Catch Me if you Can by Frank W. Abagnale
This book is written by con man Frank Abagnale and is the story of the frauds he perpetrated. He started out impersonating a pilot (and this seems to have been his favourite scam) and used the guise to garner trust for passing bad cheques. He also pretended to be a doctor and worked in a hospital and was paid for a whole year. He then passed the bar and worked as a lawyer for nine months, without ever even finishing high school.
I was amazed at how easy it was for Frank (who used several different aliases) to go about stealing money from several banks, hotels and businesses just by passing bad cheques. I know this wouldn’t be nearly as easy to do today (mostly because most places don’t even take cheques anymore, let alone cash them). I was also amazed at how long he was able to con these people out of their money, using the same alias.
The book was a really fascinating read and what made it all the more interesting was how intelligent and creative Frank was. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good story. It’s not just for lovers of non-fiction, that’s for sure. I would give it an 8/10.
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Tags: Frank W. Abagnale
August 11th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
This book has been on my radar for so long! I really need to get a copy and read it.
I did see the movie but it has been so long that I don’t really remember much about it.
August 11th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Yeah, after reading the book I decided I needed to rewatch the movie. I’m just waiting to get it from the library!
August 22nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Loved the movie, but never really thought about reading the book. Maybe I should. Frank is definitely an interesting guy I’d like to learn more about.