Book review "Catch Me If You Can"

0 00 00“A Step Ahead”: Review of Frank Abagnale’s 01i00Catch Me If You Can02i00 00In period of time when US military was heavily involved in Vietnam war, Frank W. Abagnale was running his check swindle game in the continental US and abroad.00 00As a kid who comes from broken marriage Abagnale was more prone to do things that are out of his parents’ control.00 00In his memoir Abagnale tells his story about crimes and fun that he demonstrated before he was twenty one.00 00Running from the authorities was reality for young man since he drops out from the high school and left home.00 01i00“Catch Me If You Can”02i00 is a true story of Abagnale who was always on the run since he dropped off from high school. Granted con, check swindler, phony pilot, fake doctor and university teacher were some of the professions that Abagnale incorporated in his life before he reached twenty one.00 00Crisscrossing the globe, bedding stewardesses, and paperhanging phony checks were reality for a youngster who was a product of broken marriage. 00 00Howard Schumann one of the00 00cinescene professional book reviewers describes Abagnale “Although the cleverness and intelligence he had exhibited in the course of his criminal career were undisputed (00Schumann00).”00 00 00A youngster playing check swindle game and running before authorities gives the author an idea for a very noticeable title, 01i00Catch Me If You Can02i00.00 00Therefore, book title best describes a part of Abagnale’s life.00 00The book becomes national bestseller that inspired the DreamWorks 00Film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg who kept the title in hope for the great movie success, too. 00 00Deborah Allison the well known 00 movie critic reports “00It can be a mini-movie which sets up the film that it's a part of. It can establish mood, period and style. A title sequence can take care of back story. It can soothe the audience or get them agitated. Title sequences are an art form of their own (00Allison)00.” 00 00This “childish” title keeps the viewer’s attention on fun side of Frank’s serious crimes. 00 00However, the book title is very distinctive and noticeable which 00helped a film producer to set a character of the movie.00 00 00The author writes the book following a chronological order going from a simple check swindle game stories to serious criminal stories such as working as a doctor in the hospital. The author picks a 00book layout that contains 00ten chapters.00 00 00However, each chapter title gives a main point of incoming thrilling story. 00 00For Example, under a chapter title “Fly a Croocked Sky” there is a story of young Abagnale’ first flight. The book feels jammed with different events, but following the chronological order of events helps reader to exactly follow each event in the story. 00 00Furthermore, makes reader to root for such an impostor.00 02br
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00The “Fledgling” is a first chapter of 01i00Catch Me If You Can02i00 in which author tells story about his first money scam followed by very young pilot scam meaning baby-bird scam. 00With his great sense to make illegal transactions, he swindles his dad’s Mobil gas card, and takes full advantage of it.00 00The author describes a scene and feelings when Frank was trying to explain such scam. “It’s the girls, Dad,” I sighed. “They do funny things to me. I can’t explain it.”00 00 00Dad and Mobil investigator nodded understandingly.00 00Also author describes his dad behavior after all that scam happened. “Don’t worry about it, boy. Einstein couldn’t explain it, either, he said.” 00 02br
00The game 01i00Catch Me If You Can 02i00continues on. 00 00Using a “deadhead” (free pilot flight arranged between airline companies) benefit as a pilot he crisscrosses a globe without paying for flights.00 00The author presents a baby bird-young pilot in Pan Am uniform pretending to fly an aircraft with 140 passengers on board, even though “Such impostor couldn’t fly a kite.” 00 00Since 9/11 happened reader is embraced with skepticism about Abagnale’s idea of flying an iron bird without any knowledge of how to operate it. The scary event passed without any harm to anyone on board. The “Deadhead” system gives Abagnale opportunity to scam different businesses at different places, therefore; he was known by police of twenty six foreign countries and all fifty states as “The Skywayman” (00Abagnale)00.01i02i02br
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00Since Abagnale was always step ahead, in the chapter “Pilot,” author tells the way of his ability to collect information that he needs to complete his new criminal ideas.00 00To learn more about pilots he introduces himself to a real pilot as a student who is writing about pilot profession in a school newspaper. The author tells us how far he was going in his crimes. 00 00In his cinescene00 book review Howard Schumann also states that “00Abagnale demonstrates the sharpness of a quick-change artist who snuggles his way into our confidence, exhibiting smooth-talking sincerity while camouflaging his lies and deceptions00”00 (00Schumann00).00 00 00Such crime was not possible to do in one day.00 00Author explains how hard he wanted to fly in order to collect all the benefits of being respected young pilot.00 00Therefore, it takes him a while to collect information and put his idea to work.00 00In the Entertainment Weekly magazine, senior writer Chris Nashawaty says, “As ''Frank Williams: Pilot,'' Abagnale never actually intended to get behind the stick of a plane. He simply used his new identity to help him pass phony checks in the hotels pilots frequented” (Nashawaty). 00 00It really takes a stupid kid to try to complete such an idea, especially when 02br
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00knowing that such idea is against the law.00 00The author continues with an idea of flying throughout the third chapter and finally, “Operation Deadhead” becomes reality (Abagnale). Now, Abagnale is using the benefit of being a pilot. He flies to any city he wants to without paying for an airfare ticket. 00 00Actually, he sits in the pilot’s cabin on the spare seat and chats with flight crew. 02br
00The 01i00Catch Me If You Can02i00 story points out specific point in time and space of Abagnale’s life which is also very dominant throughout the entire memoir. 00 00The sequence moves through a series of locations, from airport, to road, a hospital, and library.00 00The movie based on this book sets up point in time even deeper.00 00 00The 010200 movie critic Deborah Allison says, 00“01i00Catch Me If You Can02i00 showcases the jet-setting new prosperity of the mid-late 1960s, at the same time revisiting the caper movie so popular at that time. The set and costume designs painstakingly emulate the fashions and decor of its respective eras00”00 00(00Allison)00. 00 00Abagnale’s great success of being step ahead is supported by naive people. The mid 1960s were years of great industrial expansion and comfort, so the people were easily making mistakes. 00 00This point in time, the book reviewer Howard Schumann describes00 “The story wants us to know that "in those days" a scam artist could get away with everything because we were so naïve and so trusting, and a smart scammer could take advantage of the way banks and businesses were willing to cash checks for anyone who looked respectable” (Schumann). 00 00From those mistakes Abagnale was just benefiting in his check swindle game. Yet, the author tells that Frank 00cashed over $ 2.5 million in forged checks, 00 02br
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00and all before he was twenty one. 02br
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00The game, 01i00Catch Me If You Can02i00, seems never ending in which Abagnale moves on from one impersonation to another.00 00Starting as a Pan Am pilot in the first chapter, he changes his 02br
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00profession to a pediatrician in the fourth chapter. 00 00He also continues to change his profession from being doctor into a lawyer in the fifth chapter.00 00Equally important is that the change of profession means change of location, too.00 00In both chapters author describes himself as a person who can manage such professions.00 00With a lots of rush and thrill, Abagnale accepts the roles with great professionalism. 00 00As a doctor he is always studying in the library, and as a lawyer he is pretending as an assistant, but not deeply involved in law cases.00 00No wonder 01i00Catch Me If You Can02i00 is “Amazing true story of the youngest and most daring con man in history of fun and profit” 00(Abagnale).00 00Reading the story makes readers to think that any thief of lower rank could be caught sooner by law authorities when trying to perform just one of Frank’s ideas. 02br
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00Approaching to the end of the book the author tells one of the most complex and exciting accomplishments of the game 01i00Catch Me If You Can02i00. 00 00Since Abagnale was not satisfied with cashing small amount checks, he decides to build a small flight crew so he can cash more money at different banks. 00 00Such idea is described in chapter “A Small Crew Will Do”.00 00Abagnale went to 00 signed fake contracts with girls that he interviewed.00 00He also supplied them with stewardess uniforms.00 00He paid their airfare tickets and hotel bills with cash.00 00This was a hard game for him, but in same time the game that brought him a fortune of money. To pull this type of game Abagnale “has turned criminality into an art form and added a little charm” as he develops a plan that was successfully completed (Schumann).”00 00Considering how far he went with his ideas and considering that they were all successfully completed, Dream Works characterizes Abagnale as “A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, whose skill at check fraud had netted him millions of dollars in stolen funds” 00 00(Dream Works). 02br
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01i00Catch Me If You Can02i00 is very amazing story full of different personal thrills covered by joy and fun.00 00It makes reader to forget Abagnale’s sins and support him in his extra ordinary ideas. As the senior writer for Entertainment Weekly Chriss Nashawaty describes reader’s feeling “You're rooting for a man who would no sooner look at you than see your face as a giant lollipop with the word 01i00sucker02i00 printed on it. And why not? After all, these days, a criminal this good is hard to find” (00Nashawaty)00. 02br
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00Nowadays, Abagnale is not playing scam games; actually he is one of the world's most respected authorities on the subjects of forgery, stealing documents and also secure documents. For more than thirty years, he has lectured and consulted with hundreds of financial institutions, corporations and government agencies around the world.00 00He was good to FBI who made an agreement with him after serving five years in prison.00 00“He helped the federal government, without remuneration, by teaching and assisting federal law enforcement agencies. 00 00Mr. Abagnale lectures extensively at the 00 and the field offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Abagnale & Associates).” 00 00Even though, 00Chris Nashawaty concludes in his book review that” 00Criminals don't inspire a whole lot of admiration and awe these days” Mr. Abagnale does inspire for sure.00 02br
00With this thrilling memoir 01i00Catch Me If You Can 02i00the01i00 02i00author manages to captivate reader from the first page to the last. 00 00Presenting a kid as a product of a broken family the author tells reader that parents could have more influence on their kids’ lives as they grow. 00 00It is very interesting that readers don’t evaluate Frank’s crimes as they read the book.00 00Throughout the fun and joy of a young slick impostor the author makes his crimes to fall into the shade.00 00Yet, reader becomes his fan. 00 00Chris Nashawaty, a 00senior writer for magazine Entertainment Weekly00 says,00 00”00 Frank Abagnale was a maestro of the film-flam trade and author of the 1980 memoir 00Catch Me if You Can00 about his lifetime of astonishing schemes, rackets, and quick escapes that's just been ushered back into print by some sharp editor hip to the fact that folks gobble up true-crime yarns like salted peanuts”(Nashawaty).00 00Today, 00Mr. Abagnale believes that “punishment for fraud and recovery of stolen funds are so rare, prevention is the only viable course of action00”00 00(Abagnale). 00 00Even though, Abagnale’s memoir has happy ending in real life such crimes could end up differently.00 0-