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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
I so enjoyed this! This is one of my favorite autobiographies as this man puts in every effort to be a "success" in his various occupations. He definitely is fearless, studious, and likeable. It's weird to think that the story of a teenage con-man could give people someone to admire, but no doubt, the world could use some of his class.
Basic Summary: Watch the movie, you'll get the gist.
This book claims to be an autobiography written by Frank Abagnale Jr, a first-hand account of his wild, sexy, preposterously daring days posing [most significantly] as a Pan Am pilot during the 70's. [But also as a sociology professor, a pediatrician and a lawyer]. While on a Wikipedia binge regarding the subject, I came across a quote from Abagnale who said he only spoke to the author a total of 4 times during the book's conception. And that the author (Stan Redding) frequently reminded him that he was not writing a memoir, but a story. The editor and himself wanted a more egregiously scintillating novel. Therefore, I must assume that this story is largely fictionalized.
That being said, it was still remarkably entertaining. The idea that someone swindled nearly everyone they met, sans shopkeepers and peasants because even con men have souls, and got away with it at the mere age of 16! Altering his age, forging birth certificates, Harvard transcripts, medical licenses..the work! He even managed to pass a bar exam and became eligible to practice law in Georgia -- all acquired with fraudulent documents and never having finished high school.
For 11 months [supposedly] he posed a supervising doctor on a pediatrics floor of a hospital. Until a baby almost died from oxygen deprivation under his care.
If taken with a grain of salt, the book is fun ditty to read. I understand that Abagnale was a real-time con man of an extremely high level, served jail time in 3 countries and nearly had to serve in 6-8 additional countries for check fraud.
As taken from an interview though, you can't believe everything he did:
Did Frank really escape a VC10 jetliner by removing the toilet and climbing down beneath it, eventually escaping through a hatch onto the tarmac?
The event is in Frank's 1981 memoir, but airline experts say it is impossible. "The entire system is sealed," says Skip Jones of the Aerospace Industries Association. "No matter what happens in there, you can't get into the rest of the airplane." Payload systems engineer Alan Anderson explains that the toilets are mounted on top of tanks that weigh over 100 pounds, and even if he manage to undo the toilet, he would have to crawl through a pipe four inches in diameter. "A person would have to be pretty small, and it would be messy," says Anderson.
Then again...
"Things that happen in real life are sometimes a hundred times more fascinating than anything a person could make up off the top of his head," - Leonardo DiCaprio
This book claims to be an autobiography written by Frank Abagnale Jr, a first-hand account of his wild, sexy, preposterously daring days posing [most significantly] as a Pan Am pilot during the 70's. [But also as a sociology professor, a pediatrician and a lawyer]. While on a Wikipedia binge regarding the subject, I came across a quote from Abagnale who said he only spoke to the author a total of 4 times during the book's conception. And that the author (Stan Redding) frequently reminded him that he was not writing a memoir, but a story. The editor and himself wanted a more egregiously scintillating novel. Therefore, I must assume that this story is largely fictionalized.
That being said, it was still remarkably entertaining. The idea that someone swindled nearly everyone they met, sans shopkeepers and peasants because even con men have souls, and got away with it at the mere age of 16! Altering his age, forging birth certificates, Harvard transcripts, medical licenses..the work! He even managed to pass a bar exam and became eligible to practice law in Georgia -- all acquired with fraudulent documents and never having finished high school.
For 11 months [supposedly] he posed a supervising doctor on a pediatrics floor of a hospital. Until a baby almost died from oxygen deprivation under his care.
If taken with a grain of salt, the book is fun ditty to read. I understand that Abagnale was a real-time con man of an extremely high level, served jail time in 3 countries and nearly had to serve in 6-8 additional countries for check fraud.
As taken from an interview though, you can't believe everything he did:
Did Frank really escape a VC10 jetliner by removing the toilet and climbing down beneath it, eventually escaping through a hatch onto the tarmac?
The event is in Frank's 1981 memoir, but airline experts say it is impossible. "The entire system is sealed," says Skip Jones of the Aerospace Industries Association. "No matter what happens in there, you can't get into the rest of the airplane." Payload systems engineer Alan Anderson explains that the toilets are mounted on top of tanks that weigh over 100 pounds, and even if he manage to undo the toilet, he would have to crawl through a pipe four inches in diameter. "A person would have to be pretty small, and it would be messy," says Anderson.
Then again...
"Things that happen in real life are sometimes a hundred times more fascinating than anything a person could make up off the top of his head," - Leonardo DiCaprio
adventurous
medium-paced
I wish half stars were possible, because I'd give this one 4.5 stars overall.
It took me longer to read than I expected, but Frank Abagnale intrigued me from the start. I've never seen the movie, but I'm definitely interested in seeing it now!
It took me longer to read than I expected, but Frank Abagnale intrigued me from the start. I've never seen the movie, but I'm definitely interested in seeing it now!
Aaaaa I had a review about it here but I accidentally deleted it, damn itttt.
BASICALLY: It's a nice piece of fiction in which maybe 20% of it is close to reality but it is, otherwise, an amazing fabrication and excellent retelling of things that never happened.
Frank Abagnale is a sexist slob and egocentric maniac, and I am not a fan of how he presented himself in this story. Good read for the laughs, don't expect a true story!
BASICALLY: It's a nice piece of fiction in which maybe 20% of it is close to reality but it is, otherwise, an amazing fabrication and excellent retelling of things that never happened.
Frank Abagnale is a sexist slob and egocentric maniac, and I am not a fan of how he presented himself in this story. Good read for the laughs, don't expect a true story!
Just as fun as the movie. I could do without his constantly describing how many women he slept with. Compensating much?
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
I learned early that class is universally admired. Almost any fault, sin or crime is considered more leniently if there's a touch of class involved.
Charming and riotously entertaining, captivating and devilishly debonair. Crime has no business being this fun.
5 stars.
Charming and riotously entertaining, captivating and devilishly debonair. Crime has no business being this fun.
5 stars.
How much can you believe a book written by a con man? The exploits in the book are incredible and sometimes hard to swallow. But it was a fun and light read. And I appreciated the almost conversational tone of the book.