Year Two Book Eight:
Catch Me If You Can by Frank W. Abagnale
April 23rd 2015
Amy: I would give it 3 out 5. I have seen the movie “Catch Me If You Can” probably 6 times
(it gets rerun at least every 6th weekend on Peachtree TV) and have
always thought of it as an easy, light watch. The book was much the same, until
it dawned on me that actually, this guy could be pretty dangerous! Throughout
the whole story, Abagnale focuses on how he pulls off his latest scam with
little regard for the people left behind in the aftermath. Abagnale stated that
he avoided ripping off individuals (always paying cash for his clothes and
meals) and focused on finding loop holes in bureaucratic systems, which seems
to be true except in the case where Abagnale changes the numbers on a stack of
deposit slips so stranger unwittingly deposited their money into his account.
But the story is so one sided and seems to gloss over the damage done,
especially to his Father. I can’t believe that Abagnale doesn’t recognize that frauding
his Father out of what would be almost $30,000 today is what probably
bankrupted him! So I think that the story should be taken with a grain of salt
and that there is a possibility that there is much more involved then what is
presented. For example, I would have loved for the book to include more of a “cat
and mouse” element and followed the investigation side of things too! That was
such a fun part of the movie that did not come through in the book!
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