The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero (Google eBook)

William Kalush, Larry Sloman

Simon and Schuster, Oct 31, 2006 - Biography & Autobiography - 604 pages

Handcuff King. Escape Artist. International Superstar. Since his death eighty years ago, Harry Houdini's life has been chronicled in books, in film, and on television. Now, in this groundbreaking biography, renowned magic expert William Kalush and best-selling writer Larry Sloman team up to find the man behind the myth. Drawing from millions of pages of research, they describe in vivid detail the passions that drove Houdini to perform ever-more-dangerous feats, his secret life as a spy, and a pernicious plot to subvert his legacy.

After years of struggling on the dime museum circuit, Harry Houdini got a break that put him on the front page of a Chicago newspaper. He never looked back. Soon Houdini was performing for royalty, commanding vast sums, and exploring the new power of Hollywood to expand on his legend.

At a time when spy agencies frequently co-opted amateurs, Houdini went to London and developed a relationship with a man who would run MI-5. For the next several years, the world's most famous magician traveled to Germany and Russia and routinely reported his findings.

After World War I was successfully concluded, Houdini embarked on a battle of his own. He created a group of disguised field operatives to infiltrate the seamy world of fake spirit mediums. In doing so, Houdini triggered the wrath of fanatical Spiritualists, led by the esteemed British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Death threats became an everyday occurrence, but the group would pose an even greater danger to Houdini's legacy.

Rigorously researched, and as exciting as a good thriller, The Secret Life of Houdini traces the arc of the master magician's life from desperate poverty to worldwide legend, initiating the reader along the way into the arcane world of professional magic. In this remarkable book, Kalush and Sloman decode a life based on deception, providing an intimate and riveting portrayal of Houdini, the man and the legend.

What people are saying

Review: The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero

User Review  - Orsolya - Goodreads

Being Hungarian, there are a few things we take credit for: goulash, the Rubik's Cube, and Houdini (born In Hungary to Austro-Hungarian parents). William Kalush and Larry Sloman's “The Secret Life of ...

Review: The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero

User Review  - Elyse Rudin - Goodreads

I have never been so happy to finish a book. This was my Chinese water torture. I loved the exhibit at the Skirball and bought this book. After reading the entire 560 pages I know about as much as I ...

Contents

• starving for a living: 25
• the celebrated clairvoyants: 47
• quid pro quo: 65
• taming the bear: 131
• leap of faith: 171
• kill thy father: 199
• death visits the stage: 215
• above the down under: 239
• the emperor of sympathyenlisters: 259
• chinese water torture: 279
• forgive: 293
• fighting our way to the grave: 311
• death by misadventure: 331
• art imitates life: 349
• saul among the prophets: 375
• little sister will do exactly as big brother says: 405
• margerys box: 427
• my own secret service: 451
• an eye for an eye: 517
• there is no death: 537

About the author

William Kalush has been a dedicated student of the art of magic for more than twenty-five years. Founder of the Conjuring Arts Research Center and publisher of Gibecière, an esteemed magic history journal, he has helped create several world-famous magic stunts and prime-time network television specials.

Larry “Ratso” Sloman is best known as Howard Stern’s collaborator on what were then the two fastest selling books in publishing history, Private Parts and Miss America. Sloman’s recent collaborations include Mysterious Stranger, with magician David Blaine, and Scar Tissue, the memoir of Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis—both books were New York Times bestsellers.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero
• Authors: William Kalush, Larry Sloman
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 2006
• ISBN: 0743298500, 9780743298506
• Length: 604 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / General; Biography & Autobiography / Historical