On Deception

by Harry Houdini, Derren Brown (Foreword)

Throughout his life, the world’s most famous escapologist strove to expose the methods and tricks of illusionists and sham spiritualists. Studying entertainers and criminals alike, Houdini investigates the tricks of the mind and sleights of hand that have deceived people throughout history. The magician’s writings caused a public sensation; legend has it that his book The Right Way to Do Wrong was bought in bulk by burglars in an attempt to guard the tricks of their trade. This collection also includes Houdini’s revelations about the methods behind some of his own most famous tricks, and articles he wrote to expose his imitators.

Genres: Magic, Psychology, Nonfiction, History

76 pages, Paperback

First published July 24, 2009

About the author

Harry Houdini, whose birth name in Hungary was Erik Weisz (which was changed to Ehrich Weiss when he immigrated to the United States), was a Jewish Hungarian American magician, escapologist (widely regarded as one of the greatest ever) and stunt performer, as well as a skeptic and investigator of spiritualists, film producer and actor. Harry Houdini forever changed the world of magic and escapes.

Reviews

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the history and methods used by deceivers, from thieves, frauds, burglars, and con men to mediums and unscrupulous entertainers. I had no idea that the methods used in modern email scams could be traced back to "begging letters" in the nineteenth century!

Houdini is a better writer than I had expected, though I do not know why I would have expected anything less. He is a performer who reveled in commanding the attention of his audience. And the command of language he honed in that pursuit is fully on display in this book.

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this because it's just material taken from The Right Way To Do Wrong and Miracle Mongers and Their Methods. So if you've read those, you won't find anything new here.

Adding one star for the foreword by Derren Brown.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

On Deception was entertaining, enjoyable and gave interesting insights into obscure pieces of history/anecdotes of the time.

It starts very strong, with an excellent introduction by Derren Brown. Forwards rarely interest me as much as this one did!

On a personal note: I'm surprised by how many ways this book has interested me. I was first interested in reading it for leisure, then realized I might be able to utilize it for research in psychology (literally: on deception) and now will certainly recommend -- at least the first half of the book -- to criminologists.

My only critique (which isn't a strong one) is the percentage of the book dedicated to "Miracle-Mongers and Their Methods". While definitely interesting (especially to gain insight about the history of such things as fire-eating), this section focused much less on the theme of the book (deception).

[Robert Drummond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voyage of oneupmanship from one of the masters.