Escaping From Houdini

MANISCALCO, KERRI

Houdini, Harry

Little. Brown and Company

The Right Way to Do Wrong: An Exposé of Successful Criminals

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Franklin Classics

Reference

The Adventurous Life of a Versatile Artist: Houdini

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

History

Harry Houdini (1874-1926), whose real name was Erik Weisz, was one of the most famous magicians and escapologists of all time. He was highly sceptical of the many claims made concerning psychic and paranormal phenomena, which were very popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He attended hundreds of séances for the purposes of his study, and never experienced one he believed genuine. In this book, published in 1924, he described the mediums and psychics whom he revealed as fraudulent, exposing the tricks which had convinced many notable scientists and academics. These included spirit writing, table rapping, spirit manifestations, and levitation. Among those he revealed as frauds was the famous medium Mina Crandon, and his exposures led to a public split with his former friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a firm believer. The book is a fascinating account of superstition and gullibility.

Houdini: A Magician Among the Spirits

Philosophy

Ayer Co. Pub

Written by the master magician himself, this fascinating work reveals the secrets behind how Houdini escaped numerous death-defying stunts and exposed a variety of fake spiritualists. He also gives instructions for 44 eye-catching stage tricks, as well as other fascinating material. 155 illustrations. .

Houdini on Magic (Dover Magic Books)

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

Dover Publications

Aspiring illusionists can learn from one of the world's greatest magicians with this facsimile of a 1922 book by Harry Houdini. The master sleight-of-hand artist explains how to use the simplest of props ― sheets of paper ― to completely captivate audiences. Houdini's easy-to-follow directions, many of them accompanied by illustrations, are accessible to readers of all ages and skill levels. The manual consists of four parts: paper tricks, paper folding, paper tearing, and paper puzzles. The first section reveals the secrets behind such magic tricks as "The Dancing Sailor" and "The Spirit Communication." Subsequent sections offer guides to folding a bird, a bullfrog, a hat, and other traditional origami models and to carefully tearing paper to produce a ladder, a five-pointed star, a string of dancing skeletons, and other intricate figures. The final part presents several challenging paper puzzles based on geometric forms.

Harry Houdini's Paper Magic: The Whole Art of Paper Tricks, Including Folding, Tearing and Puzzles

With this remarkable book, the legendary magician conducts a master class in crime by revealing the trade secrets of crooks. Harry Houdini is known not only as an illusionist and escaper of handcuffs and jail cells, but also as a debunker of phony spiritualists and other charlatans. His interest in exposing fakery led Houdini to interview both police and criminals around the world. The result is this captivating volume, intended to help readers avoid being victimized by pickpockets, con artists, and other thieves. Written with verve and humor, these lively chapters recount the techniques of burglars, sneak thieves, shoplifters, and pickpockets as well as those of faith healers, fortune tellers, art forgers, card sharks, and counterfeiters. The instructive and amusing book concludes with an autobiographical essay, in which Houdini discusses the early days of his career and the experiences that contributed to his renown as the Handcuff King and Prison Breaker.

The Right Way to Do Wrong

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