new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

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new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby Jim Martin » March 14th, 2020, 11:24 am

Robert Wilson, author of “Barnum: An American Life” reviews two new Houdini bios.

Elusive American
By Adam Begley
Yale, 216 pages, $26

The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini
By Joe Posnanski
Avid Reader, 316 pages, $28

https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-new-lives-of-harry-houdini-11584113644?shareToken=st4400713b528b4ede825d54b0606463be
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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby erdnasephile » March 14th, 2020, 3:15 pm

Joe Pos was a local sportswriter before he hit the big time. He is a very talented wordsmith and also a big magic fan. I saw his Houdini book in 1/2 price books and flipped through. It looked like a good read, but I didn't buy it because I felt guilty about not finishing Kalush's Houdini book yet.

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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 14th, 2020, 4:16 pm

Posnaski's book is full of nonsense regarding my friend (and real Houdini expert) Pat Culliton. I would avoid it.
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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby erdnasephile » March 14th, 2020, 4:19 pm

Wow--that's disappointing to hear. I certainly will defer to the experts on this one.

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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby Jim Martin » March 14th, 2020, 8:02 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:Posnaski's book is full of nonsense regarding my friend (and real Houdini expert) Pat Culliton. I would avoid it.

Agreed.
Of the two, Begley was given a better review.
The reviewer was less than enthusiastic about Posnanski's effort.
"Mr. Posnanski’s solution to the problem of having 500 predecessors is less satisfactory.
His is a book about the writing of a book about Houdini.
We tag along as he contacts experts on the great man and the history of magic,
and people whose lives have been shaped by their helpless infatuation with him."
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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby performer » March 14th, 2020, 9:17 pm

The famous escapologist Murray used to get highly irritated with all the biographies about Houdini. He used to complain to me "All these people writing about Houdini didn't even know Houdini!" He felt that disqualified them from writing about him.

There was actually a rather inadequate biography about Murray by Val Andrews. However to be fair to poor old Val I did hear from Bobby Bernard that trying to get information from Murray was like pulling teeth. In my own memoirs I did write a little bit about the old rogue. He actually coined the word "escapology" or at least he said he did! Which probably means he didn't!

The very name of Houdini was like a red rag to a bull where Murray was concerned. He did concede that he got his ambition to be an escape artist when he was ten years old after seeing Houdini perform. I smirked at him, "In that case Houdini must have impressed you" but he snorted back, "Anybody can impress you when you are ten years old!"

He used to get annoyed when the newspapers would describe him as "The Second Houdini" That made him mad as hell and he would spit out, "I am not Houdini the Second----I am Murray the First!"

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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 14th, 2020, 9:27 pm

Mark, most of the great biographies in literature were written by people who never met their subjects. And don't argue with me about it.
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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby Zig Zagger » March 15th, 2020, 7:02 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:Posnaski's book is full of nonsense regarding my friend (and real Houdini expert) Pat Culliton. I would avoid it.

Hm, both lamentable and interesting to hear that. Because overall, I have enjoyed reading the book recently. I'm not a Houdini scholar, but I've read several biographies on him over the years. And there are quite a few things I like about Posnanski's particular approach:

First, he's trying hard not to rehash all the lore, but to tell the myths from the facts. For that, he sets himself on an enthusiastic journey to talk to a lot of knowledgeable magicians, both scholars and performers, some of them huge Houdini fanboys, others not so much. So, secondly, we get to learn interesting insights and opinions from luminaries like Jim Steinmeyer, Mike Caveney, John Cox, David Copperfield and others. Third, the book is also, as the title promises, about the afterlife of Houdini. What makes him stand out still today? Fourth, Posnanski delivers a swift read and has a knack for catchy phrases and summaries that stick (like "Houdini never surrendered. That was what made him Houdini." or "Death, ironically, gave Houdini a second life."). He also has a great way of foreshadowing and leading you with hooks straight into the next chapter, which made me digest the book in only two sessions.

In terms of structure and dramatization, Posnanski decided to let us readers accompany him step by step on his quest. That's why the attempts to contact Houdini expert Patrick Culliton (first futile, finally successful) are a recurrent theme and supposed to build some suspense. I agree that the book could have been done without this dramatization. And I found that Mr Culliton (whom I don't know anything else about) comes across as a very strange and pitiable person. If this portrayal happens to be unfair and overdramatized, Mr Posnanski should be reprehended for that. Apart from this quibble, which I cannot judge, I recommend this book as a refreshing and enlightening addition to the bulk of "regular" Houdini biographies.
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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 15th, 2020, 11:06 am

Zig Zagger wrote:
Richard Kaufman wrote:Posnaski's book is full of nonsense regarding my friend (and real Houdini expert) Pat Culliton. I would avoid it.

That's why the attempts to contact Houdini expert Patrick Culliton (first futile, finally successful) are a recurrent theme and supposed to build some suspense. I agree that the book could have been done without this dramatization. And I found that Mr Culliton (whom I don't know anything else about) comes across as a very strange and pitiable person.


Now you understand the problem. Patrick is not remotely strange nor pitiful. What Posnaski wrote about Pat is not true. It is a willful distortion, which gives one little confidence in anything else he writes.
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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby Zig Zagger » March 16th, 2020, 3:46 pm

Right. Now it would be interesting to learn, in addition, from Messieurs Steinmeyer, Caveney, etc. if they also feel misrepresented or misquoted in the book.
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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby AZK » March 17th, 2020, 9:20 pm

Here's another review of the Begley book which I wrote for a local weekly newspaper for which Begley used to write. He often visits this area, where his family has a house, which is what occasioned the review.
https://www.easthamptonstar.com/books/2 ... ape-artist

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Re: new Houdini biographies review in WSJ

Postby houdinisghost » January 26th, 2023, 4:08 am

to Zig Zagger,
I just read a post by you asking if Jim Streinmeyer and Michael Caveney were also misrepresented by Joe Posnanski in his Houdini book. I can't speak for Mike Caveney, but, Jim Steinmyer and John Cox were given the book to proofread before it went to print. I was not, despite the fact that I was dwelt on in the book more than either of them.
Posnanski made a big deal about wanting to know why I was called Houdini's Ghost. The big lie was that he first thing Joe did was go to my website. I explained there why I was called Houdini's Ghost because I had gathered as many first person writings by Houdini as I could find, and woven them into chronological order creating an "autobiography" by Houdini -- ghosted by me. I began to sign that book "by Patrick Culliton and Houdini's Ghost." Just my humor -- and no one, but Joe, was confused by my explanation.
As for his book length search for me and his quest to buy my book "Houdini-- the Key," all Joe had to do was say to Jim Steinmeier, Mike Caveney, John Cox, John Gaughan, or David Copperfield "I'm looking for Patrick Culliton and I want to buy his book, and any of those gentleman could have had me on the phone with Posnanski in a couple of minutes. When Joe and I finally connected, I found he had stalked me all over the internet, didn't thank me for getting him into the Magic Castle to have dinner and attend a lecture by Shoot Ogowa. In fact, that night, Posnanski bought a brand new, signed, copy of "Houdini--the Key" for the only price I ever charged for the book: $195.00. He wrote in his book that he paid me $295.00.
What is worst, is Posnanski completely misrepresented my service in Vietnam in the damn book, not to mention that he dismissed my career as an actor, a Magic Castle Lecturer of the year, and the author of 5 books about Houdini.
But Cox and Steinmeyer (and who else I wonder) got to proof read the book and were told not to tell anyone they'd read it -- meaning don't tell Culliton.
I would like to thank Richard Kaufman for leaping to my defense when "Zig Zagger" published some very demeaning remarks about me. I would very much like to discuss "Zig Zagger's" words about me with him in person -- lest there be any further misunderstanding.

Richard Kaufman wrote:
"Posnaski's book is full of nonsense regarding my friend (and real Houdini expert) Pat Culliton. I would avoid it."

Zig Zagger replied:
"That's why the attempts to contact Houdini expert Patrick Culliton (first futile, finally successful) are a recurrent theme and supposed to build some suspense. I agree that the book could have been done without this dramatization. And I found that Mr Culliton (whom I don't know anything else about) comes across as a very strange and pitiable person"

Richard Kaufman
"Now you understand the problem. Patrick is not remotely strange nor pitiful. What Posnaski wrote about Pat is not true. It is a willful distortion, which gives one little confidence in anything else he writes."


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