Public Enemies: Book Review Essay

The author arranged the book in such a way where he would be able to simultaneously show the progress of the gangs in the so-called â€Å"public enemies† era. He also wrote what happened in every specific time period. He organized his writing by dates; he divided actions and development among the gangs into certain time spans. He mainly focused on the years between 1933 and 1936, were Bonnie & Clyde, the Dillinger gang, and other more was mainstream. Furthermore, the author’s goal towards this book was to give the reader a complete and broad overview of the FBI on the War on Crime history. His goal was to portray the whole story, after the FBI released all files all the cases in the late 1980s. There were three things that made me interested in this book. First, I was amazed by how determined these criminals was. They put thought and planning in all their robberies, which they usually end up succeeding at. Moreover, these are crimes that were implemented about 77 years ago. I also admire their nature. I could never imagine how much courage and will these crooks had in order to carry out their brutal risky heists. I especially enjoyed reading the parts where the Dillinger gang would rob banks quickly and efficiently. Then they would aggressively open fire on the police officers as they perform their getaway. They made the police seem too simple to deal with. Secondly, I was astonished by the loyalty of women back in those days. They didn’t care that their men were actually robbers and in some cases killers. Except for Bonnie Parker where she was a robber herself. They would care for their men, cover for them, and comfort them as much as they can. I found that amazing since these women don’t actually exist anymore in our present time of â€Å"equal-rights. Finally, I was mind blown by how John Dillinger managed to escape from prison twice, and in addition to that, he also freed his fellows from prison as well. The public enemies indeed did have things in common. Nearly all of them are actually European immigrants or offspring of European immigrant parents. All of them seem to be aggressive, dangerous, and trouble making since their youth. Lots of them have even been sent to prison at a very early age. Hence, the majority of the public enemies have already obtained a criminal record before they went on their large scale heists. Furthermore, they all relied on a few common things when it came to undergo a robbery. They all had planned their robberies and getaways. They also used the same technique of preparing a generous amount of powerful gun power to be used in case of a police encounter. They all did not have long lives either. Most of them were killed in their 30s. They have been able to dodge the police for so long mainly for two reasons. First of all, they were well supplied with lots of powerful weapons. This has always helped them even out with the police in a shoot out. The public enemies were also extremely violent and aggressive. In any encounter with the police they would open fire and start shooting vigorously and brutally and the police without thinking or hesitation. Thinking and hesitation are two things the police did not lack, which always gave the crooks an edge. Secondly, they usually had planned their getaways through. Nearly all of them had even kidnapped innocent people, who were sometimes dragged along the shooting during the getaways to get a better chance of escape. Finally, they made sure they had good hiding spots, and they were also on the move continuously. Eventually, the FBI and all cooperating law enforcement agencies had reached their limits of hesitation. They have decided to shoot at the crooks the second they show absolutely any sigh of resistance. Obviously, there were lot of injuries and deaths. The FBI also decided to take the public enemies down once and for all by outnumbering them and engaging them at times were they are least prepared. For instance, they ambushed Bonnie and Clyde, and when the two lovers realized they were in danger they opened fire. But they were outnumbered and eventually killed by the police. Pretty Boy Floyd was killed in Ohio during a pursuit by local officers, and was shot dead by Melvin Purvis himself. The Dillinger Gang was hunted down one-by-one, and at the end killed John Dillinger after he got out of the movie theatre. Machine Gun Kelly was arrested in October 1933 and was poisoned for life. Baby Face Nelson was deeply wounded at the battle of the Barrington and died shortly after. Finally, Baker Karpis Gang was being hunted down and somehow split up. At the end Karpis was arrested in New Orleans and poisoned for life. And he was the last one on the public enemies list.