Harry Houdini Books

Author Tim Kenning has done something I consider to be very clever. On one level The Houdini Principle is an fascinating introduction to the life and work of the enigmatic escapologist, filled with interesting anecdotes, photographs, challenges and newsprint. On another, it uses Houdini as a metaphor for personal freedom and growth. How do we escape from the binds of our lives? What do Houdini's remarkable feats offer as learning to us? The book brings out thought-provoking points about using one's strengths, taking control, changing what one believes about oneself (and about what's possible), making the most of situations and increasing creativity. We're challenged to wonder how unlimited we could each be if we could learn to have unreasonable amounts of self belief for ourselves. In short, it is an excellent book for self coaching.

The idea of using metaphor as a way to express personal development isn't new, but by using such an enigmatic reference, Tim Kenning's book is a more entertaining and enlightening experience than many of the academic personal development books around. By using a real-life reference, the stories and learning comes alive.

For years an important feature of Houdini's programs was his repertory of paper tricks -- and the easiest of them were almost as mystifying as the more difficult ones. In this book, Houdini explains how he did them, and any person with a minimum of effort and practically no expense, can become a magician-entertainer. In five minutes you can learn an after-dinner trick with a table knife and a few pieces of paper that will mystify the diners while waiting for their coffee.

This work is packed with pictures of Houdini which include
Teddy Roosevelt to a delegation of clergy at the Hippodrome.
Classic photos of Houdini are depicted in the upside down
position awaiting submersion into the water. In addition, the volume depicts famous cuffs from the "Bastille", Darbies and
flexible Lilly irons. A famous picture of Houdini emerging from
a sealed iron box is depicted at the Hotel Shelton in NYC. The
"Packing Box Escape" shows Houdini emerging from a trick submersion
at sea. The work is worth the price for Houdini enthusiasts everywhere. This work would be perfect for a class project in
history or science.

This is a good book by Houdini. It exposed methods of the spiritualist and other magic secrets. I personally like the way Houdini exposed the magic of the spiritualist, like the way he has been doing during his life. If you are a fan of Houdini, you shouldn't miss this book!

This book is very well researched and written, by far the most informative and enjoyable to read. The authors have taken the time and care to present to the world our first true Superhero.

I stumbled upon this book at a local bookstore and having just finished Chabon's 'Kavalier and Clay' was intrigued by the title. After five minutes of reading and skimming I was hooked and ordered it immediately from Amazon. The most amazing part of Houdini's story is the story itself! I will leave the rest to the readers!

William Kalush, founder of the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York City and co-executive producer of the television magician David Blaine, along with writer Larry Sloman explore the controversy surrounding Houdini's life in their new book: The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero, released on Halloween -- the 80th anniversary of Houdini's untimely death.(A macabre sidebar!) The book begins by laying out a scenario where Harry Houdini traveled across the globe collecting information for law enforcement.(A spy!) This claim revolves around one William Melville -- an English spy who recruited Houdini and asked him to provide information on activities of the governments he visited in his worldwide tours performing his memorable escapes. The most famous of which were, the Water Torture Cell, the Milk Can Escape and Buried Alive.

But if you thought Houdini as a spy is interesting, William Kalush goes on to discuss the spiritualists of the early 20th century. Kalush says, "He really put together his own Secret Service to go after the spiritualists and there was a titanic struggle between the Arthur Conan Doyle camp and the Houdini camp." It wasn't until the death of Houdini's mother that Houdini focused his attention on the thriving business of spiritualism. Now, whether Houdini was genuinely outraged at the victimization of the bereaved, or whether he simply saw an opportunity to capitalize on public interest is unknown. Houdini did spend the last 10 years of his life in highly publicized battles with the spiritualists. Using his knowledge of illusion, Houdini was able to duplicate the ghostly apparitions, noises and mysterious levitations produced by the working mediums and their "spirits". His exposures became so popular with his audiences that they took up more than a third of his regular program -- and, in a way, he became the most famous spiritualist of all.

This leads to Kalush's most interesting claim: Houdini was asked on three occasions to become an advisor to Czar Nicholas's court in pre-revolution Russia. Kalush claims that Houdini was contacted by the czar's court officials to come to Russia and depose Rasputin as a faker. Houdini considered making the trip but never did. While these claims are fascinating and make for a good read, the truth is Houdini was a unique, talented and motivated magician. He was a terrific showman and self-promoter which made him the most famous magician in history. His name is synonymous with escapes; his ability to get out of seemingly impossible situations -- and his knack for publicizing these events made him a legend in his own time. He would spend days on end practicing his trade, autographing and meeting with eager magic fans. And spent his nights with Bess Rahner, the woman who became Houdini's partner both in the act and in his life.

William Kalush, founder of the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York City and co-executive producer of the television magician David Blaine, along with writer Larry Sloman explore the controversy surrounding Houdini's life in their new book: The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero, released on Halloween -- the 80th anniversary of Houdini's untimely death.(A macabre sidebar!) The book begins by laying out a scenario where Harry Houdini traveled across the globe collecting information for law enforcement.(A spy!) This claim revolves around one William Melville -- an English spy who recruited Houdini and asked him to provide information on activities of the governments he visited in his worldwide tours performing his memorable escapes. The most famous of which were, the Water Torture Cell, the Milk Can Escape and Buried Alive.

But if you thought Houdini as a spy is interesting, William Kalush goes on to discuss the spiritualists of the early 20th century. Kalush says, "He really put together his own Secret Service to go after the spiritualists and there was a titanic struggle between the Arthur Conan Doyle camp and the Houdini camp." It wasn't until the death of Houdini's mother that Houdini focused his attention on the thriving business of spiritualism. Now, whether Houdini was genuinely outraged at the victimization of the bereaved, or whether he simply saw an opportunity to capitalize on public interest is unknown. Houdini did spend the last 10 years of his life in highly publicized battles with the spiritualists. Using his knowledge of illusion, Houdini was able to duplicate the ghostly apparitions, noises and mysterious levitations produced by the working mediums and their "spirits". His exposures became so popular with his audiences that they took up more than a third of his regular program -- and, in a way, he became the most famous spiritualist of all.

This leads to Kalush's most interesting claim: Houdini was asked on three occasions to become an advisor to Czar Nicholas's court in pre-revolution Russia. Kalush claims that Houdini was contacted by the czar's court officials to come to Russia and depose Rasputin as a faker. Houdini considered making the trip but never did. While these claims are fascinating and make for a good read, the truth is Houdini was a unique, talented and motivated magician. He was a terrific showman and self-promoter which made him the most famous magician in history. His name is synonymous with escapes; his ability to get out of seemingly impossible situations -- and his knack for publicizing these events made him a legend in his own time. He would spend days on end practicing his trade, autographing and meeting with eager magic fans. And spent his nights with Bess Rahner, the woman who became Houdini's partner both in the act and in his life.

The subtitle "The making of America's first superhero" really doesn't hold up very well. I would say George Washington or Daniel Boone fit that bill long before Houdini was born and a few others probably could be named as well. The authors also pursue a questionable line of research when they try to put Houdini in the position of master spy with very little research to back it up; mainly supposition and conjecture derived from a few sources. I guess they were trying to add a bit more spice to a figure who has had more than a few biographies written about him, but I didn't find all the "bells and whistles" necessary to enjoy this well-written look at one of the few individuals whose name has become part of our lexicon. Houdini's life is a marvelous combination of hard work and ego; in his quest to be famous he achieved a kind of immortality, his life filled with all the human failings of hubris and weakness, but he was always supplemented by a tremendous will to overcome whatever he was confronted with. .The later chapters, dealing with Houdini's battles with spiritualists, like Margery, are particularly telling. These attacks on spiritualists, who seemed to have really earned his enmity by having the temerity to try to trick the master of deception, are fascinating examples of how Houdini was able to combine his personal feelings with commerce as he was able to tour and lecture on their fraudulent practices. These chapters are truly the most intriguing, as the gradual decay of Houdini's friendship with Arthur Conan Doyle is mixed with Houdini's valiant attempt to enlighten people to the deceit of the spiritualist movement. Once again the author's attempt to "gild the lily" by suggesting Houdini was killed as a payback from the "spiritualist movement" with little evidence. It's not that I don't believe the possibilities of this "assassination" or the book's earlier contentions of Houdini's "spying" but I would expect them to be better supported by evidence before giving them as much credence as this book does. Despite these attempts to add another dimension to Houdini's biography, the book still stands as a valiant effort to bring Houdini's life and legend to a new generation.

Harry Houdini's showmanship made him a standout among magicians. Author Sid Fleischman uses the same technique to stand out in the crowded field of Houdini biographies. Escape! captures readers with its flamboyant vocabulary, humor, insider understanding, wonderful photographs with excellent captions and a clearly stated theme which shapes the details of an exciting life. Fleischman organizes this rags-to-riches tale around Houdini's shameless vanity that supported his "megaphone self-promotion" of his self-made legend: sharing that Houdini doctored facts and photographs. Fleischman analyzes Houdini's family relationships, evaluates his career and lasting fame, and explains them to youngsters as part human flaw, part the need to escape anti-Semitism, and part the drive to trump all competitors and fakes. The self-taught Houdini never had a magic lesson. Loyalty to fellow magicians keeps author-magician Fleischman from revealing Houdini's methods, although his bibliography includes books that tell all.
Hungarian Jewish immigrant Ehrich Weiss, searching for a way to financially aid his poor family, finds vaudeville and his stage name, The Great Houdini. Ironically, Houdini later unmasks his youthful idol and name inspiration, Robert-Houdin. This biography dramatically recounts what Houdini got out of: handcuffs, milk cans, straight jackets, jail cells, frozen rivers and coffins. It also spotlights what he got into: airplanes and first-flight records; entertaining troops during World War I; supporting the sons of rabbis, who like himself, performed on the stage; movies; the Encyclopaedia Britannica; the Library of Congress and a crusade bashing phony spiritualists.
Fleishman's rich, intimate account is possible from two special boosts to normal biographical research. He had access to material published privately for magicians and he knew Houdini's widow, Bess, who gave him information and photographs. From the clever table of contents to the sad postmortem, this book overflows with fun facts delivered by out of the ordinary colorful language proving reading can be magic. A treat for readers age 9 - adult.

The book was an interesting read. It showed how exciting Houdini actually was. It was well written and even though it's nonfiction, it was exciting. This information was well-done enough so I could use it for a sixth grade report.

I bought this book for a Valentine's present for my husband, who has been doing magic tricks and illusions since he was a young boy. He has always been fascinated by the Great Houdini, so when I saw this book, I took a chance. We have both enjoyed this book tremendously. It is written in very nice, simple language, with large print, and wonderful never-seen before photos. I would highly recommend this little magical gem!

Biographies can be dull and plodding, but this one is just the opposite. Partly because of the nature of the subject - the fascinating magician, illusionist, and escape artist Harry Houdini - and partly because of the bright prose of the author, this biography is engaging, humorous, and a pleasure to read. It is full of colorful language like prestidigitator, bamboozler, razzmatazz, razzle-dazzle, ragamuffin, derring-do, braggadocio, boondocks, bunkum, and blunderbuss. It is also infused with the showman's Jewish side, recalling Houdini's birth as Ehrich Weiss to an impoverished but scholarly rabbi in a Budapest ghetto, his self-invention and brashness as an immigrant, the effects of anti-Semitism, and his lifelong love of learning. According to the author, Jews are significant in the history of magic. Along the way we get a history lesson in vaudeville and other popular entertainments in turn of the century America and Europe. We also see Houdini as quite the overachiever; in addition to his legendary feats, he was an author, editor, pilot, and collector of magician memorabilia. REVIEWED BY SUSAN BERSON (DENVER, CO)

Ages 9 and older will find ESCAPE a vivid story of master escape artist and magician Houdini, a man who could walk through brick walls and escape the most impossible circumstances. This biography comes from an author who was a former professional magician himself, and offers stories of how the son of an impoverished rabbi changed himself into the world-known Houdini. An excellent, lively text makes for a biography perfect for reports.

Once started, the reader can hardly pause in finishing this action packed and well crafted mystery. The hero, Phil Beaumont, is a Pinkerton Operative assigned to bodyguard Harry Houdini on a trip to England. The key to the solution of the murder lies in learning the true identity of all the suspects, just as in my THE PINKERTON EYE. The quality of the novel is enhanced by the author's clever use of the epistolary technique
to strengthen the story line. I highly recommend this mystery
novel.

This book is a total original. Laugh out loud funny. A fresh mystery. With characters we thought we knew before. I read it twice! Simply great.

Satterhwait's sardonic descriptions and droll characterizations made me roll with laughter and kept me awake far past my bedtime for a school night. I look forward to his next book with Phil Beaumont and the latest Pinkerton, Jane Turner.

The first time I read this book, I could not put it down -- I read straight through and emerged after the last page, dazed, wondering where I was. This book is funny, witty, and well-written. It's a great send-up of the English country-house murder mysteries I used to read. I have given away several copies of *Escapade* and I always keep a spare copy for lending out. I highly recommend this book!

I thought this book would be great -- how could you go wrong with a mystery featuring Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at a house party? You could go very wrong, as it turns out.

The writing is sometimes painfully amateurish. Characters are caricatures, and each time they appear, the same characteristics are mentioned, in the same words. This gets really annoying.

The main character is Houdini's right hand man, Phil, whose high opinion of himself is completely unwarranted. He is a condescending, arrogant twit. Other characters are too thinly depicted -- they only consist of a couple of qualities, mostly superficial physical traits, such as weight and hair color.

Once you've endured thousands of sentences containing prose flatter than Kansas, you arrive at the solution. Unfortunately, the solution to the murder is not possible. This is a wee bit of a problem for a mystery. Without giving away too much, if you know anything about ballistics, you will know the author doesn't. His "solution" reveals his ignorance and lack of research, and will frustrate any reader who knows more than he does about guns. It wouldn't have been that difficult or time-consuming to uncover facts such as -- silencers don't silence. They muffle some of a gunshot's sound, but hardly render it silent.

And after reading ESCAPADE'S attempts at wit, you'll just wish someone would silence Phil. For a really witty book, try one by Robert Crais or karen Kijewski. For a good, clever historical, try Bruce Alexander's series. I recommend skipping ESCAPADE.

This book combines facts with tale masterfully crafted by the author. Children will marvel as the pictures as well as what they learn from the story.

My son is 9 and dislikes reading but he read this book in about a half hour and liked it! The Houdini Box has many pages with great pictures and also many pages with a few short paragraphs. A child who dislikes reading becomes overwhelmed when faced with page after page of WORDS and this was not like that. It kept him turning the pages! Also the story was interesting and to the point- no unnecessary babbling on and on to discourage a child with a short attention span. I thank the author for seeming to understand how to grab the attention of the tough to grab!

I was read this book when I was in 2nd grade. I absolutely loved it and checked it out from the library repeatedly. Now that I'm about to become a mom, I wanted my little boy to have it. But, I couldn't remember the name, just that it was about Houdini and a little boy. After about 4 months of searching, I finally found what seemed like it was the right book on amazon. I wasn't positive, but I bought it anyway. When I got it, I was so happy. It's the exact book, and is still as entertaining today as it was when I was 8.

This book is barely based in fact, and the author notes this at the end. I didn't find the story particularly satisfying -- as fan of Houdini OR as an avid reader of children's literature -- but the artwork is wonderful, particularly the renderings of Houdini himself. I will treasure my copy of the book for the artwork alone.

When I opened my desk drawer at 7:30 one summer morning to find an annonomously placed copy of "The Houdini Box," I'd no idea that I was connecting with my muse. I sat in the serene silence before the stirring of a workday and read through this children's book about the loss and regaining of a dream. As a children's book, it's delightfully written and beautifully illustrated. I know several children who've enjoyed the tale. For adults, Brian Selznick's book is a parable about the obstacles that turn us from our passions and the serendipitous moments that call us back on track.

I bought this book for my son's book report. He loved it. He liked learning about Harry Houdini and his tricks. He even gave it my younger son so they could talk about the neat things he could do.

The book offers a useful visual timeline, but not much more. The facts are sketchy and the images are small, since the book is pocket sized. A good introduction to Houdini, but certainly not exhaustive.

Harry Houdini was an amazing man. He did many tricks no one would dare to do. He would risk his life for the entertainment of others. In his lifetime, he performed many memorable magic tricks. He buried himself alive and survived. He dunked his whole body head first into a huge tank and survived. He asked the police to hand cuff him and without a key was able to remove the hand cuffs. He was able to escape from straight jackets. He earned the name, "The Great Houdini." He was afraid that he would not be remembered after his death.

One day after Harry's show at a university, a student came in and asked Harry if his stomach was as strong as he said it was. Harry, not paying attention, mumbled something. The student then gave 10 blows to Harry's stomach. Harry fainted. His appendix had ruptured. He was sent to the hospital. Ten days later he died of an infected appendix. He was only 52 years old.

Today, he still inspires many magicians, such as David Blaine. His message to everyone is that if you keep on trying and doing your personal best you will be rewarded at the end.

This DK Biography of Harry Houdini is described as "A photographic story of a life," but I can tell you up front that it is not a collection of photographs with captions but an illustrated biography that is comparable to other volumes put out by this company. That means you will find over 100 photographs, artwork and artifacts, including photograph of his famous escapes, posters from throughout his career, and a look at things like his collection of handcuffs. For somebody like me who knows most of what they know about Houdini from the movie with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh (and whatever television documentaries I might stumble across from time to time), this book is quite educational. Vicki Cobb tells about the life of Harry Houdini so it reads like an American success story. Born Ehrich Weiss, the kid who will become Harry Houdini leaves home at the age of 12, gets bored working in a factory, and starts practicing coin trips in his spare time. Eventually the son of poor immigrants would be selling out the theaters of Europe as the greatest magician and escape artist in the world.

To set the stage for Houdini's life, Cobb begins with a prologue, "Failure Means a Drowning Death," that talks about his performance in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 27, 1908. Having escaped from the local police station the day before, Houdini performs his "Death-Defying Mystery: Escape from a galvanized iron can filled with water and secured by massive locks." By the time you get to the part where you wonder how he did it, Cobb has you interested in how Houdini became the greatest magician of all time. Then we get to the fact of his life, with the early chapter devoted to how the Weiss family came to America, what Show Business was like in the 1890s when Weiss got started, and how the young Houdini learned his trade as a magician and taking his name from Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, his hero.

Cobb pays attention to how Houdini developed his career and you should pay attention to all of the posters that document his career: they start off with lots of text and hyperbole, but by the time he becomes famous as the "master mystifier" basically he just needed "HOUDINI" in large print. So Houdini goes from "Dime Museum Harry," to "The King of Handcuffs" and then the "Self-Liberator" who conquered Europe at the end of the century. Cobb highlights a quotation from Houdini: "The whole secret is getting the first hand free; after that it is all plain sailing." The glory days of Houdini cover him as a great self-promoter, but also pay attention to his family and his work as a scholar and author in the field of magic.

The final chapters looked at how Houdini started taking risks to come up with bigger thrills for his audiences by doing dangerous things like jumping into rivers and flying an airplane. This goes hand in hand with his great creativity (we get to the Water Torture Cell from the end of the movie "Houdini" at this point). The last stage of Houdini's career deals with not only his death defying feats, but also his debunking of mediums ("The Dead Don't Talk"), which became part of his legacy when he died on Halloween in 1926 from a ruptured appendix. Houdini had told his wife that if it were possible to speak to her from beyond the grave, he would do so, and for ten years his widow Bess attended seances on Halloween to hear the code they had agreed on as proof she was hearing from him. But it never came.

If you want to know how Houdini did it, then you will be happy to know several of his best-known tricks are explained (but not all of them) in this informative biography. Cobb emphasizes Houdini's showmanship as well as his creativity in being important to the act so young readers can better appreciate the career of somebody they will never see perform. The back of the book has a two-page timeline of key events in Houdini's life, a Bibliography of more than a dozen books, a Works Cited list, and six Webs ties that will provide more information about Houdini as well as a trio of documentaries about the master mystifier (he felt he was more than a magician and therefore favored this appellation).

It was a good book with lots of detail. Houdini escapes from a locked safe in London! He was the best magcian ever!!

Have you ever locked yourself up and then slipped out without the crowd knowing? In Harry Houdini, Master of Magic, the man is amazing; he does tricks and stuff you can't even imagine doing, such as stealing locks from his mother when she locks them up. At first the young Houdini is playing with ropes, tieing himself up, and the next thing you know, he is locking himself up. My opinion about this book is that it's good. I have never seen someone lock themselves up, then get out. I think everyone who likes to do tricks will like this book.

If you have read the life story of Houdini and you think you know every thing about Houdini... Then you should read this one... Beacause this has alot of information. It does have images like posters and other. I think this book is great... I've give it five stars