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80 reviews for:
Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the Fbi, 1933-34
Bryan Burrough
3.86 AVERAGE
80 reviews for:
Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the Fbi, 1933-34
Bryan Burrough
3.86 AVERAGE
Great insight into the criminal and gang world of the 1920s and 1930s in the US and the birth of the FBI. Burrough's has done a great job with his research!
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
informative
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Great book about the rise of the FBI. Amazing how the crime wave of the early 1930’s were intertwined.
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism
Minor: Physical abuse, Antisemitism
Encyclopedic narrative journalistic account of famous outlaw gangs from the early 1930s and law enforcement’s desperate attempts to get them under control. The chaos of the era resulted in the formalizing of the FBI, although they basically accomplished their goals by assassinating everyone (this isn’t a spoiler, it’s a pretty well-known fact).
The author and editors had a colossal task in keeping the various storylines distinct while also weaving them together into a coherent narrative.
The author and editors had a colossal task in keeping the various storylines distinct while also weaving them together into a coherent narrative.
informative
tense
fast-paced
My completion of this book has been an exceptionally long-time coming. I bought this book back in 2009 before the movie was released (I never saw it), and struggled to get into it. I would stop and start and feel so lost amidst the enormous cast of characters and the startling number of details provided about them.
However, when I finally dedicated the time to get into the book, I was blown away. When you can give it your focus and get into the flow of the narrative, it becomes far easier to separate out the different players and appreciate the wealth of detail.
Burrough has clearly accomplished a staggering feat of research, and his meticulous recounting of the rise of the FBI and the Public Enemies' lives is commendable. Burrough clearly takes pains to provide evidence on both sides of any disagreed-upon plot point in the FBI's and Enemies' stories, and I feel that the triumph of this book is his ability to deglamorize these criminals that have in many ways become national idols.
With this book, Burrough uses incredible evidence to break down the myths and legends of our nation's most famous Depression-era criminals and the infant FBI that pursued them. He portrays these people as real, flawed, living in fear and dying violently. He names the many victims who went forgotten as their killers became celebrities, and gives due credit to those who worked towards their capture behind the scenes.
I was sad to hear that the movie didn't live up to this amazing account of the times (perhaps one day, we'll get a miniseries?). This meaty book definitely took time and dedication to get through, but I felt that it was well worth it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this period and in a thorough, more grounded account of the FBI and Public Enemies they chased.
However, when I finally dedicated the time to get into the book, I was blown away. When you can give it your focus and get into the flow of the narrative, it becomes far easier to separate out the different players and appreciate the wealth of detail.
Burrough has clearly accomplished a staggering feat of research, and his meticulous recounting of the rise of the FBI and the Public Enemies' lives is commendable. Burrough clearly takes pains to provide evidence on both sides of any disagreed-upon plot point in the FBI's and Enemies' stories, and I feel that the triumph of this book is his ability to deglamorize these criminals that have in many ways become national idols.
With this book, Burrough uses incredible evidence to break down the myths and legends of our nation's most famous Depression-era criminals and the infant FBI that pursued them. He portrays these people as real, flawed, living in fear and dying violently. He names the many victims who went forgotten as their killers became celebrities, and gives due credit to those who worked towards their capture behind the scenes.
I was sad to hear that the movie didn't live up to this amazing account of the times (perhaps one day, we'll get a miniseries?). This meaty book definitely took time and dedication to get through, but I felt that it was well worth it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this period and in a thorough, more grounded account of the FBI and Public Enemies they chased.
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
This was an interesting book about some of the most infamous criminals of this century. There were a lot of stories and anecdotes in the book. It was interesting, but it did drag in some places.