The Secret Life of Houdini:

The Making of America's First Superhero

Atria Books, 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 - Write a review

User ratings

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

An interesting insight to Houdini's life. - Goodreads

Tedious prose and some very weird style choices. - Goodreads

All in all, a detailed overview of the life of Houdini. - Goodreads

An incredibly well-researched book. - Goodreads

The pictures were cool (and counted as a page). - Goodreads

Plus, the writing style makes it even less powerful. - Goodreads

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

User Review - Tom - Goodreads

An enjoyable trip back to my youth, when I was fairly completely obsessed with Houdini. So were most kids back then, I suppose. I'm not sure if he's the cultural icon now as he was then. I never knew ... Read full review

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

User Review - Robert Puzey - Goodreads

Very interesting! I learned Houdini held a one-man crusade against spiritualism in USA and England, and worked for the Secret Service as a spy. Read full review

All 134 reviews »

Related books

Houdini!: the career of Ehrich Weiss : American self-liberator, Europe's ...

Kenneth Silverman
Snippet view - 1996

Houdini; the untold story

Milbourne Christopher
Snippet view - 1969

The Secrets of Houdini

John Clucas Cannell
Limited preview - 1931

All related books »

Other editions - View all

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

William Kalush,Larry Sloman
Snippet view - 2007

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

William Kalush,Larry Sloman
No preview available - 2007

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

William Kalush,Larry Sloman
No preview available - 2006

References to this book

From other books

Harry Houdini for Kids: His Life and Adventures with 21 Magic Tricks and ...

Laurie Carlson
Limited preview - 2009

Handbook of Research on Urban Informatics: The Practice and Promise of the ...

Marcus Foth
Snippet view - 2009

From Google Scholar

A Case of Automatic Writing From Robert G. Ingersoll�s Spirit?

Joe Nickell

References from web pages

Marc's Reading List: The Secret Life of Houdini
Summertime in Colorado is a lot about reading some great books. I'll throw in some other things occasionally, but this will mostly be comments about the ...
mseriff.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 07/ secret-life-of-houdini.html

The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America�s First ...
The great escapologist had an exotic intelligence network to help him debunk phony mediums, but Houdini was no spy Nobody understood the Harry Houdini brand ...
www.forteantimes.com/ reviews/ books/ 469/ the_secret_life_of_houdini_the_making_of_americas_first_superhero.html

By Bob Andelman: Larry "Ratso" Sloman, "Secret Life of Houdini ...
Larry "Ratso" Sloman, "Secret Life of Houdini," author: Mr. Media Interview, Pt. 1. Writing the biography of a well-known person in pop culture is an ...
www.andelman.com/ 2007/ 06/ larry-ratso-sloman-secret-life-of_06.html

Exposing 'The Secret Life of Houdini' : NPR
LYDEN: William Kalush is the co-author of "The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero," together with Larry Sloman. ...
www.npr.org/ templates/ story/ story.php?storyId=6668263

The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America�s First Superhero
hertenberger.co.za. Blog of a carbon-based, bipedal lifeform living in ZA. Home · Contact · About · Benvenuto VIA artigo. Dec 17 ...
hertenberger.co.za/ ?p=953

Wayne Dobson Magic - Books & dvds
Cardini: The Suave Deceiver by John Fisher Edited by Todd Karr Introduction by Lance Burton At last! Perhaps the greatest magician of all time, ...
www.waynedobson.co.uk/ products_dvds_books.htm

The Secret Life Of Houdini
WHO WAS HARRY HOUDINI? �Harry Houdini didn�t die in the Water Torture Cell. He didn�t have a mother fixation. And he wasn�t just a great showman. ...
www.houdinithebook.com/ test/ theman.shtml

Mina Crandon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
... Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1975; ^ The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Super Hero by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, Atria Books, ...
en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Mina_Crandon

Barnes & Noble.com - Books: The Secret Life of Houdini, by William ...
The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero, Kalush, William Kalush, Paperback, Reprint, Book, ISBN: 0743272080, ...
search.barnesandnoble.com/ The-Secret-Life-of-Houdini/ William-Kalush/ e/ 9780743272087

About the author (2006)

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 Gibeci�re, 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	Atria Books, 2006
ISBN	0743298500, 9780743298506
Length	604 pages
Subjects	Biography & Autobiography › General Biography & Autobiography / General Biography & Autobiography / Historical

Export Citation	BiBTeX EndNote RefMan

About Google Books - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Blog - Information for Publishers - Report an issue - Help - Sitemap - Google Home