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Public Enemies (Abridged): America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,041 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The astonishing true story of America's first and greatest "War on Crime."
In Public Enemies, Bryan Burrough strips away a thick layer of myths put out by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI to tell the full story of the most spectacular crime wave in American history, the two-year battle between the young Hoover and an assortment of criminals who became national icons: John Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Barkers.
In 1933, police jurisdictions ended at state lines, the FBI was in its infancy, and fast cars and machine guns were easily available. It was a great time to be a bank robber. On hand were a motley crew of criminal masterminds, sociopaths, romantics, and cretins.
Bryan Burrough has unearthed an extraordinary amount of new material on all the major figures involved—revealing many fascinating interconnections in the vast underworld ecosystem that stretched from Texas up to Minnesota.
But the real-life connections were insignificant next to the sense of connectedness J. Edgar Hoover worked to create in the mind of the American public, using the "Great Crime Wave" to gain the position of untouchable power he would occupy for almost half a century.
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"This was amazingly interesting! Who isn't interested in those gangsters of the 30s like Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, Machine gun Kelly and others? What a fascinating time in history! This book explores all the bad guys and the formation of what became the FBI and all the fumbling mistakes they made trying to capture these bad guys. I learned so much and it was a fun book to read!"
— Linda (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“[A] riveting true-crime tale…fascinating…the real story, it turns out, is much better than the Hollywood version.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“A rollicking yarn whose prose bounces across the page like a getaway car through a wheat field.”
— Newsweek -
“An amazingly detailed true-life thriller that puts us on a stakeout alongside the feds, inside the banks while bullets fly, and inevitably, next to the criminals’ bloody corpses.”
— Entertainment Weekly -
“This book compellingly brings back to life people and times distorted in the popular imagination by hagiographic bureau memoirs and Hollywood.”
— Publishers Weekly
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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One of the 2004 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Nonfiction
Public Enemies Listener Reviews
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" Interesting, but very detailed and at times a bit too slow. "
— Aaron, 2/19/2014 -
" I initially loved this book because of the true life nature of the stories. About half way through I wanted it to end! Maybe I just got bored! "
— Edgeley, 2/18/2014 -
" Very interesting but a slow read because of all the names, places, and dates to keep up with. The pictures and maps in the front of the book are a very helpful resource. "
— Katha, 2/7/2014 -
" Awesome! Thorough and precise. An amazing read. "
— Mike, 1/31/2014 -
" Interesting read, but tough to follow. They follow a lot of plotlines (all true), but there's just too much going on at once. If you can't read this in a week or so, don't. "
— Christy, 1/25/2014 -
" Wanted to read before I saw the movie...it certainly reads page after page like a high speed chase! "
— Sowande', 1/19/2014 -
" Hard read... It was pretty boring.... "
— Ashlee, 1/16/2014 -
" I wish the movie was this good..... "
— Martin, 1/14/2014 -
" Very informative book, a lot of interesting information in one place. Presented in a cut/dry kind of way; unfortunately not the most entertaining book to read. "
— Jenni, 1/12/2014 -
" I loved it, much better than the movie, which was good "
— Chuck, 1/8/2014 -
" Quite a thorough look at the early days of the FBI and the "war on crime"/ depression era crooks periods. It does get a little dry in some points with the detail and the overlapping narrative regarding the various gangs but I found it a lot more enjoyable that the film (loosely) based on the book. "
— Nocheevo, 12/18/2013 -
" Fascinating and well written history of 1930's crime and gangsters. Reads almost like a novel, yet as far as I can tell is very true to the historical record. (Warning: some language) "
— Joseph, 12/11/2013 -
" Read this book before the movies comes out! "
— Gene, 12/7/2013 -
" A jackpot of information that clears away the years of falsehood and myth about these times. "
— Jonathan, 10/18/2013 -
" Entertaining. Stories about people we know about events that have never been told. "
— Gina, 10/4/2013 -
" A great read. Shame Michael Mann's film was so rubbish. "
— Anne, 5/10/2013 -
" Great read for history/crime buffs. "
— Brian, 5/1/2013 -
" Fascinating coverage of the crime wave of early years of the Great Depression and the formation of the FBI - including some early stupid mistakes on the G-Men's side you wouldn't expect even amateurs to make. But this was all new at the time. "
— Keith, 8/1/2012 -
" Awesome. Much more intriguing than the movie. "
— Adam, 4/14/2012 -
" Excellent history of the famous bank robbers of the 1930's. "
— Krisette, 12/20/2011 -
" Found it fascinating that so many characters could be real and roaming the alleys and dirt roads at the same time. Insightful towards the rise of the FBI and a look at the seam of the fabric of society and what it causes. Are we our own worst enemies. Do we create criminals? "
— Scott, 10/4/2011 -
" Very interesting history revolving around the creation of the modern day FBI, the John Dillinger gang, Bonnie and Clyde, and the Barker gang. There was quite a bit I didn't know about the "war on crime". Fascinating, quick read for any one with a penchant for bank robbers and gangsters. "
— TJ, 8/7/2011 -
" Thrilling page-turner on law and crime in hard-times America. "
— Takipsilim, 8/6/2011 -
" This is the interesting tale of the beginnings of the FBI and of the criminals who were big in the 1930s. Bonnie & Clyde, Baby-face Nelson, John Dillinger, among others. This book describes their crimes and how they were pursued and eventually taken down. "
— Shaun, 6/19/2011 -
" Interesting read, but tough to follow. They follow a lot of plotlines (all true), but there's just too much going on at once. If you can't read this in a week or so, don't. "
— Christy, 4/20/2011 -
" Addicitve, never thought I'd find the Great Depression era so interesting! "
— Tricia, 2/22/2011 -
" I really enjoy reading books on the late 20's and early depression era 30's. Especially dealing with crime and the organization of America's federal police force. This book is very thorough and paints an amazingly intricate portrait of 1933-1934. "
— Scott, 2/19/2011 -
" I picked this up because I loved the gangster stories - but it was hard for me to get through. "
— *Laura*, 2/6/2011 -
" Awesome. Much more intriguing than the movie. "
— Adam, 2/2/2011 -
" In depth history of gangland wars of the thirties. Listening to it in the car and it's great like that. It would be a little dry for me to read as a print title. "
— Karen, 1/6/2011 -
" One of the best books i have ever read. I thought i already knew a lot about Dillinger, baby face nelson etc. but this book definitely proved me wrong. It is not only informative but very entertaining as well. "
— Lorenz, 11/16/2010
About Bryan Burrough
Bryan Burrough is a special correspondent at Vanity Fair and the author of five previous books, including The Big Rich and Public Enemies. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, he is a three-time winner of the John Hancock Award for excellence in financial journalism.
About Campbell Scott
Campbell Scott has, in addition to his numerous stage and film credits, narrated more than forty audiobooks, including This Boy’s Life and Into Thin Air, and won seven AudioFile Earphones Awards.