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摘要
摘要
This biography of famed magician and illusionist Harry Houdini explores how he carried out his amazing feats and exposes the secrets behind many of Houdini's tricks. The author cites Houdini's brilliance, physical dexterity, and wild imagination as factors that made him a true master of illusion. Photos.
评论 (5)
《学校图书馆杂志》(School Library Journal)书评
Gr 5-9-A concise and highly readable biography. The chronological narrative progresses from 1874 to 1926 in a well-organized and easy-to-follow manner. Descriptions of events and personalities provide an excellent backdrop as well as a historical context. Initially known as a masterful magician, Houdini's career really took off when he began his famous acts as an escape artist. As his fame grew, so did the seemingly impossible challenges he imposed upon himself. Diving underwater in shackles, being buried alive, the Chinese Water Torture Cell, walking through brick walls, and making an elephant disappear are just a few of the stunts that he presented to the world. The pace of the book moves along at an exciting clip, while each chapter unveils a new and unthinkable episode in the showman's life. Two eight-page inserts of photographs and reproductions help to bring the figures to life. Although there is a bibliography, Cox does not use footnotes to substantiate the dialogue and feelings attributed to various individuals. Nonetheless, readers will revel in Houdini's escapades and be enthralled by the mythical stature that has made his name a household word.-Elizabeth Fernandez, Brunswick Middle School, Greenwich, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
出版社周刊评论
Cox (Come All You Brave Soldiers: Blacks in the Revolutionary War) offers a forthright, anecdotal account of the life of this complex and controversial individual, born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest in 1874. Frequently drawing from Houdini's diary and correspondence, as well as period newspapers and reviews of this quintessential illusionist's performances, the author illuminates both the personal and professional sides of Houdini. After describing his subject's early years in Wisconsin, Cox discusses the genesis of Houdini's career and then tracks his peripatetic life performing legerdemain and escape feats in many countries. This chronicle strikes a welcome balance between portraying Houdini as a brazen, masterful showman and as a deep-feeling, sometimes insecure family man. Like Tom Lalicki's recent Spellbinder, Cox emphasizes Houdini's devotion to his mother (he never recovered from the shock of her death) and to Bess, his wife of 32 years and sidekick on stage (though he allegedly had an affair with Jack London's widow). Cox also discloses lesser-known aspects of the eccentric Houdini's personality (e.g., his passion for making movies and his zealous campaign to expose fraudulent spiritualists). Two photo inserts offer a peek at the magician's posters and promo shots, as well as his family. What young readers will likely find most gripping are the particulars of Houdini's spectacular stunts, including fascinating backstage revelations of how he pulled some of them off. Ages 9-14. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
《儿童读物杂志》(Horn Book)书评
(Middle School) Harry Houdini is a study in personal contradiction. Poorly educated, he aspired to be a scholar. Physically fit, he abused his body for years. Morally judgmental, he had an affair. Master of illusion, he scorned spiritualists and their practices. But he was never dull. Obnoxious, spiteful, obsessed, and boastful, perhaps, but never boring. Cox captures all these elements of the man's personality in a well-rounded and engaging biography that covers Houdini's success as a stage performer as well as his failure as a movie actor and literary author. His tenacity, dedication, and showmanship are tempered with his poor financial skills and his proclivity toward exaggeration and holding life-long grudges. The lack of specific citations (a brief bibliography is the only documentation provided) weakens this account because, as Cox notes, separating fact from fiction in Houdini's life is difficult: Houdini's false claims influenced how others saw him and persist in legend even today. Two inserts with archival photographs illustrate the book. Index. b.c. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus评论
Among the outpouring of new releases and reprints on the life of Houdini comes Cox's (African American Teachers, not reviewed, etc.) biography with only Houdini's piercing eyes, now a symbol of the man still known as the world's greatest magician, gracing the cover. Born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary, in 1874, Houdini and his family moved to the US in 1876. He grew up in poverty, until he bought a secondhand copy of the memoirs of Robert-Houdin, a famous magician of his time, and the rest, as the saying goes, was history. Cox reveals a man who, obsessed with breaking away from poverty and becoming famous, literally renamed himself and maintained a personal façade as illusive as his magic acts. Houdini's obsessive personality carried over into his relationships, particularly with his mother, and because he was uneducated, it led him to develop an extensive library of magic books, letters, and other realia. Later in life, it served him to discredit fake mediums, eventually leading up to testimony before Congress. And of course it was his obsessive nature that drove him to dream up new acts, train athletically, and perform death-defying stunts, all to the detriment of his health. What will really keep readers turning the pages are Cox's descriptions of Houdini's legendary feats, including the Metamorphosis, Milk Can Escape, and the Vanishing Elephant, and his genius as an escape artist. Cox sparks additional interest through depictions of the political sentiments of the time, such as the rampant discrimination the Jewish Houdini experienced throughout pre-WWI Europe. Gleaning information from Houdini's journals (perhaps Houdini's only truthful statements about himself) and primary sources from the time period, Cox presents a well-researched and fascinating account of a man whose life continues to mystify us. (b&w photographs, bibliography, index) (Biography. 11-15)
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Gr. 5-9. Although he insisted that his methods were "equally understandable (if not duplicable) by any person to whom I may elect to divulge my secrets," Houdini inspired endless speculation and a deep air of mystery throughout his life. In contrast, Cox's biography is an evenhanded portrait that dispels myths, some created by Houdini himself, and reveals some of the secrets behind the tricks. In straightforward prose, Cox follows Houdini from his impoverished childhood to worldwide fame, presenting anecdotes and personal details that reveal Houdini's contradictions: he was a racist despite having endured anti-Semitism; he was generous but unable to forgive; he mixed confidence in the laws of physics with curiosity about the spiritualism movement popular during his time. Most of all, Cox emphasizes Houdini's astounding determination, drive, and ability to reinvent himself. This well-rounded portrait is sure to interest young people, whether they're reading for reports or for fun. --Gillian Engberg