How To Become A Federal Criminal

Product Description

“Somebody with credentials has combed through a mountain of boring literature, highlighted all the ticklish parts and served them up for appreciation. This is an excellent book for people who like to start sentences with ‘Did you know that…’” —The New York Times

A hilarious, entertaining, and illuminating compendium of the most bizarre ways you might become a federal criminal in America—from mailing a mongoose to selling Swiss cheese without enough holes—written and illustrated by the creator of the wildly popular @CrimeADay Twitter account.

Have you ever clogged a toilet in a national forest? That could get you six months in federal prison. Written a letter to a pirate? You might be looking at three years in the slammer. Leaving the country with too many nickels, drinking a beer on a bicycle in a national park, or importing a pregnant polar bear are all very real crimes, and this riotously funny, ridiculously entertaining, and fully illustrated book shows how just about anyone can become—or may already be—a federal criminal.

Whether you’re a criminal defense lawyer or just a self-taught expert in outrageous offenses, How to Become a Federal Criminal is your wonderfully weird window into a criminally overlooked sector of American government.

Top Reviews

As hilarious as it is troubling, and it is very troubling
by mike (5 out of 5 stars)
June 6, 2019

@CrimeADay on twitter is an entertaining project that was intended to describe at least one absurd federal crime each day. There were not enough days in the year, probably in our lifetimes.

Now Mike Chase provides us this book which is not a summary of that project, but a Law Book like manual on the many absurd ways one can run afoul of federal criminal statutes. The writing is incisive and hilarious, and the many illustrations are even better. You can read it cover to cover or, like the Holy Scriptures, just open to a random page and be inspired.

After laughing to the point of tears, your tears will run from the well of despair as you discover the parlous state of our criminal laws and the excess of government regulation. And if you think that is an exaggeration, just read about the Laws on Fruit Cocktail content, pp. 118-19, fig. 4-17.

This would be just a book of humor if it were not for the fact that thousands of people get snared by these ridiculous traps.

Mike Chase deserves a Medal of Honor for so skillfully displaying the absurd state of government and especially the criminal laws in these days. But that might only encourage the Government.

This book is worth every penny you spend, and probably more. Everyone should read this, especially you legislators who think you have just the law to fix what you do not like.
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Quite funny and so much more
by camcas5 (5 out of 5 stars)
June 6, 2019

What an interesting book. It is a very funny one -- laugh-out-loud in many spots, as much for the illustrations as for the text -- and yet is so uniquely thought-provoking as well. There is a dry wit at work, clearly, and what elevates the overall content again and again is its thoughtful approach to the topic at large, our federal judicial system and those who shape it (or may suffer from it). Chase doesn't descend into outright silliness or mean-spiritedness at all, which is quite unique in a book like this. Another thing that strikes me is that often enough with books like this (political or historical humor, with pictures) is that once they've been read or just enjoyed through a few skims is that they are inevitably tossed aside. However, "How to Become a Federal Criminal" is clearly a keeper and it is enjoyed most thoroughly when read with full attention. Its structure and links between topics are quite adept and take provocative turns. And, yes, it's genuinely hilarious again and again. To me, this book is a no-brainer to give to anyone interested in our judicial and political systems and seeking out fresh and sharp observations related to these arenas.
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Hysterical!
by K. Jackson (5 out of 5 stars)
June 20, 2019

I laughed way too much while reading this book. It's a great compendium of fascinating tidbits, regulatory bizarreness, and great illustrations.

As a regulatory attorney I found this book to be hysterical for so many reasons. It's a lighthearted and well done book that will simultaneously make you love and hate the law (and lawmakers) with equal vigor.
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Another Book On Government Stupidity
by AEvangelista (4 out of 5 stars)
August 15, 2019

The book has some funny moments and is interesting. It is a rehash of government's ability to be grossly blockheaded and stupid. Anyone, who thinks that government is the "Solution" to anything--from gun violence to welfare, should read this book, and extrapolate the silliness to their particular government program.
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Better than having a CJ degree
by Colin (5 out of 5 stars)
June 21, 2019

Within the first dozen pages this book has already surpassed every other Criminal Justice book I have had the pleasure of reading for my degree, and while most of my CJ textbooks were illustrated, my wife's law books were not; so just on pictures alone it also surpasses all of the books my wife read for her law degree.
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love the book, but not on the Kindle
by Harold Smoliar (3 out of 5 stars)
July 26, 2019

Unfortunately, the illustrations don't work well with the Kindle Paperwhite. If I had known this, I probably would have gotten it in hardcover.
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A hilarious, intriguing, and enlightening expose of a small fraction of out current legal tragedy.
by Travis Nicks (5 out of 5 stars)
June 24, 2019

Mr. Chase has spent years posting about ridiculous federal crimes and now he has collected some of the best and placed them in a single source for easy reference. Often times funny, this book will go exceptionally well on your coffee table or behind your lawyer's desk. It will certainly spark conversation but in most (e.g.. libertarians) it will drive suffering and despair. The true extent of the nation's long slide into a bureaucratic abyss is delightfully laid out and categorized so that this small volume encompasses a broad reach of crime. From bee semen to falcons, it has everything (yet is less than 1/10th of 1% of all the possible federal crimes). You will not regret purchasing this book but you may regret reading it.
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Fun Book
by Missy Mc (5 out of 5 stars)
July 26, 2019

I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh out loud at some of the weirdest laws I have ever heard of. It is an interesting, and entertaining read. Plus the illustrations are so funny. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something fun to read.
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Never ride a manatee!
by SherisSoapOpera (5 out of 5 stars)
September 11, 2019

I gave to my attorney brother -then bought a copy for myself. The author has a great sense of humor-The laws are jaw droopingly unbelievable, and the pictures have me laughing out loud.

NOTE TO SELF: Never ride a manatee !
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Interesting Read
by Stuart L. Klein (4 out of 5 stars)
September 3, 2019

I enjoyed the book because it shows all the ways our government is deficient in the ways it makes crimes out of some of the most normal and mundane things we do and say.

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