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Review of the book

Escape! The Story Of The Great Houdini

Copyright 2006, Green Wood Publications

If I were to chose to read another book by this author I wouldn't. I say this because while looking through and reading this book I found that the information in it wasn't very organized and chapters didn't really give you even a clue of what its contents were, so it was hard for me to find the facts in it. I did learn a-lot from it, but the time things happened was confusing. I definitely would not want to read another biography by this author.

Obstacles or risks I took

During my career it wasn't just smooth sailing, I had to go through many risks and obstacles. One of them was very dire at the beginning of my career, was money because I needed money to get props for my magic acts so I had to borrow my brothers life savings to buy them ( I eventually paid him back ).

While I was young I had to run away when I was only 12 years so that was one of my biggest risks. I didn't have any food or money so I was just on my own with nothing.

When I was becoming famous and during the rest of my career there were many impostors and frauds so I always had to accept the many challenges that they threw at me, like those many handcuffs and dangerous acts. This really scared Bess to death so she was usually in tears when I did these things.

What was special and interesting about me

Alot of things that happened to me were not just normall things that anyone would do. That's what makes me special and unique. One thing that that people thought was outrageous when I was hurt very badlyin my appendix and I had a very bad fever I still went on with the show. I really had to because every single seat was taken!

People always thought of me as more than just secretive but sneaky because I kept tampering with things like my birth date and all that. My real birth date was 1874, but I made Harry Houdini born in 1873. That's another thing that makes me unique.

Another thing that just seems ironic is that I didn't die by swallowing needles or drowning, but I died from a fever.

What I think of myself

I always hear what everybody else thinks of me like outstanding and all that, but they have never asked what I think of myself. I think of myself as astonishing because I always do things that the crowd would never expect like just clapping my hands and have a giant Asian elephant disappear or swallow 150 needles and then pluck them out threaded.

I think of myself as bold or daring sometimes because I do many life risking things like going in a milk can filled with water and holding my breath for three minutes or hanging from a roof with some rope and buckled in a straitjacket and escaping without falling.

I also think of myself as very secretive because I never reveal much anything to the audience except on rare occasions. I do try to keep secrets in my magic tricks and acts because a fraud could just pick it up and impersonate me.