Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini

Fleischman's ("The Whipping Boy") colorful, anecdotal biography of Harry Houdini (1874 -1926) offers an accessible portrait of this master of magic and escape. The author sets an affectionate and humorous tone, beginning with his subject's most famous feats, and then declaring, "As a devout magician, I am able to reveal only that I may "not" reveal Houdini's secrets." Fleischman neatly sorts out facts, speculation and legend as he traces the performer's career, from his early stints in vaudeville, with a circus and traveling medicine show and even, along with his wife and on-stage sidekick, Bess, "a part-time career as ghost wranglers and mind-reading fakers." A savvy self-promoter, Houdini made headlines through such successful challenges as breaking out of a Chicago jail cell, yet, Fleischman wryly notes, his "sudden fame was written in vanishing ink." After securing a solid reputation in Europe, the "monarch of manacles" became a stage sensation and financial success in this country as well, with some of his more famous feats, such as escaping from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down from a building. A "teenage conjuror" and former vaudevillian himself, Fleischman brings an insider's sensibility to Houdini's story (after Houdini's death, he came to know Bess, who "became a sort of den mother to us young enthusiasts"). One gets the sense that the author delved into his subject for his own enjoyment, and brings readers along for an entertaining ride. Copious photographs help flesh out Houdini's robust, larger-than-life personality and underscore the range and audacity of his exploits. Ages 9-up. "(Aug.)" Copyright 2006 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Gr 4-8 -Fleischman looks at Houdini -s life through his own eyes, as a fellow magician. Guarding the secrets, yet entertaining readers, he tells the -rags-to-rags - story of a poor Jewish boy named Ehrich Weiss, who longed to be like his idol, French magician Robert-Houdin. Not satisfied to perform the usual magicians - fare, he began perfecting tricks involving illusion, particularly escaping from restraints such as trunks, handcuffs, and straightjackets. While performing in small medicine shows and vaudeville theater, Ehrich, now Harry Houdini, met his wife and stage partner, Bess. Houdini learned stunt flying and how to make elephants disappear but gained the most attention from his public stunts, such as defying Scotland Yard to keep him locked up, or wrapping himself in chains and jumping into a river. Years later, he was about to perform his -Chinese Water Torture - trick when his appendix ruptured and he died in a local hospital. Fleischman -s tone is lively and he develops a relationship with readers by revealing just enough truth behind Houdini -s -razzle-dazzle - to keep the legend alive. Numerous black-and-white photographs chronicle the magician -s life, and Fleischman -s postscript shares his own relationship with Madame Houdini, whom he visited at length when he was a young man. Engaging and fascinating." -Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY" Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.