I stole every nickel and
blew it on fine threads, luxurious lodgings, fantastic foxes and other
sensual goodies. I partied in every capital in Europe and basked on all
the world's most famous beaches'. Frank W Abagnale, alias Frank
Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams and Ringo Monjo, was one of the
most daring con men, forgers, imposters and escape artists in history.
In his brief but notorious career, Abagnale donned a pilot's uniform and
co-piloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as a member of hospital
management, practiced law without a licence, passed himself off as a
college sociology professor, and cashed over $2.5 million in forged
checks all before he was twenty-one. Known by the police of twenty-six
foreign countries and all fifty states as 'The Skywayman', Abagnale
lived a sumptuous life on the run - until the law caught up with him.
Now recognized as the nation's leading authority on financial foul play,
Abagnale is a charming rogue whose hilarious, stranger-than-fiction
international escapades and ingenious escapes - including one from an
airplane - make CATCH ME IF YOU CAN an irresistable tale of deceit.
My Thoughts:
I seriously loved this. I like
a good memoir anyway, but Frank Abagnale, Jr. is the James Bond of
American criminals. Everything he did was so original, creative,
interesting, ballsy and often quite funny. I laughed aloud a few times.
And I'm glad that after all the crazy caper stories the book delved into
how bad prison and "paying his debt to society was"; People who read
this book don't get any ideas about living an exciting jet-setting life
of crime because once he was caught and convicted he lived through a bit
of hell. So interesting, though. Great read.
This is another one of those of those that was adapted into a good movie. I mean, have you seen the movie? It's pretty good. Some things were changed from book-to-movie, but that's to be expected given time restraints and whatever else. But I would definitely read the book over the movie. For one thing, fictionalized movies are hard to take seriously. You know what I mean; I always find myself thinking, "Could that have really happened?"
While in a book it's just as easy to make a fictional world completely believable, there's just something about a written memoir that feels more legitimate. Every crazy story I read about had my mouth agape, me thinking, "I can't believe he did that! But I totally believe he did that because here it is written in this memoir." Which is akin to believing everything you find on the internet, in a way, but not really. Books are always more trustworthy.
This memoir could almost be considered YA literature since Abagnale started his life of crime at the tender age of 16 and continued into his early 20s. And while he did a lot of adult/crazy stuff, the book never delves into any sordid specifics. There's a lot of hinting and innuendo but it's relatively clean. Which is kind of ironic; A clean read about a womanizing criminal. But it is. And it's entertaining. Loved it. Go read it. You will, too.
Sexual Content: Moderate
Language: Mild
Violence: Mild
Drugs/Alcohol: Mild
Book Description:
On February 26, 2011,
Nate Damm stood barefoot in the Atlantic Ocean on the Delaware coast,
then put his shoes on and started walking west. Over 3,200 miles passed
under his feet over the following seven-and-a-half months, and he found
himself in San Francisco, having walked across America. This is the
story of what drove Nate to hit the road and what he found once he got
there. Featuring a cast of quirky, wild, and endearing characters, this
is a story of heartbreak, redemption, random acts of kindness, blisters,
idiotic drivers, no less than one bear attack, small towns, sanity lost
somewhere in the desert, love, and what it takes to find peace and
happiness at three miles per hour.
My Thoughts:
There's
no doubt that Damm has at least some skill with words. I've read other
"Life Changing Hike/Walk" books written by people who have no business
writing more than a Facebook status. This book was very engaging, and I
was impressed by how someone so dumb could write such an engaging book.
Dumb? Yeeessssss. Forgive me for saying so, but Nate Damm was
an idiot. I can only hope he has shaped up in the years since the
happenings of this book. What kind of dingbat decides to hike across
America and does almost no research about how to go about it? He fully
admits to not researching certain things, and at some points it almost
sounds like he's bragging about going into everything unprepared. There
should be some kind of disclaimer for impressionable young people who
pick up this book, reminding them to prepare and research for a walk of
this magnitude or it'll come back to bite them in the butt. Honestly,
Damm is kind of lucky to have made it across the whole United States
without being killed or maimed. Sheesh.
Also, I did not
understand his relationship with Alissa at all. Thankfully, once you
get past oh, say, Kentucky or so, Damm quits his pouting about her. I
couldn't have handled it if he'd kept going on and on about her through
the entire book.
So those complaints aside, I actually did
really enjoy reading this book. I had no idea the ADT even existed, and
am determined to hike a bit of it myself someday. I value my daily
shower far too much to walk for 8 months, though. Shudder.
I
loved the story of the bear in Colorado. It was pretty funny. I think
Damm is a tough, intense sort of guy (to walk 40 miles in a day?! you
have to have intensity and toughness to pull something like that off)
and I hope that things turn out well for him. Because they could have
easily turned out badly, due to his dumb dumb dumb lack of planning
and/or foresight. The ending was kind of a bummer (possibly due to his
lack of planning) - the way he just decided to be done so close to his
goal was disappointing. But hey, I'd have quit 3 blocks through
Delaware, so I've got no room to talk.
Book Description:
You are holding the
only modern adaptation of Benjamin Franklin's 18th century
autobiography. It is at its heart one of the greatest business stories
ever told. The most versatile Founding Father was a husband, a father, a
writer, an inventor, a statesman, a fundraiser and a military leader.
But in his mind, he was first and foremost a businessman.
Franklin's
captivating adventures include his almost single-handed responsibility
for establishing the first media empire, the first public library, the
first fire brigade, the University of Pennsylvania, the first book club
and the first franchise--all of which are detailed within these pages
with Franklin's characteristic mix of humility and pride.
Franklin
chronicles his own story, from his early days growing up in colonial
Boston to his retirement from printing and growing involvement in
national politics. It was during these years that he honed his
management and leadership skills, acquired a fervent distaste for
tyranny of all types, embraced a strong set of morals, and developed an
uncompromising work ethic.
From the moment he fled his tyrannical
master and set himself up as a printer in Philadelphia, all who came
into contact with Franklin recognized his destiny. His wisdom transcends
the ages--and his life lessons and insights are as compelling today as
ever.
My Thoughts:
In honor of Independence Day I thought it would be good to review something very American. And what's more American than Ben Franklin's adapted autobiography? He was definitely one of our most well-rounded Founding Fathers. And did you know he started the very first book club? And the very first library?!? I'm convinced he would have heartily approved of our humble book blog and our efforts to introduce more books to people.
Since this was an adaptation of Franklin's original autobiography I really don't know how much was left out. I didn't actually learn much about his childhood or personal life--which are things I would find interesting--but this was still fascinating to read. The adaptation to modern language was helpful for me and I'm curious
about how much of the syntax and language is Franklin's and how much was
changed. There was even a little bit of dry wit (extremely dry--like old-man humor). I would actually like to go back and read the original now.
But reading this first was a great intro for me since I'm betting it
will make the original easier to understand. We'll see, though.
I
really enjoyed reading this. And it was an easy read with short
chapters that I could pick up whenever I wanted and put down quickly. Ok, so Franklin did skim over some questionable parts of his life (like the fact that he regularly visited prostitutes and had multiple illegitimate children) but, for the most part, the whole thing felt very honest. He briefly mentioned his vices and the fact that it did affect other aspects of his life and even sort of cautioned against following him in that way.
I
love Franklin's theories. He seriously embodied what I want to be in
life. Minus the "low women" and all that. But I loved his ideas for
self-improvement. So inspiring. Admittedly, his voice did come across a bit self-important. But he wasn't nearly as self-important as a man who was that successful in life could have been. Actually, you might say he was humble. There were many instances mentioned where he stated a problem, worked hard to fix that problem and then immeasurably improved whatever it was. This man practically had a formulaic method for working hard. And he wrote it down so that people could follow it! If you want to learn how to get better at anything, go read this book. Franklin will tell you what to do, step by step. In fact, most of this book read like a business manual. I'm sure some of his methods are a bit outdated--since, you know, he invented them--but it would be a great resource for aspiring entrepreneurs. And authors. Once again, Franklin has a formulaic method for getting better at writing.
So not only was this autobiography intelligent and informative (and it made me feel a little smarter for reading it) but it was engaging and interesting. I suggest it to anyone and everyone.
Sexual Content: Mild (vague mentions of extra marital affairs and visiting prostitutes)
Language: None
Violence: Mild (vague mentions of physical abuse)
Drugs/Alcohol: Mild
