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The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero
William Kalush and Larry Sloman
#UB8752
Paperback, 591 pages; 2007 (2006)
$16.00
 Members' Price: $13.60
Houdini didn't die in the water torture cell. He didn't have a mother fixation. And he wasn't just a great showman. Eventually, all legends get cluttered by apocryphal stories, and the legend of the greatest professional master of deception is no exception. Much of what has become his story is fabrication. Ironically, the real story is better.
This expansively researched biography reveals voluminous details about Harry Houdini's extraordinary life. But, somehow, all the revelations seem only to make the man even more remarkably mystifying. The Secret Life of Houdini delves into his personal affairs and follows the development of his dangerously adventurous magic act. Along the way, clues emerge that suggest Houdini may have worked covertly for the U.S. Secret Service. Contentious entanglements the world-famous magician had with members of the Spiritualist movement (including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) also come rousingly to light. Like the great Houdini himself, this impressive biography is mesmerizing and full of surprises.
(CH)
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