Published in 2002, Catch Me if You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake is the autobiographical life story of Frank W. Abagnale. Originally published in 1980, Frank's story became a movie in 2002. Catch Me if You Can, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio is a slightly fictionalized version of Frank Abagnale's incredible six-year crime spree. Yet, the book is as exciting and fast-paced as the movie, and the book has the added benefit of telling the story in Frank's own voice. This benefits the story because Frank's voice is the voice of one of the world's most infamous con men and swindlers. Frank's literary prose is every bit as convincing as the honeyed lies and stories he sells his unsuspecting victims. The reader will find him or herself so drawn into Frank's point of view that he or she will actually be cheering him on and rooting for the success of his swindles.

It is possible to root for Frank Abagnale only because Frank has, in subsequent years, completely turned his life around, and has found a way to contribute his particular skill set to the betterment of society. This updated, movie tie-in version of the book includes a Question & Answer session with the author that brings the reader up to date on Frank's life. By the time of this printing, Frank has acquired a twenty-five-year track record of redemptive, honorable behavior. Even so, the tone of the book is guaranteed to leave the reader feeling uneasy. No matter how much one might like to believe that Frank has amended his ways, and no matter how convincing his earnest prose may seem, the reader is simultaneously confronted with the ease in which Frank has lied in the past. Before one considers buying into Frank's point of view, one would do well to recall the time-honored phrase, caveat emptor . . . let the buyer beware.