The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini

August 12, 2019
Legendary escape artist Harry Houdini used showmanship, bombast, and a bit of fraud to concoct magic that still inspires, according to this starry-eyed biography. Sports Illustrated columnist Posnanski (The Soul of Baseball) gives a brisk, episodic recap of the Hungarian-American magician’s rise to vaudeville’s summit by escaping handcuffs and straitjackets (sometimes in mid-air) and underwater traps as audiences agonized in suspense. Posnanski doesn’t reveal much Houdini methodology, but he does note the element of humbug: some of the seemingly impossible challenges he accepted were probably setups with confederates, and his signature upside down escape from a sealed, water-filled “Chinese Water-Torture Cell” was accomplished by lowering a curtain and having an assistant let him out. Houdini’s real genius, in Posnanski’s telling, was for publicity—his greatest PR agents were the many police departments that obligingly let him test himself against their restraints with reporters on hand—and romantic grandstanding. Posnanski intertwines the biography with profiles of present-day magicians and aficionados who acknowledge his mediocre magical chops but still revere him; these sections often drag, with their subjects coming off as skillful but gray magical technicians beside Houdini’s larger-than-life flimflammer. When Posnanski stays focused on Houdini, he gives readers an entertaining study on the power of a charismatic personality to conjure captivating illusions. Photos.

September 1, 2019
Unlocking the doors to the legendary performer's world of magic. Noting that there are more than 500 books about Ehrich Weiss, aka Harry Houdini (1874-1926), MLB.com national columnist Posnanski (The Secret of Golf: The Story of Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus, 2016, etc.) still delivers a jaunty and infectious biography of the famous magician and his impact on magic and popular culture. The author relates his discussions with magicians who have emulated or criticized Houdini's magic as well as the "truest believer[s]" who have studied and written about him for years. As a young boy, writes Posnanski, "locks spoke to Houdini, and Houdini understood." Though he said he was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, he was actually born in Budapest. This lie, discovered Posnanski, is a key to understanding how Houdini achieved his mythic status. "[Houdini] believed that magic was about the performer more than the performance," writes the author, "and the bigger, gaudier, more dangerous, more thrilling, the better." Posnanski's Houdini is a consummate liar and a genius at self-promotion. He hired ghost writer H.P Lovecraft to "tell exaggerated tales about him or write short stories under the Houdini name" and planted self-aggrandizing stories about himself in the local newspapers of the towns where he performed. Posnanski is excellent at describing Houdini's greatest escapes, from the famous Mirror Cuffs to straitjackets. The author chronicles his visit to David Copperfield's private museum; the Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he viewed the rare Houdini film, The Grim Game; and the Academy of Magical Arts' exclusive Magic Castle, where he finally got to meet Patrick Culliton, author of the rare and coveted Houdini: The Key. Houdini was good as a magician, Posnanski learns--he created the popular needles-in- the-mouth trick and made an elephant disappear--but he was, above all, a remarkable performer. Spoiler alert: The author does not reveal any Houdini secrets. Entertaining and brimming with wonder.

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Starred review from October 1, 2019

Posnanski (The Secret of Golf), a self-confessed Harry Houdini fan, has written a marvelously entertaining book about his magical hero, shedding light on the background, motivation, and methods of a man who built a career around deception. Beginning with the much-mythologized childhood of Houdini (1874-1926), Posnanski charts the course of the Hungarian-born American illusionist's career, interviewing both fellow fans and critics to separate fact from fiction, revealing along the way a highly ambitious, often contentious, yet oddly likable man who was both consummate showman and brilliant self-promoter. But Posnanski's book is not just a biography of Houdini: it's as much an exploration of why Houdini's fame and legend endures, and how that legacy has inspired, confounded, and influenced generations of magicians and magic enthusiasts. Throughout, Posnanski introduces an eclectic cast of Houdini acolytes and scholars whose stories illustrate Houdini's powerful, continued hold on the public imagination. VERDICT Imbued with Posnanski's infectious passion for all things Houdini, this is a rollicking look at one of the 20th century's most influential and enigmatic entertainers.--Sara Shreve, Newton, KS

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2019
In the shadowy land between truth and fiction, magic and illusion hold court. Perhaps nobody appreciated this more than Harry Houdini. Despite an abundance of existing biographies, longtime sportswriter Posnanski tackles the cult of fame around Houdini, his fans and rivals, his family and friends, and his own thirst for notoriety and immortality. With a mix of history and legend, the author interviews obsessive Houdini fans and even goes on a voyage of his own, hunting an ultra-rare book called Houdini: The Key by Patrick Culliton, of which only a few hundred copies exist. Posnanski beckons readers ever closer to the page as he discloses secrets, builds suspense, and gently lifts the curtain on the legend. Also of value are the references to many prominent Houdini sites on the internet, where readers may want to follow up on parts of the story and learn more about today's Houdini communities. Readers will gladly disappear into the pages, proving that Houdini's unique brand of magic is still at work today, long after his death.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)