![Public Enemies [Film Tie-in]: The True Story of America's Greatest Crime Wave](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41BlIXoyiCL._SL75_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-st,TopRight,8,-14_OU02_.jpg){kind=icon}
- Paperback: 640 pages
- Publisher: Penguin; Film tie-in ed edition (4 Jun 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0141042583
- ISBN-13: 978-0141042589
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 56,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Public Enemies [Film Tie-in]
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
|
There is a newer edition of this item:
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'A rollicking ride' Guardian 'Entrancing ... fascinating ... definitive ... a wild and amazing story' Washington Post 'Excellent true crime ... brims with vivid portraiture' New York Times 'This blockbuster movie of a volume ... crackles and pops with dialogue so outrageous that you suspect a dozen scriptwriters have worked on it, but every word is true' Spectator
Product Description
In 1933 a crime wave blazed across America. Fuelled by cheap liquor and fast cars, gangs of chancers, bank robbers, gunslingers and their molls cut a murderous, cash-snatching dash through the US - and became legends. Among them were homicidal Baby Face Nelson, outlaws Bonnie and Clyde, cranky hillbilly Ma Barker and, most deadly of all, the suave gentleman criminal John Dillinger.
This is the breakneck story of America's most wanted, and their nemesis: J. Edgar Hoover and his strong-arm law enforcers, the agents of the FBI. Using shocking secret files and eyewitness accounts, Public Enemies reveals the facts about the crime spree that shook America.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Contrary to the observations of the Johns, Skyline & Fitzpatrick above; I find the chronological sequencing of the story to be one of it's greatest strengths. (Albeit that I had the advantage of reading it straight through over a two day period whilst laid up in bed! Even though, concentration IS required )
The author rightfully credits those who have gone over the same ground before,but without the benefit of the now opened FBI records.
It transpires that he began where I did back in the 60's with John Toland's excellent 'Dillinger Days'(now once again available on Amazon).
Toland devoted individual chapters, in sequence,to each of the gangs.
But this method tends to obscure the fact that it was all happening over the same short period of time.
Burrough's chronological description of events shows the reality of how intertwined the gangs and their crime wave really were.
'Public Enemies' is extremely well written, with maps of the salient areas of the USA included to show how widespread the gangs roamed over the American landscape during those bloody two years.
Photographs of all the gang members, and many of their accomplices are included, but in the paperback edition these are thumbnail sized only. A 16 page selection of larger photographs is also included, showing photos of many of the events referred to, as covered by the voracious American news media of the day.
Hoover and his FBI come out of the story with very little credit, and their own,(finally) revealed records are generally reponsible for this. Little wonder then that they were suppressed for so long.
Another previously unmentioned aspect of the book is the wonderful sense of time and place; early 1930s America, that the author evokes. This is history at it's best.
To anyone with an interest in this subject, I would recommend this book as the best available.
I also recommend Toland's 'Dillinger Days'. Toland was an eminent historian and writer. His work covered mainly US political and military history,and 'Dillinger Days'was written with the same attention to detail, but in 1963, without the benefit of the FBI files. Still a great book.
I doubt that the film of 'Public Enemies', even with Depp et al will be convincing.
The book is the real deal.
The author rightfully credits those who have gone over the same ground before,but without the benefit of the now opened FBI records.
It transpires that he began where I did back in the 60's with John Toland's excellent 'Dillinger Days'(now once again available on Amazon).
Toland devoted individual chapters, in sequence,to each of the gangs.
But this method tends to obscure the fact that it was all happening over the same short period of time.
Burrough's chronological description of events shows the reality of how intertwined the gangs and their crime wave really were.
'Public Enemies' is extremely well written, with maps of the salient areas of the USA included to show how widespread the gangs roamed over the American landscape during those bloody two years.
Photographs of all the gang members, and many of their accomplices are included, but in the paperback edition these are thumbnail sized only. A 16 page selection of larger photographs is also included, showing photos of many of the events referred to, as covered by the voracious American news media of the day.
Hoover and his FBI come out of the story with very little credit, and their own,(finally) revealed records are generally reponsible for this. Little wonder then that they were suppressed for so long.
Another previously unmentioned aspect of the book is the wonderful sense of time and place; early 1930s America, that the author evokes. This is history at it's best.
To anyone with an interest in this subject, I would recommend this book as the best available.
I also recommend Toland's 'Dillinger Days'. Toland was an eminent historian and writer. His work covered mainly US political and military history,and 'Dillinger Days'was written with the same attention to detail, but in 1963, without the benefit of the FBI files. Still a great book.
I doubt that the film of 'Public Enemies', even with Depp et al will be convincing.
The book is the real deal.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I borrowed this book from my local library, read it from cover to cover and it turned out to be one of those books I had to buy a copy of because I knew Id want to read it every year or two. Its an amazing book which clearly has been a labour of love and has been written with the help of a mass of research. It deals with all the well known criminals of that era (machine gun kelly, Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson etc etc) and it interweaves their storys as it progresses through that era detailing all their crimes, escapes from the law and it also paints a bigger picture of how the FBI had to be formed to combat the problem. Its such an addictive read, very enjoyable and the sort of book that evokes the atmosphere of the period in which its set. Its a factual book of course and not done in a silly narrative way...putting words into their mouths, turning it into a novel for example...the author was wise enough to see the tales of these people were fascinating enough and gives it to the reader straight.
Brilliant book, the finest with regards to this subject matter!
.....would like to add that the Johnny Depp movie PUBLIC ENEMIES is very loosely based on this book, they are like chalk and cheese, just used this fab books name really...
Brilliant book, the finest with regards to this subject matter!
.....would like to add that the Johnny Depp movie PUBLIC ENEMIES is very loosely based on this book, they are like chalk and cheese, just used this fab books name really...
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A superbly researched book that covers key figures of the 1930's crime wave and the FBI's attempts to bring them to justice - the level of detail is both it's strength (at times you fveel you are there with the action - some of the sequences and action provides riveting reading)and it's weakness (put the book down for a couple of days and you forget who is who and what's happening - there is just so much going on and the story darts from Dillinger to Bonnie and Clyde to the Baker Gang to .... all in 'real' time, which means you need to concentrate)It is a great read ultimately and the author desreves high praise for what must surely be the most comprehensive telling of this period of American history.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Public Enemies Book
The book is excellent, arrived on time before my holiday.
Cost wise very good.
Cost wise very good.
Published 19 months ago by Mr. L. A. Brown
A SELECTIVE HISTORY
A good book - spoilt somewhat by the annoying chronological editing, which tends to lurch from gang to different gang often in different mid-west states simultaneously . . . Read more
Published 20 months ago by P. Fraser
Gang Warfare American Style
Bryan Burrough co-wrote "Barbarians at the Gate", one of the best books ever written about business. Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2009 by John Fitzpatrick
Intriguing but structure makes for a clunky read
This is a well-reseached tome, painstakingly put together and showing the author's genuine fascination for the bandits of this short but extremely violent era in the USA's history. Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2009 by John 'Skyline'
Tommy guns,fast cars and dames
This book is brilliant.With every page you want to know what happens next.Even if,like me,you already know what happened to John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde and the others,it... Read more
Published on 3 July 2009 by Alan Butcher
Tells it like it might well have been
I'm just finishing work on a book about police corruption in early twentieth century New York, and right now Burroughs' book is the one I most wish I had written. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2006 by Mike D
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
