Outside Reading Book Review
Catch Me If You Can, written by Frank Abagnale, is a story that everyone can enjoy even though it is so unique that not everyone can relate to. Frank Abagnale’s true story is so distinct and interesting, causing it to never be dull. He incredibly managed to scam banks worldwide with a simple fraudulent check scam. The actions and schemes of this 16 year old boy are genius, brave, and unbelievable. In fact, parts of the biography are more entertaining than a fiction story. Abagnale takes the reader through his life story allowing it to witness his mindset during all of his ups and downs of his criminal life. By the reading the book, the reader finds out just how he “was slipperier than a buttered escargot.” (p.4)
Frank Abagnale was a 16 year old boy living with his parents when he decided to run away with only $200 in a checking account. By the time he was 21, he “was a millionaire twice over and half again.” (p.4) The first illustration of his cleverness occurred when he scammed Mobil gas stations by buying accessories with a charge card and selling them back for a fraction of value. He repeated this until it no longer worked just like he did with all of his scams. Gaining $3.400 on this seemingly simple concept was only a start. His first step towards the big money was to change his birth certificate, a federal document, so that it read that he was 26 instead of 16. After doing this, Abagnale was able to pose as a Pam Am pilot, teacher, doctor, and more. Having these jobs permitted him to cash fake checks. He brilliantly, figured out the very science of a check and what all of the aspects were. Abagnale got the majority of his money by cashing checks for $50-$200, in his job uniform, for a banking account that did not have that money. Before the check came up as fraud, Abagnale would run away so that he could not be found. The book goes into detail about all of his encounters and outcomes of his situations.
Frank Abagnale’s adventurous life was full of so many risks and daring escapes. The best scene occurs at the very last pages of the book when Frank was very close to being caught by the FBI. The FBI officer had his criminal captured and barked “Freeze, mister, police!” (p.276) Abagnale decided to be daring and did not freeze. Instead he pretended he was another FBI agent and responded by taking out his billfold and saying “Davis, FBI.” (p.276) He then said he would go look for the other FBI agent and causally walked by the FBI, escaping. Situations like these were prevalent throughout Abagnale’s life and even he was “surprised at his coolness and the firmness” in his voice many of these times. (p.276) This autobiography wasn’t like any other criminal’s because in many instances Abagnale was face to face with the FBI or the police. Another example of this was when Abagnale decided he needed some extra cash so he stood outside a bank in his cleverly obtained security guard uniform. He stood aside a beautifully lettered sign that read “NIGHT DEPOSIT VAULT OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE MAKE DEPOSITS WITH SECURTY OFFICER.” (p.180) Just as Abagnale was satisfied and wanted to leave, the police showed up. Frank Abagnale, or any other alias he went by, was a nationally wanted criminal so the reader was certain he would be caught. The police man asked “What’s going on, buddy?” (p.181) Abagnale casually explained his that he was on his way to bring the money to the warehouse. He managed to get the police to help him put the money he had just stolen into his car and he was able to escape. Both of these examples show the risks Frank Abagnale would take and how he was very often face to face in a daring situation with an officer who was searching for him. In both situations Abagnale escaped causing the officers a great deal of frustration.
If this book wasn’t true, it would not have been nearly as interesting because it would just be another creative fiction story. I would recommend this to teenagers like me because they are able to see how incredibly difficult and genius this scam must have been. An adventurous teen would love to see all of these escapades Frank Abagnale took part in. The part of the book where he faces his consequences of his actions is very important because many people did not know the harsh conditions he was faced with in jail. Also, his life after jail might be a good addition to the end of the book because it is a very interesting turn around.
Frank Abagnale was a 16 year old boy living with his parents when he decided to run away with only $200 in a checking account. By the time he was 21, he “was a millionaire twice over and half again.” (p.4) The first illustration of his cleverness occurred when he scammed Mobil gas stations by buying accessories with a charge card and selling them back for a fraction of value. He repeated this until it no longer worked just like he did with all of his scams. Gaining $3.400 on this seemingly simple concept was only a start. His first step towards the big money was to change his birth certificate, a federal document, so that it read that he was 26 instead of 16. After doing this, Abagnale was able to pose as a Pam Am pilot, teacher, doctor, and more. Having these jobs permitted him to cash fake checks. He brilliantly, figured out the very science of a check and what all of the aspects were. Abagnale got the majority of his money by cashing checks for $50-$200, in his job uniform, for a banking account that did not have that money. Before the check came up as fraud, Abagnale would run away so that he could not be found. The book goes into detail about all of his encounters and outcomes of his situations.
Frank Abagnale’s adventurous life was full of so many risks and daring escapes. The best scene occurs at the very last pages of the book when Frank was very close to being caught by the FBI. The FBI officer had his criminal captured and barked “Freeze, mister, police!” (p.276) Abagnale decided to be daring and did not freeze. Instead he pretended he was another FBI agent and responded by taking out his billfold and saying “Davis, FBI.” (p.276) He then said he would go look for the other FBI agent and causally walked by the FBI, escaping. Situations like these were prevalent throughout Abagnale’s life and even he was “surprised at his coolness and the firmness” in his voice many of these times. (p.276) This autobiography wasn’t like any other criminal’s because in many instances Abagnale was face to face with the FBI or the police. Another example of this was when Abagnale decided he needed some extra cash so he stood outside a bank in his cleverly obtained security guard uniform. He stood aside a beautifully lettered sign that read “NIGHT DEPOSIT VAULT OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE MAKE DEPOSITS WITH SECURTY OFFICER.” (p.180) Just as Abagnale was satisfied and wanted to leave, the police showed up. Frank Abagnale, or any other alias he went by, was a nationally wanted criminal so the reader was certain he would be caught. The police man asked “What’s going on, buddy?” (p.181) Abagnale casually explained his that he was on his way to bring the money to the warehouse. He managed to get the police to help him put the money he had just stolen into his car and he was able to escape. Both of these examples show the risks Frank Abagnale would take and how he was very often face to face in a daring situation with an officer who was searching for him. In both situations Abagnale escaped causing the officers a great deal of frustration.
If this book wasn’t true, it would not have been nearly as interesting because it would just be another creative fiction story. I would recommend this to teenagers like me because they are able to see how incredibly difficult and genius this scam must have been. An adventurous teen would love to see all of these escapades Frank Abagnale took part in. The part of the book where he faces his consequences of his actions is very important because many people did not know the harsh conditions he was faced with in jail. Also, his life after jail might be a good addition to the end of the book because it is a very interesting turn around.
