Shirley J. Adult Non-Fiction Biography of Harry Houdini
The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini by Joe Posnanski 316 pages
The author's love for all things Houdini clearly shows throughout this new look at the life of Erich Weiss known as Harry Houdini. Posnanski talks about his lifelong fascination with Houdini and his burning question, "why is Houdini remembered after all this time when so many other musicians are not?" The answer he came up with was because Houdini kept reinventing himself. He was a magician, an escape artist, an actor, a vaudeville showman, a comedian, a locksmith, a showman the list goes on. Houdini wasn't only one thing, he was a myriad of talented acts. He knew how to contact newspapers and sensationalize himself to get coverage in the papers of the times. He and his wife performed clairvoyant acts, dabbled in spiritualist acts then denounced and exposed those who would try to defraud the public by pretending to call up the souls of their dearly departed. People remember Houdini because he worked tirelessly to keep his name in the minds of his audience in what ever way it took. THe author discusses Houdini's wife's life after his death, which I had never heard about before and he tells the code the Houdinis had between them so that Bess would know that Harry had been able to cross the divide and contact her after death. A very good book on Houdini by someone truly in love with his memory. I recommend this book to all fans of Houdiini, fans of showbiz, fans of biorgraphies, and anyone looking for a well written read about a household name.
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