Modern Day Houdini: Secrets of My 25 Greatest Escapes [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Dick Wolfsie (Author), Bill Shirk (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Shirk, "the number one escape artist in the world," shares his life story, explaining how he went from being an afternoon disc jockey at an Indianapolis radio station to pulling stunts like being buried in a coffin underground for 96 hours with a python and a spider. With self-deprecating wit and honest assessments of his failures, Shirk, who admits that for many years he "had the biggest ego in the world," explains how he felt about 25 of his craziest escapes. About being suspended on a cable from a helicopter while dangling from one ankle 200 feet in the air, Shirk writes, "If you have some grand vision about soaring like a bird under a helicopter, you need a fantasy readjustment. This was not fun." Among Shirk's other escapades are being run over by a train (it missed hitting him by 6 inches, as he flattened himself on the tracks "half a second" before it arrived) and hanging from a burning rope, while handcuffed and chained, over a pool of 30 sharks. Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"After 30 years in television, I thought I had seen or heard every outrageous story and interviewed every off-the-wall person. Then I read Modern Day Houdini. If you doubt that a story can spine-tingling and funny at the same time, put down your TV remote and pick up Bill Shirk's book."--Burt Dubrow former Executive Producer The Jerry Springer Show

"What a treat to be taken "backstage" into a profession that has fascinated people since Harry Houdini. A behind the scenes of the world's greatest escape artist. An incredible read about the planning, pain, motivation, endurance and fear that go into an escape."-- Carl Andrews
International Award-Winning Magician

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592281966
• ISBN-13: 978-1592281961
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,466,798 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The secret: there are no secrets here, February 13, 2004

By	"arthurford" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I was disappointed in this book. Though 25 escapes are described, with various misadventures, etc., there are hardly any tips or tricks revealed. Good from a magician's code of honor viewpoint, but misleading. I was also disappointed in the photos-to-text ratio - nothing wrong with lots of photos, but most of these scream 'filler' to me. I think this is a perfectly ok book if you want to read what it's like to do Guinness Book-type stunts. If you're a Houdini fan, there's better out there.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars self important tripe, July 22, 2004

By	C. Spriesterbach "Card shark" (Vegas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This what happen when a lay-person as opposed to an actual magician writes a book - don't waste your time. The entire book is about a self indulgent egotist.