#15: Public Enemies

Being a history major, I must say that I loved this book. That being said, I don't feel like it is the book for a casual reader or for someone who does not truly enjoy history.

The War on Crime that occurred in the 1930s and spawned the birth of the FBI is an era that has always been of great interest to me. I love crime history and I truly feel that most of the time the truth is much more amazing than fiction. In this case, I think that truer than ever before.

Public Enemies is not a bit of light reading. The author had to have combed through FBI files and historical accounts very thoroughly and for a very long time in order to piece together this work. He does a wonderful job of reporting the true events of the war on crime. The book is written in chronological order. It is broken into certain periods (i.e. September 18, 1933-October 23, 1933), with sections within each period devoted to each gang or set of public enemies. Because of this, it can be hard to keep up and since each gang had multiple members who came and went as well as multiple accomplices and allies it can be hard to keep things straight. I am very historically minded and am very good with chronology but I found myself flipping back many times to clarify previous events and make sure I was correctly understanding which person was a member of which gang.

One of the most amazing things about Public Enemies was that it enlightened me to the fact that several of the criminals whose names we hear today and that we think must have really done something memorable, really didn't. They have the notoriety that they do today because of rumors and movies and not truly because of their own actions. It is also very interesting to read about the mistakes the FBI made and the hard lessons that the agents had to learn in order to grow into the agency that the FBI is today. At points, it is almost laughable that the war on crime went on for so long because of such silly, embarrassing mistakes.

It was obvious to me that Public Enemies was written by someone who truly appreciates history and the roles of the players in the war on crime in this extremely important chapter of U.S. history. This book is written by someone who did not want to further sensationalize, vilify, or glorify anyone. It was written by an individual who is well aware that the criminals and the officials who participated in the events within the book were nothing more than humans, but that being human did not mean that they couldn't be capable of greatness.