Customer Reviews

The Secrets of Houdini (Dover Magic Books)

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I am amazed that such a detailed and well written book came out so soon after Houdini's demise (the original text is dated 1931!), especially as it lists the inner working of dozens and dozens of tricks. They go from mentalism to table magic tricks, from seances to escapes, from large stage productions to the simplest rope trick - it would be difficult to find so much material within any contemporary book!

This is a very no-nonsense book, with only two minor negative aspects. First of all, it is somewhat light on the explanations of several tricks in the ending chapter, which is devoted to general (non Houdini-specific) stage magic, and I suppose dead wrong in a couple of instances.
Then, although it does not overly glamourize Houdini the magician, it is in fact very forgiving about Houdini the man. We know from many other sources that he was quite a difficult character (with himself as well with others), whereas here he comes off as a shining example of fun-loving gentleman.

And no, the Chinese Torture Water Cell is not described. But that Tony Curtis movie was very incorrect about it anyhow.

This book is excellent for anyone interested in psychics, escapology or Houdini.

There are chapters on Houdini's life, details of ALL his famous escapes (except the water torture cell), chapters on tricks/rope ties you yourself could do, and chapters on his fight against fraudulent mediums.

Touroughly interesting andwell written, great for all ages.

The contents of the book were wonderful for anyone who is interested in the magic of Houdini. The book was shipped on time and in excellent condition!

The Secrets of Houdini

I Read the book the Secrets of Houdini by J.C. Cannell. For the first twenty seven pages of the book it tells about how he as a child was able to pick the locks to the cupboards, and take out the cakes and other sweets that were hidden inside, then leave it locked and looking exactly the way it was before. The book talked about how he started with his best friend as the Houdini brothers (having taken the name from Houdini's favorite magician Robert Houdin). At no point did this book really grabbed my interest, but it did explain many of the incredible escapes of Houdini, and how he did them. I think one of the main reasons I did not very much enjoy this book is because when I read a Biography or an autobiography I am expecting that it will be facts and things that he did in his life, but around two hundred pages of this two hundred and seventy nine page book were his escapes, and the secrets of the mediums of Séance.
I was particularly shocked when I found out Ehrich Weiss (Houdini) was willing to tell all his secrets for twenty dollars once early in his career, but as there were no buyers he went on into his career where later they couldn't have been bought for one thousand times that amount. One of my particularly favorite escapes was his escape from a coffin. I liked it because everyone was looking for loose screws at the top of the coffin, when really he had lifted all but the bottom of the coffin up. Many of his escapes involved his masterful abilities as a lock picker (and being able to tamper with the machines before and after the performance). Houdini's career was nearly spotless of mistakes, except for two times in his entire life.

This book basically shows the secrets behind Houdini's tricks. If you ever watched a special on TV about magician's tricks, then there's no surprise here. Not very entertaining; more along the lines of a "how to" book.