that a lot of what seperates the highly successful from the mediorcre people is that HS people have the confidence in themselves to "go for it". Frank has this, albeit within a criminal framework. Obviously a highly intelligent man, he is now using his knowledge of fraud to e...more
A superfun read that captures the spirit and lingo of the 1960's (even though it was published in 1980). Abagnale is less sympathetic in his memoir than in the film adaptation; for example, the root of his larceny in the book is the desire to woo women, while the film spends more time showing him struggle with his parents' divorce. He seems younger, more innocent, in the film, but there are moments in the book when his youth and inexperience peek through his bravado.
I was reminde...more
I was reminde...more
Yes, read it because of the movie.
Now then, why is this book worth reading? I asked the myself this question and decided I was indeed interested enough in the life of Mr. Abagnale, both from what I had seen in the movie and from what i had briefly perused on Wikipedia, to discover for myself how much I had been made to believe was true was in fact, true. It turns out, as I had anticipated, that the movie and the book do diverge quite strongly. This is not a bad thing. Certain aspects o...more
Now then, why is this book worth reading? I asked the myself this question and decided I was indeed interested enough in the life of Mr. Abagnale, both from what I had seen in the movie and from what i had briefly perused on Wikipedia, to discover for myself how much I had been made to believe was true was in fact, true. It turns out, as I had anticipated, that the movie and the book do diverge quite strongly. This is not a bad thing. Certain aspects o...more
I've been reading this on my droid over the past several days - I'd enjoyed the movie and figured I would enjoy the book as well. It's not too far from what you'd expect, move of the major events in the movie match up with events in the book, while there is a bit more detail, and some other portions of Abagnale's criminal ventures that don't appear in the book. Frank Abagnale is clearly a very intelligent man, and seems to posses an otherworldly knack for picking up and retaining knowledge tha...more
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It's a real eye-opener to see how often we take things at face value. Frank Abagnale, Jr. used most people's innate trust to his advantage and cheated people out of a lot of money. While his actions were despicable (despite his attempts to dress them up a bit in the book and make them seem more respectable than they were), reading about them is quite entertaining.
Although the specific methods he used wouldn't work today (most of his career took place in the 60's and 70's; the book wa...more
Although the specific methods he used wouldn't work today (most of his career took place in the 60's and 70's; the book wa...more
I really liked this book and then I discovered that it wasn't really a biography. Apparently, at the beginning of the book there is a disclaimer. Since I listened to the book on CD instead of reading it I missed the disclaimer. (I don't remember hearing a disclaimer at the beginning of the story.) I don't know if I'd have read it if I knew that it wasn't a true representation of his life.
Still, I was amazed by how he was able pull of all his shenanigans. He must be a very person...more
Still, I was amazed by how he was able pull of all his shenanigans. He must be a very person...more
Frank Abagnale Jr. was a check-swindler and a fraud. He impersonated doctors, airline pilots, lawyers, and teachers. He stole millions and blew them on fine threads and even finer ladies. He was wanted the world over by police in various countries. On the few occasions when the authorities managed to get their hands on him, he made daring and absolutely implausible escapes, only adding to his infamy. He was 16 years old.
I can't say enough good about this book. There is so much...more
I can't say enough good about this book. There is so much...more
Sure, the movie influenced me to read this--but what a fun book. Once I got involved, it was the departures from the film that I enjoyed most. For example, Frank's relationship with his father is nothing like the film version. In reality, his father was a stand-up guy who would never con anyone. To see Frank go astray without the corrupting influence of Christopher Walken's movie father made Frank's bad choices all the more reprehensible. The movie feels sorry for the thief, being raised by...more
I heard Frank Abagnale speak at RSA, and again at another conference, and thought that he was possibly the most compelling speaker I have ever heard. At the time this autobiography opens, Abagnale was a (very) young man who fled home and fell into the life of a con man, assuming the identity of an airline pilot, a pediatrician, and a whole range of other roles while taking PanAm and hundreds of banks to the cleaners. Years later (after doing very, very hard time) he ended up working for financ...more
Dan
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who are interested in Security, People in the mood for a good adventure
This is the autobiographical story of Frank Abagnale, a precocious Con Man, who had accomplished more by the time he was 21 than most criminals will in their whole careers. This is the book that was made into the movie of the same name. Although, apparently there are some claims that this story is not completely truthful (which is ironic, given the fact that it is about deceit.)
Abagnale began his life of crime with check and credit card fraud. He moved into identity forgery, posin...more
Abagnale began his life of crime with check and credit card fraud. He moved into identity forgery, posin...more
I really enjoyed Frank Abagnale's ghost-written memoir at first. But as time went on it became harder and harder to suspend disbelief - the writer uses fictional storytelling techniques, and aspects of the story have clearly been exaggerated or fabricated. This is fine to begin with - Frank Abagnale is a well-known conman after all, and I expected grandiose claims and a subjective viewpoint. But it all became a little silly, especially listening to him describe conquest after conquest with women...more
I really enjoyed the movie, but I did not believe any of it. For how could a 16 year old pull off all these scams posing successfully as an airline pilot, lawyer, doctor, and FBI agent? To my amazement, almost nothing in the movie was dramatized. Frank Abagnale did it all. And, this even includes the acrobatic escape from a commercial plane as it lands. The book depicts a far richer story than the movie since the movie skipped over interesting jobs, including a stint as a college sociology teach...more
Frank Abagnale's story of his life on the run is fascinating. The Swedish judge told Frank that if his energies would have been spent doing good instead of running from the law, he would have been a huge asset to America and the other countries he swindled. I completely agree with this statement after reading about Frank's ingenious plots to pass bad checks and his facade as a medical doctor, teacher, and lawyer.
Every time I thought that Frank had finally been caught, he would devis...more
Every time I thought that Frank had finally been caught, he would devis...more
Quite a good page-turner. I love the detail about the bad-check-passing scam, which for me ranks this book alongside Maurer's pickpocket ethnography "Whiz Mob." However, I must say that the book has a feel of pathological lying about it. I have known people who are or aspired to be confidence men/women, and who get their kicks from impersonating people and lying about their backgrounds, and most of them are pathological liars and thus cannot be trusted even, perhaps especially, when...more
This is a rollicking good read, masterfully combining a fun, breezy style with a detailed and fascinating explanation of every con. I couldn't even really begrudge the author his constant rhapsodizing on the subject of beautiful women, though the topic is much less interesting to me than to him; it kind of became background noise. Anyway, the writing is hilarious and the exploits amazing, and I love that there's such a happy ending.
(Indeed, the happy ending is much of why I picked it...more
(Indeed, the happy ending is much of why I picked it...more
I found this book exhausting to read. It is unbelievable the schemes this kid pulled off and it just seemed like it was a never-ending quest! Oh to have that kind of energy and aplomb! The movie doesn't even come close to what Frank has done in his 4-year career as a con artist, however, I do like the movie better, because, in my opinion, it has a better ending. You get closure. The book ends too abruptly for my taste.
This book, and story, is too amazing, too unbelievable, to be true. And, yet, it is.
This is the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a high school dropout who became 1.) a pilot for Pan-Am; 2.) a pediatric specialist in Atlanta and resident supervisor of a pediatric unit; 3.) a lawyer with the state's attorney's office; and, 4.) a sociology professor at a Utah college--all before the age of 20!
Frank was the smoothest of con men. It is unbelievable how he faked an FAA lice...more
This is the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a high school dropout who became 1.) a pilot for Pan-Am; 2.) a pediatric specialist in Atlanta and resident supervisor of a pediatric unit; 3.) a lawyer with the state's attorney's office; and, 4.) a sociology professor at a Utah college--all before the age of 20!
Frank was the smoothest of con men. It is unbelievable how he faked an FAA lice...more
Abagnale's ghost writer (Stan Redding?) is adept with his alliterations and clogs his "autobiographer's" prose w/ copious cliches. But an insipid narrative style was the least of my objections to this otherwise outrageous tale. I wish I hadn't been so engrossed by all his unlikely adventures and exploits. But I kept reading b/c his account really is almost incredible.
I just wish he didn't portray himself so heroically and self-righteously. Abagnale is(was?) a con-man. He exploited...more
I just wish he didn't portray himself so heroically and self-righteously. Abagnale is(was?) a con-man. He exploited...more
Martin
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in con artists.
Shelves:
to-read-owned
So I'm a bit disappointed. I remeber my Frank W. Abagnale as a childhood hero of sorts, not as an actual person but rather as an embodiment of the social prodigy child. This picture came to me from the movie based on the novel as well as further reading through the internet. While the novel certianly lives up to the picture and more, I was sad to find that the appeal I felt then now have faded into a slight admiration shared with other people. The prodigy status were much more impressive at a ti...more
This book was so much fun. I hesitated to read it, since I've seen the movie and figured this couldn't add much (especially considering the dynamic Leonardo di Caprio/Tom Hanks duo), but as it turned out, it totally did! My jaw literally dropped on more than one occassion reading of Abagnale's exploits and impudence. Like, if it really is all true (which one has to doubt, considering it's written by a professional con-man) this has got to be the most amazing crime story ever.
Great for a q...more
Great for a q...more
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Born and raised in the Westchester County city of Bronxville, New York, Abagnale attended Iona Preparatory School, an all boys Catholic high school which is run by the Irish Christian Brothers. He was the third of four children (two brothers and one sister) born to a French mother, Paula Abagnale, and an American father, Frank William Abagnale, Sr.
One of the early signs of his future a...more
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“When you're up there hundreds of people will claim you as a friend. When you're down, you're lucky if one will buy you a cup of coffee.”
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