How many of us haven’t heard of Harry Houdini? Yet, how many of us really know the mystery behind his world-renowned tricks? Inside of Houdini’s Fabulous Magic you will have the opportunity to learn more about this man’s amazing tricks.
Before I get to my review, here’s more about the book:
Incredible escapes, fantastic sleight-of-hand, Houdini’s most challenging performances are dramatically portrayed in Houdini’s Fabulous Magic. Walter Gibson, co-author, was in close touch with Harry Houdini for a number of years before his death, and worked with the master magician in preparing material for the book. It is with the aid of Houdini’s own scrapbooks and notes that this book was written.
The spectacular highlights of Houdini’s career are described and explained in this book. Included are the famous escapes: escapes from a padlocked milk can filled with water; from locked jail cells; from a water-filled Chinese torture cell while suspended upside down; from packing cases weighted under water. Again, in this book, Houdini walks through a brick wall, vanishes a 10,000-pound elephant and is buried alive. Once more, Houdini and his wife Bessie mysteriously exchange places in a locked trunk—in three seconds!
And Houdini, the man, is not ignored. His impact on the world in the early years of the twentieth century was enormous. He was a public hero who, in his own way, helped sweep out the cobwebs of nineteenth-century thinking. While doing so, he distinguished himself as a patriot, writer, collector of magic, aviator, movie idol, philanthropist, and crusader against fraudulent spiritualistic practices.
This is a technical manual for magicians, complete with illustrations and diagrams, but it is also an astute analysis of the best of Houdini’s magic and a readable biography of a man who turned himself into a legend. It is a book for would-be conjurers, for professional necromancers, for those curious about the methods and means of one of the most enchanting men of the previous century.
My Review
There is so much detail in this book! I can’t believe how much preparation went into Houdini’s tricks. He’s such a brilliant man when it comes to the planning of his tricks. Beyond that, he was a showman as well. I feel like this was an incredible guide for someone who wants to pursue this field. Trick of the eye and the sleight of hand only scratches the surface.
If you know someone who wants to get into magic tricks, this is a must-buy book! It goes into incredible detail and specificity.
You can purchase a copy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop. You can also add it to your GoodReads reading list.
Good review. Suitably, he was a cert complicated man.