The Secret Life of Houdini (Abridged): The Making of America's First Superhero Audiobook

" I really enjoyed this book. Houdini is a truly fascinating figure, and I am already thinking about reading another bio on Houdini, or if one exists, a book just about his investigations into Spiritualism. "

" Just started. So far an easy to read,and a facinating story. Ok, I spoke too soon. Although Houdini is a facinating person, I'm finding it reall hard to get into the book. For me, writing style is just as if not even more important than the story. This may be the first book selection from my book club that I don't finish. "

" A very interesting close up account of the life of Harry Houdini. Of particular interest is the description of the times in which he lived. The book portrays the drama of his escapes and his tricks and gives an insightful glimpse into his personal and married life. An interesting read. "

" Superhero, that may be stretching the truth a bit, but it seems like Houdini liked to stretch the truth a bit. I enjoyed the book. Lots of detail about a man that I really knew so little about. Well researched and presented in an obviously loving manner. The chapters on medium debunking got me more interested and helped pick my next read. I now know more about Houdini than I really need to, but I'm waiting for those questions to come up next time I'm on Jeopardy. I'll take Houdini for $500 Alex. "

" the best book on Houdini that I've ever read, and I've read a few. A fascinating story of his amazing life, especially when he took on spiritualism and explored our ability to speak with the dead. What a great man! "

" Houdini really lived a fascinating life and this book read more like fiction than a biography. "

" This is a fantastic biography of a particularly interesting man, a man who pushed himself beyond the limit rather than admit defeat, who used his skills in the aid of spy and police agencies as well as for entertainment, and who devoted his later years in attempting to hold fraudulent spiritualists responsible for the crimes they perpetrated on the credulous and vulnerable - a crusade that may have had a part in his somewhat suspicious demise. "

" Interesting biography. The big hook is the authors' theories about Houdini's possible spy activities. But I found the section on his later life and his crusade against the Spiritualist movement and its frauds and con men to be the most interesting. "

" trudged through this book in an effort to balance my reading genres. The author did nothing to keep my interest, but ultimately found the final 100 pages interesting. "

" It is a rare person that does not know the name Houdini. Before this book, I had very little knowledge of the magician or his accomplishments. I've greatly enjoyed reading about this charismatic entertainer and the colorful people in his life. Sherlock Holmes will never read the same. "

" An incredibly well researched biography of the man and travelling magician. This book served as my introduction to Houdini and intensified my cruousity about the mysterious talents of the man while providing a full account of the details of his personal and professional life. "

" Interesting. Extremely thorough. Part on spiritualists was way too long. "

" fucking thorough, this one "

" this was a really interesting book - so much crazy stuff of which I had no idea... so fascinating "

" A great story not well told. Tedious prose and some very weird style choices. Still, the subject matter keeps it interesting. Worth reading. "

" Very informative - learned a lot about the man and the time period. I would recommend it - you don't have to read every word but you'll want to get all of it just the hear the entire story "

" this book was a gift and I really enjoyed it. Houdini has always fascinated me. "

" I love Houdini and have read other books, I liked this one a lot as it focused on some never before , known aspects of his life and exploits. "

" An interesting insight to Houdini's life. The story was interesting and enjoyable but at some point in the latter part of the book it became less interesting and somewhat boring. While I enjoyed learning about Houdini the less interesting segments of the book dragged down my rating of it. "

" I was a little disappointed. This wasn't a terrible book, but it didn't interest me like I thought it would. "

" I've had a fascination with Houdini since I was a child. I learned SO much about him by reading this book - no idea the talent he had..... "

" Houdini led a very interesting life. Including being renowned magician, he also was instrumental in the beginning of America's espionage. "

" Picking up this book I thought it would be more of a biographical book. Alas it turned into a recounting of his fights with the spiritual movement of the time and how they might have lead to his death. While interesting I did not think it merited a whole book. "

" Fricking amazing book if ya don't particularly like Houdini. Interesting tale of it's time as well. Those mother fucking spiritualists were an evil, despicable lot. "

" Fascinating. Seriously. I didn't like the ending chapters about spiritualism so much. But I was impressed with how hard he worked to expose the weirdos. His escapes were very exciting to read about. "

" 1st half: totally interesting and worth reading--Houdini was amazing! 2nd half: Offensive in parts and not worth reading--except to find out how Houdini died (not during a trick, fyi). This book also completely convinced me that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a superstitious, cheating, sick man. "

" I just finished listening to this book. It was very interesting learning about Houdini and consequently Sir Arther Conan Doyle who I am very interested in learning more about after listening to this book. "

" An incredibly well researched biography of the man and travelling magician. This book served as my introduction to Houdini and intensified my cruousity about the mysterious talents of the man while providing a full account of the details of his personal and professional life. "

" I've had a fascination with Houdini since I was a child. I learned SO much about him by reading this book - no idea the talent he had..... "

" This book enlightened me on the great Houdini. A brilliant and courageous person. "

" 5 stars for the fascinating subject & photos, 1 star for the quality of writing and depth of insight "

" An excellent and fascinating biography of one of the first entertainment celebrities of the modern age. "

" Picked it on a whim - a winner! "

" Houdini really lived a fascinating life and this book read more like fiction than a biography. "