ENGLISH

The secret life of Houdini: the making of America's first superhero

By William , Houdini , Harry;Sloman , Larry;Kalush

Book information

Publisher
Simon and Schuster;Atria Books
ISBN
9780743298506, 0743298500
Language
english
Format
EPUB
Filesize
8 MB (8168710 bytes)
Edition
1st Atria books trade pbk. ed
Pages
(xiv, 592 pages) : illustrations\0
Time added
2020-07-26 19:24:52
-- 1874-1926;Magicians -- United States -- BiograpBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY--General;Magicians;MagicHarry

Description

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. Soon Houdini was performing for royalty, commanding vast sums, and exploring the new power of Hollywood. At a time when spy agencies frequently co-opted amateurs, Houdini developed a relationship with a man who would later 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, Houdini embarked on a battle of his own, creating a group of operatives to infiltrate the seamy world of fake spirit mediums. In doing so, he triggered the wrath of fanatical Spiritualists, led by 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.--From publisher description.

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