Reviews

Blessed Are the Bank Robbers: The True Adventures of an Evangelical Outlaw by Chas Smith, Chas Smith

kbreader's review

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

2.5

Every family has some dysfunction, even those of famous American Christian heritage. The author shares the story of his oldest cousin's downfall or success - depending on one's point of view - at achieving his own unique notoriety as a record-setting bank robber on the run.
Mixes history of American crime with author's retelling of his cousin's exploits. Also includes author's journey of understanding his maternal family's achievements and shortcomings, as well as his own. Plus, perhaps most interesting, are the letters written by his FBI-wanted cousin to the author for a limited peek inside the fugitive brain.
Writing style took some getting used to. Perhaps best approached as diary entries. In some spots, felt the editor could have helped more. 
Overall, a unique tale that must have taken some courage to write as it is dishing out dubious family information, some of which has only happened in the last few years.

librarymouse's review

funny reflective medium-paced

3.0

I really don't know what to think of this book. So much of what the author said about his extended family felt like foreshadowing for him exploring his eventual loss of religion because of the atrocities some of them committed, but as of the publication of this book the author is still actively Evangelical. The conflict between his fervent desire to live vicariously through his bank robber cousin or actually commit crimes for the thrill of it, versus his professed religious beliefs is so wild. Finishing off the postscript with an exploration of how his previously lovingly described cousin and uncle assaulted and abused their congregations was a whiplash moment.

This was an engaging read. The pacing was just weird.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Violence, Addiction, and Medical content

Moderate: War, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, and Infidelity

Minor: Deportation, Suicide, Racism, and Cannibalism

melkhug's review

3.0

the dichotomy of evangelicalism and modern crime was wonderfully complicated, and the author’s comedic voice and surf journalist background added a fun quality to the whole narrative.

that said, it was a bit frustrating it took half of the book to get to the robberies as the central story felt lost, and the final epiphany of the beauty of finding common ground amidst the most apparently different people wasn’t incredibly considered.

i would’ve appreciated leaning into humor more, as well as weaving the bank robbery narrative amidst the family background so as to not feel stuck in backstory. enjoyable self awareness on the part of the robber though.

emileereadsbooks's review

slow-paced

2.0

Thank you Abrams Books for the gifted book I read along with the library audio.

Chas Smith grew up fully immersed in the evangelic Christian bubble. His family included famous missionaries and megachurch pastors. But his Cousin Danny was the apple of his grandmother's eye. However, when Danny took a hard pivot from his picture perfect life to become an illustrious bank robber, Chas was not only shocked, but intrigued.

With that premise I expected this book to be a wild ride as we figured out the why and how behind Cousin Danny's criminal pursuits, but it was just Melba toast. Nothing was too exciting or captivating. I kept reading waiting for the big hook of story to grab me, but unfortunately the book ended and I still wanted so much more.

theirresponsiblereader's review

informative lighthearted medium-paced

2.5

 This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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What’s Blessed Are the Bank Robbers About? 

From the Publisher’s Site: 

Chas Smith grew up deeply enmeshed in the evangelical Christian world that grew out of Southern California in the late 1960s. His family included famous missionaries and megachurch pastors, but his cousin Daniel Courson was Grandma’s favorite. Smith looked up to Cousin Danny. He was handsome, adventurous, and smart, earned a degree from Bible college, and settled into a family and a stable career.

Needless to say, it was a big surprise when Cousin Danny started robbing banks. Known as the “Floppy Hat Bandit,” Courson robbed 19 of them in a torrid six-week spree before being caught and sentenced to seven years. When he tried to escape, they tacked on another year. And when he finally got out, despite seeming to be back on the straight and narrow, Cousin Danny disappeared. Banks started getting robbed again. It seemed Cousin Danny might be gunning for the record.

Smith’s Blessed Are the Bank Robbers is the wild, and wildly entertaining, story of an all-American anti-hero. It’s a tale of bank robberies, art and jewel heists, high-speed chases, fake identities, encrypted Swiss email accounts, jilted lovers, and the dark side of an evangelical family (and it wasn’t just Danny; an uncle was mixed up with the mujahideen). It’s a book about what it means to live inside the church and outside the law.

 
Some of the material in this book comes straight from Courson himself—emails while he was a fugitive and writing he did while in prison to describe his career.
 
Other Bank Robbers
Scattered throughout are descriptions of other prodigious bank robbers, their streaks, and their methods. Most of these are pretty interesting and probably worth a book themselves. It’s not my typical genre, but there are a couple of these that I’d jump on.

So, what did I think about Blessed Are the Bank Robbers?
Well, it wasn’t bad. A lot of it was pretty entertaining and well-written. Significant portions of it were a blast and really sucked me in. But for every section of the book that sang, there was a section or more that fell flat. I had high hopes for this one and none of them were met.

This felt like the journalism surrounding Capone and the like during their heyday—it was a celebration of Courson’s crimes. The acknowledgment that his crimes caused actual harm came from Courson himself in a throwaway comment. Sure, it’s exciting to read about this kind of crime and Courson is clearly a charismatic figure. But celebrating him like this left a bad taste in my mouth. Then sending emails back and forth with him while he’s “on the lam”* and daydreaming about following in his footsteps? Were Smith a starry-eyed adolescent, I could accept it, but in a father? It discredited the author in my eyes (it would’ve taken a 2-sentence paragraph where he acknowledged the problem with it).

* I did appreciate getting the etymology of that phrase.
 
I don’t think Smith did an effective job of exploring the link between Courson’s Calvary Chapel upbringing and his turning to a life in crime—it’s there if you look for it (and make some assumptions), but if you’re going to put “Evangelical” in the subtitle, you need to expand on this.
 
There was a lot of promise in the premise, some entertaining/informational moments, and it was an easy read—but ultimately, it was a letdown. I fully expect that others won’t stumble over the things I did (some of which are above), and I don’t know that I would argue with them.
 

melaniehughes's review

adventurous lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.0

the dichotomy of evangelicalism and modern crime was wonderfully complicated, and the author’s comedic voice and surf journalist background added a fun quality to the whole narrative. 

 

that said, it was a bit frustrating it took half of the book to get to the robberies as the central story felt lost, and the final epiphany of the beauty of finding common ground amidst the most apparently different people wasn’t incredibly considered. 

 

i would’ve appreciated leaning into humor more, as well as weaving the bank robbery narrative amidst the family background so as to not feel stuck in backstory. enjoyable self awareness on the part of the robber though.