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

by William Kalush

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

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Handcuff King. Escape Artist. International Superstar.

Since his death eighty-eight 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 bestselling 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.

The Secret Life of Houdini traces the arc of the master magician's life from desperate poverty to worldwide fame--his legacy later threatened by a group of fanatical Spiritualists led by esteemed British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Initiating the reader along the way into the arcane world of professional magic, Kalush and Sloman decode a life based on deception, providing an intimate and riveting portrayal of Houdini, the man and the legend.

  • ISBN10 0743272080
  • ISBN13 9780743272087
  • Publish Date 2 October 2007
  • Publish Status Active
  • Out of Print 14 December 2010
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher Simon & Schuster Ltd
  • Imprint Scribner
  • Format Paperback (UK Trade)
  • Pages 608
  • Language English