In the most comprehensive biography written about the great illusionist yet, author Ken Silverman, who has won both a Pulitzer and a Bancroft prize, draws on never-before-used scrapbooks, personal diaries, court transcripts and hundreds of unpublished notes and letters collected from around the world to reveal a far richer, more personal view of Houdini than ever before. While Silverman focuses on the magic and miraculous escapes that made Houdini a legend and the most celebrated, highest-paid performer of his day, he also delves deeply into Houdini's fascinating personal life. He explores Houdini's many friendships with politicians and celebrities like Jack Dempsey, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, Jack London, the Astors and others. He looks into his traumatic encounters with anti-Semitism; his close-knit family; his strange and troubled relationship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and his bitter war against spiritualism. He also uncovers new revelations about Houdini's secret affair with the widow of a famous American writer.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Silverman's engaging biography catalogs the life of Harry Houdini, born Ehrich Weiss, who made a career out of his capacity to amaze. Having developed conjuring skills and an ability to wriggle free of handcuffs, ropes and manacles, Houdini elaborated his tricks into theatrical set pieces that made him famous--stunts like escaping from a strait jacket while dangling head down from a skyscraper, or from a wooden packing crate submerged in water. Silverman's meticulously researched book reveals other sides to the great illusionist too. Houdini collected a library of books on magic, wrote books himself, exposed shyster psychics whose tricks he could easily match, and was a friend to Jack London, Sarah Bernhardt and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
This lively biography of the great magician and escape artist Harry Houdini (1874-1926) benefits from the erudition and enthusiasm of Silverman, who won a Pulitzer for his The Life and Times of Cotton Mather. Silverman's account provides more detail than previous biographies about Houdini's early years, showing how Ehrich Weiss, a scrappy Jewish kid from Wisconsin, endured a grueling apprenticeship in vaudeville as an acrobat, magician and medicine-show shill to become the most famous performer of his age. Because Houdini was a notoriously private man, Silverman focuses on the magician's life as a touring artist. Regrettably, Houdini's most famous feats?the Milk-Can Escape, the Manacled Bridge Jump, the Chinese Water Torture Cell?aren't as riveting to read about, no matter how well described, as they must have been to witness; moreover, Silverman, as a former professional magician, feels obligated not to reveal how they were done. The narrative picks up in later chapters, however, as it relates Houdini's campaign against fraudulent spiritualists. Here, the magicians' bond of secrecy doesn't apply, and Silverman's relating of how Houdini exposed the tricks of the medium's trade makes for hilarious reading. There's also a minor revelation in the book?Houdini's affair with Jack London's widow?and a fascinating account of his friendship and falling-out with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The biography finds its ultimate success, however, in its portrait of Houdini himself, as sentimental yet calculating, generous yet penny-pinching, goodhearted yet relentlessly self-promoting. It also excels in depicting an era in show business that at least equaled our own in shamelessness, raw energy and cheerful cynicism. The relative high price of the volume is likely due to the more than 100 b&w photos, not seen by PW. U.K., translation, first serial, dramatic rights: Hugh Rawson.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Silverman is a Pulitzer Prize winning biographer, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a lifetime member of the Society of American Magicians.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By B. PERKINS
Format:Paperback
From the time I could count my age on my fingers, Houdini fascinated me; I read everything regarding him that I could get my hands on. So I already knew a lot of what Silverman mentions in Houdini!!!
However, this book actually managed to surprise me. First of all, most of what I read from the ages of seven to fifteen were biographies written in the "Boy's Life" mode, heroic tales which read more like dime novels than actual biography. Not only does Silverman present an accurate, well-researched account of Houdini's life, he also accounts for many of the myths surrouding Houdini, even in some cases explaining how Houdini himself contributed to some of the confusion. Because the book is so even-handed, I walked away from the book still admiring my childhood hero.
Second, Silverman brings a magician's perspective to this biography. He describes at length the presentation and details of the effects that Houdini accomplished, such as the Metamorphoses, the Milk Can Escape, the Chinese Water Torture, and numerous jail and handcuff escapes. However, he does not "give away the store" by spilling the secrets to the man's life. Sure, some of Houdini's secrets are now known, others not, but Silverman refrains from writing a kiss-and-tell book, and I had to admire that.
Lastly, Silverman went a lot further than I've ever seen in describing both the man and his times. While I've known for years that Houdini lived in a very exciting time, Silverman portrays him as truly a man for his age. From Houdini's interactions with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Theodore Roosevelt, H.P. Lovecraft, Sarah Bernhardt, and Hollwood's silent film stars, to his involvement with aviation, spiritualism, movie making, and more, Silverman makes a case that Houdini brought together much of what first made the modern age modern.
Houdini!!! did not perpetuate the same tall tales that all the movies and Houdini himself put forwrd. Instead, this biography exposed Houdini for what he was--a physically accomplished, master showman, sometimes ego-driven, yet principled man who always struggled to accomplish more.
Given the wide array of misinformation that exists about Harry Houdini, this book outshines the rest. Quite enjoyable.
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By John Cox
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've read every biography on Harry Houdini and this is without question the best of the lot. Certainly it is the most comprehensive and professional. Silverman has not just recycled information gleaned from old bios (as Ruth Brandon did in The Life & Many Deaths of Harry Houdini); he has done fresh research and has come up with amazing new facts and facets of Houdini's career and character that have never appeared anywhere else. I've read this book 3 times and each time I learn something new. If you're looking for a Houdini biography, this is the one to buy.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When my magic shop customers ask me to recommend an excellent book on the life of Harry Houdini, I recommend Ken Silverman's book without hesitation. This author has meticulously researched the facts, and has produced a highly entertaining and informative book. Well illustrated, this book helps the reader create a clear picture of Houdini the man as well as Houdini the performer. MagicTricks.Com gives this book its highest recommendation.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
good comprehensive material
One of the best comprehensive bios I've read besides Dr. Silvermans' other bio on Poe. I picked up somewhat on Houdini's vulnerability and wonderment in regard to the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Douglas E. Libert
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the very best modern Houdini biographies
It's a testament to Houdini's success as a self-mythologist that many young people aren't sure whether he was a real person. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Tony Wolf
3.0 out of 5 stars
conflict of interest
The author had a conflict of interest while writing this book. On the one hand, as a former magician, he didn't want to give away any trade "secrets. Read more
Published on February 18, 2006 by ROBERT REESE
3.0 out of 5 stars
Informative - Yes. But, boring
I bought this book for my father, who is a huge magic-buff, and recalls hearing about Houdini while growing up. Read more
Published on June 27, 2003 by MooonChild
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read but don't expect to learn any trade secrets.
Houdini!!! by Keneth Silverman is an entertaining read that held my interest to the end, and this is not a reflection of the fact that he died well "before his time"! Read more
Published on April 16, 1997
4.0 out of 5 stars
historical tour - yes, insightful - no
A detailed guided tour of "every performance" of the mystical,one and only Houdini. Also, lots of great pictures. Read more
Published on April 16, 1997
3.0 out of 5 stars
Book about a magician by a magician: a disappointment
I first read about this book in the New York Times Book Review in a review by a magician, Teller. Teller praised the book highly, and I received the book for Christmas. Mr. Read more
Published on February 4, 1997
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hard to put down
I was given this book while I was in the hospital.
I was hoping to learn some trick for excaping from there,
but the book was no help. Read more
I was hoping to learn some trick for excaping from there,
but the book was no help. Read more
Published on December 20, 1996
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