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

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.

Harry Houdini : The Man, The Myth, The Spy, The Secret Service Agent.......2007-05-18

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.

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.

A master of deception, Harry Houdini spent his life entertaining audiences with his own particular blend of illusion and magic. Whether he was escaping from locked trunks submerged in the water or dangling by his feet from the tops of skyscrapers, Houdini always tested the boundaries of the body, the forces of nature, and the imagination.

In The Secret of the Great Houdini, Houdini must once again escape from a seemingly impossible bind. In the astonished crowd, a little boy finds himself mesmerized by the powers of freedom and human will that Houdini represented in his life. He discovers that Houdini's secret goes far beyond his illusions, to something all people can attain -- if only they believe they can.

For 30 years people have been calling Bill Shirk "crazy."

It doesn't seem fair. Just because he has buried himself alive 10 times, hung 1,600 feet from a helicopter in a straitjacket by an ice skate, run with the bulls in Pamplona (while in a straitjacket), and jumped off numerous bridges and cliffs.

He's been on 15 national TV shows; garned eight escape world records (including fastest time to get out of a straitjacket; highest escape from a straitjacket; and fastest jail escape), and laid claim to the title, world's greatest escape artist.

Everyone is fascinated by magic, and the mystique of Houdini-like performances have an even greater allure. How did he do that? Why did he do it? Now, for the first time, Bill Shirk reveals how he has done some of his greatest escapes. Some he stole from the great Harry Houdini (his hero), others he created himself. Each one different, each more spectacular and heart-pounding than the last. In an easy-to-read format supplemented by photographs of the event, Shirk gives the background to each escape, then details the method he used to accomplish each feat.

Learn how Shirk stuck his head in a bag with a hot rattlesnake; was run over by a train; or hung by an ice skate from a helicopter as he wiggled out of a straitjacket. Read how he survived being buried alive for three days with a python and a timber rattlesnake, and how he escaped from a jail while chained and handcuffed. See what happened when 10 tons of wet cement fell on top of him. How about hanging from a burning rope over a shark-infested pool? There are more examples. Lots more.

Of course, just because Shirk tells you how to get out of a straitjacket in four seconds doesn't mean you'll be able to do it. Once you know how to put your head in a bag with a rattlesnake, you'd rightly be crazy to try it. Leave it to the experts. As Shirk says, "If I was really crazy, I'd be dead."

Victor is forever trying to escape from locked trunks, walk through walls, and perform any number of Houdini's astonishing magic tricks...without success. Then -- amazingly -- he actually meets his idol, and begs Houdini to explain himself. A mysterious locked box is the magician's only answer, and Victor is left to wonder: Does the box contain the secrets to the most famous magic tricks ever performed?