Harry Houdini

DK Biography

by Vicki Cobb

Presents the life of the Hungarian magician, including illustrations of people, places, and artifacts of the times in which he lived.

Supports the Common Core State Standards.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Magic

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2005

About the author

Vicki Cobb, the “Master Chef of Hands-on Science,” a graduate of Barnard College and Columbia’s Teachers College, is a former science teacher with a M.A. in secondary school science. The publication of her classic book, Science Experiments You Can Eat, (an updated, revised edition was released in 2016 by HarperCollins) established her as an innovator in hands-on science. Take a look on her website www.vickicobb.com to get a sense of her playful and accessible approach to science in her 90+ books for grades K-8 that cover physics, chemistry and biology, biographies, geography, and the human body.

She is also pioneering a video project based on her book We Dare You! Check out the hilarious videos at www.wedareyouvideos.com

She has performed “Science Surprises,” her interactive and engrossing show for kids, in 49 of the fifty states (missing only North Dakota) as well as internationally. A veteran motivator/professional development presenter of day-long in-services/keynote speaker, Vicki uses her expertise, humor, wit and background as an educator to inspire teachers to make science teaching the highpoint of their day. Currently she is president and founder of iNK Think Tank, Inc., a nonprofit company that focuses on the contribution that nonfiction literature and its authors can make to education. She contributes to: The Nonfiction Minute, www.nonfictionminute.org/ (which has had 5+ million page views over the past five years) and has been a Contributor to the Huffington Post and has recently launched www.vickicobbsblog.com in connection with the Nonfiction Minute, where she writes commentary on education and reviews nonfiction books as inspiring reading for children hungry to learn about the real world. .

Vicki Cobb received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012.

Reviews

[Carson Kester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Response
I liked this book because the life of Harry Houdini is a very interesting one. The book skillfully discusses many different subjects without ever seeming boring. Every chapter of this book has many insightful looks at the life of one of the greatest magicians of all time.

Plot Summary
Our story starts in Budapest, Hungary, with the birth of Ehrich Weiss. Ehrich's father moved his family to Wisconsin in search of work, and at the age of 12, Ehrich would set out on his own. Fascinated by magic, Ehrich began to learn many tricks, and developed his own stage name, Harry Houdini. Harry went on to become one of the greatest magicians of all time. Being able to pull off nearly any trick. He also dabbled in aviation, writing, and films. Harry devoted time to point out the frauds of mediums and seances. Despite this, Harry's wife Bess tried to contact him once a year ten times after his death on October 31, 1926.

Recommendations
I recommend this book to anyone interested in the deception of magic. The book explains how many of Harry's tricks are done. The book also explains the detailed history of magic.

Characterization
Harry Houdini: At the beginning of the book, Harry isn't very educated, and struggles with proper grammar and spelling correctly. By the end, Harry portrays himself very elegantly. Harry always maintains his competitive nature throughout the book.
Bess: We first meet Bess as a member of a singing and dancing group. After marrying Harry though, Bess joins his act and travels with him. Bess is a very devoted wife, always staying by Harry's side. Even trying to after his death.
Cecilia Weiss: Cecilia is a very sophisticated woman. She has a very strong relationship with her son, Harry. When Cecilia dies, Harry is so shocked that he faints.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice short bio of this amazing man from the last century. Great pic and information layout throughout the book. excellent starter to learn about this great man. Recommended

[Jeromy Vān dyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Harry Houdini was a great book. It was very interesting for a biography. I usually don’t get into these types of books but I did for this one. This book is written in third person view by Vicki Cobb.

This book is about a little boy named Erich Weiss that was born in Budapest, Hungary on March 24, 1874. He was the third born of six children. His dad’s name was Rabbi and his mother’s name was Cecilia. In 1876, Rabbi left home and immigrated to Appleton, Wisconsin with two of his six kids. They left because of restrictions put on Jews with land and business owning. Rabbi took Erich with him. Rabbi couldn't find a job so he moved to Milwaukee. Erich ran away to Kansas City and did odd jobs and sent money home when possible. The rest of the family went to Wisconsin. Erich changed his name to Harry Houdini after reading a book by Robert Houdin. This inspired him to become part of the magic career. He performed at dime shows with his brother Theodore. Harry started taking apart handcuffs and became good at opening them without a key. He met Bess and married her. She replaced Theodore in the magic shows. They started to tour all around the US and they made a lot of money. After becoming the "King of Handcuffs", he invested in an airplane for five thousand dollars and became the first pilot to fly in Australia. He never flew after that, but he did do stunts on planes while they were moving. He made his handcuff tricks more elaborate by escaping handcuffs that were made by very good designers and by trapping him in a box, handcuffed, and thrown off a bridge into a river. He also debunked people that said they could talk with the dead. He died by getting punched in the stomach and his appendix blew up. He died on Halloween.

I would recommend this book from ages of thirteen and up, males and females because it is very informational and interesting all at the same time I wouldn’t recommend this book from under thirteen because it would be too hard to read.

[Lisa M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written for younger readers. I enjoyed these types of books when I was younger -- they are a take on the classic textbook. We get non-fiction text, lots of illustrations, and side boxes with definitions/expansions of concepts. I definitely enjoyed revisiting this format! I didn't like some of the aesthetic choices, however. The top of each page is lined with the same row of pictures, and it got old looking at them. Also, they didn't progress with his life -- they weren't in chronological order, and that annoyed me. Otherwise, I really enjoyed all of the great photographs. My favorite illustrations were the posters, his advertisements being a big part of the way he generated his reputation.

There were some minor issues with grammar.

I have always found Houdini, especially his passion for spiritualism and quest to defend its integrity, very interesting. This book gives a very basic (as expected in this format) overview of his life. He led such an interesting life -- he was a true Jack of All Trades, someone our hyperspecialized world no longer cultivates. I definitely enjoyed what I learned from this book.

My only other complaint is there is some misinformation/antiquated information. Some of the information about airplanes has been proven wrong. I was also offended by the snippets on the treatment of the mentally ill - nowhere did it describe so called "care" for the mentaly ill in the late 1800s as inhumane.

Due to the intended audience, I felt like some of the parts of the book were watered down/made more friendly. I also found myself craving more information.

Overall, a great basic overview of the man's life!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry Houdini has always been a fascinating individual to those inclined to magic and death-defying escapes. Vicki Cobb's photographic biography of Harry Houdini will not disappoint young fans looking to learn more about the greatest escape artist that ever lived.

Rich with photographs, this biography tells Houdini's story from beginning to end, and offers many interesting facts (did you know that Harry Houdini wasn't born Harry Houdini at all - but Ehrich Weiss?). Organized into 14 chapters which are chronological yet independent of one another, young readers can read from cover to cover or browse as they please.

Complete with an easy to understand timeline in the back covering the most important events in Houdini's life, book suggestions for further study, and an alphabatized index, this book also makes a great reference.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, yet easy to read with plenty of pictures to boot. I like the fact that it contained definition boxes and sidebars to help explain words or give more information on historical events so as to not to confuse younger readers.

This book may be aimed at younger readers, but I found it highly enjoyable myself. So much so that I'm planning to seek out a more comprehensive biography about Mr. Houdini at a later date.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well illustrated guide to the life of the brilliant Harry Houdini. It's a great starting point for those wishing to learn more about this amazing man, but for an excellent & very in depth look at his life check out The Secret Life Of Houdini: The Making Of America's First Superhero by William Kalush & Larry Ratso Sloman.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about this incredible magician. I wonder how he breaks out of all those handcuffs and prisons!

[Quạ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Đây là một cuốn sách trong series sách DK Biography về tiểu sử cùa ảo thuật gia lừng danh Harry Houdini. Thú thực là mình chưa hề biết đến tên tuổi ông cho đến khi nhìn thấy cuốn sách này trên Tiki. Sách khá ngắn gọn súc tích với một số ít hình minh hoạ, nhưng đã rất thành công trong việc trình bày tiểu sử của Harry Houdini chỉ trong vòng hơn 120 trang. Là một người Mỹ gốc Hungary, Harry đã phải nỗ lực rất nhiều khi còn trẻ để tạo dựng tên tuổi của mình không chỉ ở nước Mỹ mà còn trên khắp thế giới.

[Hanh Phan · Rating 5 out of 5]

hồi xưa ba mình mua cho một chồng sách nói về các danh nhân thế giới, cuốn này là một trong số đó. Đọc rất hay và cuốn nha, tuy là sách documentary nhưng không hề chán. Cuốn sách kể về cuộc đời tài hoa của bậc thầy ảo thuật Harry Houdini, về những phương thức ảo thuật khéo léo mà ông dùng, đồng thời khắc họa thêm đôi nét về gia đình, sự nghiệp và cả cái chết. Có thể nói ông là bậc thầy tiên phong trong ảo thuật và truyền cảm hứng cho biết bao thế hệ, "sinh nghề tử nghiệp" cái chết khiến người ta thầm cảm phục tài năng của một con người nhỏ bé như thế

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Houdini's death was sudden and abrupt. Who was the stupid kid who punched him?! No, I really don't want to know; he lived with enough (assuming he didn't take it as a badge of honor). Houdini really was a real-deal. I never thought of magicians as athletic until this book. But, yes, the quickness and agility for some basic tricks is still a lot of physicality and then add on the truly life threatening things he did....

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful book. I love D.K. Publishing books! They are so informative and full of lots of photos! It is a great way to learn for kids of all ages. I have always been infatuated with the life and death of Harry Houdini and was lucky enough to be given this book. I highly recommend to everyone especially ones who love magicians, magic and vaudeville shows.

[MartinInAMask · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so this might sound a little weird but this short biography changed me. I've read this like 8 times. The way its written is amazing. Also the wonderful photos. OMG the photos are great. Idek why I like this book so much.

[Rick Vickers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything you need to know is here with excellent pictures.

[Somer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about Houdini that I didn't know. There were lots of editing issues with this little book, which I've noticed in DK books before.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew Meyers
November 24, 2014
Non-fiction Book Review


In the non-fiction book Harry Houdini, the author, Vicki Cobb, wants the reader to understand that a person does not have to be born into wealth and fame, but rather they can achieve such accomplishments by working hard. This is shown through the life of Harry Houdini because Harry left his family at age twelve to pursue his dreams of becoming a famous magician. Harry had hopes of becoming famous so he started working in a factory where his talent became aware. It started from him having to do magic tricks on his own in his house or the factory, to him being a world celebrated magician. It explains his life and goes into the detail how he struggled to become famous but the outcome was worth it in the long run. One Harrys most famous magic trick is when he Harry did a death-defying escape from am iron can filled with water which was fastened with metal locks. While he was doing this he had handcuffs around his wrists and he was faced with the obstacle of having to escape with out dying. This was very nerve-racking for the audience to watch because Harry was putting his life at risk.

In the biography, the author does a good job making the reader be filled with suspense. He does this by showing that the audience at the time was nervous which makes the reader of the book nervous as well. An important quote from the biography is when Harry Houdini exclaimed “I will now perform the best escape I have ever invented.” Then, “The audience members glanced at each other expectantly. The Great Houdini was going to show them his latest and most dangerous death-defying feat yet.” As a reader, this made me very curious to see if he was going to be able to pull of the hard task of getting out with out dying or even being injured. As I would suspect, many other readers or audience members would feel the same way watching a man who could possibly be taking his own life. I would recommend this book to everyone but especially to people who love magic shows just like me. This biography kept me interested at all times whether it was about his eventful life becoming famous or when he was famous and performing amazing tricks. This novel is also very easy to understand with many intriguing pictures to keep the reader fascinated as well. Everyone, including my close friends, should read this to change your perspective on hard work and magic.

[Hailey Kotkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Bistro - It is rare that a nonfiction book catches my attention as much as this book did. Perhaps it was the crazy picture on the front of Houdini hanging upside down or the very mystery his name brings to mind. Regardless, the first thing children will notice about the book is the crazy pictures on the cover and top of the book. All the crazy things he did are still enticing to generations of people who take the time to learn about him. Most kids know very little about Harry Houdini besides that he was a magician. It is not hard to understand why he is becoming more and more of a distant historical figure, but his rise to fame is certainly inspiring and deserves to be read about. Written by the forever fantastic Vicki Cobb, the biography covers Houdini’s childhood, family background, most famous stunts, and his personal life. Readers learn about his untimely death and the events leading up to it, but are treated with the secrets to some of his famous escape artist tricks. A magician may never tell his secrets, but nonfiction writers of their biographies certainly will!
The size of the book is small like the rest of her nonfiction series. It is rather thick though, and contains more information than one would think after the first glance. Flipping through the book is deceiving, because while there are many retouched historical pictures, the text covers the pages. The book has multiple areas of text, some not following the linear style. If a certain year is mentioned, the author will have included a fact or two about that year’s inventions or news stories that may or may not relate to Houdini. The effect of this is to give readers more insight into the times and why he performed the way he did. The biggest pictures on each page directly detail parts of his life, but next to the historical fact boxes are included pictures of the time period in general. Not only do children get to learn about the most famous magician of all time, but they are subtly absorbing information about the entire time period as well. The organization of the book is astounding, for the author included a visual depiction of the timeline as well as references to other pages in the back. It has an easy to navigate table of contents and lists the sources of information clearly. Overall, it is a perfect example of how nonfiction books should be written.

[Mia De La Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Houdini by Vicki Cobb was a short, yet very informative biography that I enjoyed. This book takes you through all of the important events throughout Houdini's life. I learned so many things about Houdini, especially the fact that he was born as Erich Weiss. This book deserves a four-star rating because Cobb does such a fantastic job taking us through Houdini's life with the perfect amount of description. It turns out that Houdini came from a large family that didn't have a lot of money. One of his idols was Robert Houdin, who inspired Houdini to change his name. Houdini married Bess, and she became his assistant. One thing that stood out to me was that Houdini would always send money to his family. This showed a lot about his personality and who he is. The couple traveled all around the United States together, and they made a lot of money. Houdini later became known as the "King of Handcuffs." He died from Appendicitis on Halloween. I would recommend this to anybody who would like to learn more about Harry Houdini.

[Angie Orr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cobb, Vicki. Harry Houdini.

Rating: **

Summary: The book takes the reader through the life of Harry Houdini. The book starts off with the history of Harry's family. The book talks about how his parents met and the struggles they had growing up. The book continues on with show business in the late 1890's.

Harry also known as Enrich Weiss left his home when he was twelve years of age. He went off on his own to learn. His father passed away at age 18. Enrih and his brothers decided to set up shop and start off as an act called "The Brothers Houdini." They traveled around to different dime museums and fairs. As the months continued, different tricks were added to the act.

The rest is what is called history. He met his wife through her song and dance act. They traveled around , but always supported their family when possible. The book is filled with facts on Harry Houdini. He was always trying new tricks that were risky. He longed for the risky tricks. The pictures show the history.

[Adam Ochoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry Houdini by Vicki Cobb is about Harry Houdini. Harry Houdini is a very famous magician who did the impossible. He is a Jewish man who started out in a poor family. To try and make money he started doing "dime" magic tricks which are magic tricks that would cost a dime.He went to school and got very athletic. He was a small person which made him good magic. Harry read a ton of books about magic and how to do it. This is how Harry learned all these tricks.

I Would rate this book a five out of five. I really liked how they gave a lot about his life instead of just writing about his magic only. I also liked how they explained everything pretty well in this book. this is why i liked this book.


I recommend this book to people who like magic and want to learn about a great magician. I really liked this book over all.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Young Adult biography of one of America's most famous magicians/escape artists. The text is a thorough trip through the life a premier showman. The book dabbles in the history of magic acts both in Europe and the US. There is mention of contemporary magicians both rivals and friends. The novel is filled with interesting personal information, like the foray into flying in 1909 during a tour of Australia and break that began his ascent in show business. The material also presents the strange imbalance of a man fixated upon exposing mediums as frauds, but believed in his own power to transcend the barrier of death.

p.93 To this day, Houdini is given credit for his pioneering aviation work in Australia. After packing up the Voisin to leave Australia, Houdini never flew again.

[Maya]

It was an interesting story on his life though I a sad it was not 1000 pages no one have everything in life. I am really sad that he died just because some stupid kid went up and punched him, not in a weak way 3 times in his stomach area so several days later of pain and grief for everyone he died from ruptured appendixes. And that only caused more grief. all his stories are so cool.

[Tayshag · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting. Harry is a cool guy to learn about. Some parts were confusing, but it was still good. It was easy to read and it wasn't a boring nonfiction book. He had a pretty crazy and not boring life. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in magic or optical illusions. It's great for research projects because it has a lot of information.

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one super book for anyone who wants to learn more about the Great Houdini. What a remarkable individual Houdini was to have help financially supporting his family as a child, to keeping his dying father's wish that Harry look after his mother for the rest of her life, to becoming perhaps the greatest escape artist and magician of all time. This is definitely a Must-Read.

[Dana8f · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it was about this man named Harry Houdini who not only did magic but also was an illusionist, an aviator, and also an inspiration to many people looking to do what he has done and what he has accomplished.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with my son, Jackson and we both really liked it. It has amazing photographs and funny litte stories of Houdini's life. It was a little introduction on his life... I would like to read more. It is a DK (Dorling Kindersley)book for children, but really a great little read.

[Zach Steiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a quick read it was very very informative but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who doesn't like history, magic or short books. But I would recommend it to people who want to find out more about this legend of escapes and who ever doesnt want to spend a month on 1 book.

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew quite a lot a bit about Houdini, including the fact that he died from a ruptured appendix. However, I didn't know that his appendix was ruptured when he was hit three times in his abdomen before he had the opportunity to prepare himself. (This stunt was one of his 'feats').

[Rose]

793.8 Cob

[Dayna Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming and informative biography of the world's most famous escape artist. A great way to get teens into nonfiction. The photographs in the book are stellar.