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Miracle Mongers and Their Methods (The Skeptic's Bookshelf) Paperback – March 1, 1993

by Harry Houdini (Author)

3.8 104 ratings

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The legendary magician and illusionist Harry Houdini turns a critical eye to the astonishing claims of those in his own profession. Using personal research and observations, Houdini reveals the cunning techniques employed by fire-eaters, sword swallowers, and other masters of deception to mystify and amaze audiences around the world. This classic skeptical work explores and exposes the methods of such "wonders" as "The Incombustible Spaniard," "Defiers of Poisonous Reptiles," and many others. Originally published in the 1920s, Miracle Mongers and Their Methods scrupulously examines the direct predecessors of modern psychics and mentalists."My professional life has been a constant record of disillusion," writes Houdini in his preface, "and many things that seem wonderful to most men are the everyday commonplace in my business. But I have never been without some seeming marvel to pique my curiousity and challenge my investigation. In this book I have set down some of the stories of strange folk and unusual performers that I have gathered in many years of such research."The greatest magician of his time, Houdini baffled experts and amateurs alike with his sensational and dangerous feats. Houdini attained worldwide fame during his lifetime for his daring escapes from strait-jackets, jails, underwater chambers, and a variety of "escape-proof" devices. Throughout his career, Houdini insisted that all of his feats could be rationally explained and boldly exposed the methods of those claiming supernatural powers.The ever present fascination with psychics and miracle mongers makes this book as timely as when it was originally written.

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About the Author

Harry Houdini (1874 - 1926), born Erik Weisz in Budepest, Hungary, emigrated to the United States and began his career in entertainment as a circus trapeze artist. From about 1900 Houdini began to earn an international reputation for his daring feats of escape from shackles, ropes, and handcuffs and from various locked containers. In one outdoor exhibition, performed before thousands, he allowed himself to be suspended in a straitjacket, head down, about 75 feet above ground and then freed himself. He became so famous that he appeared in motion pictures from 1916 to 1923 in which he demonstrated his amazing skills. In his later years Houdini campaigned against mind readers, mediums, and others who claimed supernatural powers. He argued that they were charlatans who produced all of their effects through natural means and various tricks.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prometheus; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0879758171
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0879758172
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches

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Rusty Shacklefurd

I like book. It good book.

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2014

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For a skeptic this book is pure heaven. I realize how stupid that sounds. Sorry. For a skeptic this book is really...good. Better? Hmmm. Let me try again. For a skeptic this book is a spectacular example of how far the movement has came and how much we owe to this man. That seems better to me. Nope. One more time. I like book. It good book. There we go!
Some of the claims of Houdini's time are a bit more over the top than the simple cold readers of today and thus, the debunking of said claims are equally over the top. There were multiple times when I had to put my Kindle down, go outside and just take a few deep breathes. If one comes across a charlatan who can swallow red hot swords by claiming they have the power of the gods, what's one to do? Well, swallow a sheath and try it yourself of course! There's some very heavy stuff in here that makes you one, appreciate how crazy/dedicated Houdini was to his second profession and two, donate to the JREF for keeping the spirit alive and well.

4 people found this helpful

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N. S. Alito

Crude reprint of Houdini's original book

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2016

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This is a crude reprint of an older book. There are none of the "figures" referred to in the text. I would have been willing to pay more for the complete book.

As for the content, several early chapters describe the history of "fire-eating" performers, followed eventually with a chapter that describes the tricks used to handle these seemingly dangerous materials. Likewise he covers blade-swallowing performers and their techniques, followed by descriptions of performances of stone-eating, poison-eating and similar amazing feats, with accompanying explanations of the tricks and/or conditioning needed to perform them.

To me, the big surprise was in discovering how eloquent and informative Harry Houdini could be, well beyond his carnie-like colleagues.

3 people found this helpful

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D. Peters

A Fascinating Antique

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2015

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Written by Houdini, it's a fascinating look at the odd and bizarre people he shared the stage with in a long ago era. Today these people would be looked at as strange oddities but a hundred years ago they were minor stars. Houdini, (Eric Weiss's) writing is surprisingly contemporary, considering how long ago the book was written but some of the long passages from periodicals of the time are written with an almost foggy fussiness which makes them difficult to understand. Especially when referring to illustrations that aren't included in the kindle edition. Still, if you are interested in stage magic and Houdini in particular this is well worth reading.

2 people found this helpful

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Hugo and Kim

fast fun read

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2014

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The Great Houdini tells about various performers he has known or heard about; fire eaters, sword swallowers, stone eaters, magnetic and electric people, and others, and then he apparently tells how they did their tricks. There are recipes for concoctions that will supposedly help withstand fire or poison.
But I would risk my life by trying them. Still it's fun to get his take on so many different a acts.

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Haley Harrington

Not a page turner but incredibly interesting

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2020

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This is a very interesting book, it is difficult to read page to page but the information inside of it is very educational. It’s a neat look at what side show used to be.

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Bob Lewis

Fascinating for certain types of readers

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2019

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Houdini was a fascinating character and it's certainly interesting to read his work. In this book, he provides a brief history of "miracle mongers" (performers of what we'd today consider to be side-show stunts like walking on hot coals or eating stones) and exposes many of their methods. His purpose was, as many magicians have followed in his footsteps by doing, to prevent people from being deceived into believing that acts of trickery were anything more than entertainment.

This is a grand tradition of debunking, and Houdini was one of its greatest practitioners. However, the particular "miracles" under consideration in this book are little more than historical curiosities to the modern reader, which leaves us in a rather unusual position of reading an excellent book of little relevance to ourselves.

Readers interested in stories about Houdini will not be impressed by this book. The only personal anecdotes in its pages detail Houdini's encounters with performers of the types of material about which he writes. Furthermore, readers interested in learning the actual methods behind these stunts would be STRONGLY advised to choose a different book. Houdini's descriptions of the methods provide enough information to demonstrate to the reader that these feats can be achieved by natural means, but they are not complete enough (nor always accurate enough) for would-be performers to risk their lives by following his instructions.

However, if your interest is historical or academic, this is just the book for you. It provides a historical account of a fascinating branch of the performing arts and a unique skeptical perspective on workers of wonders.

I should close with a brief note about this inexpensive paperback edition of the book. If you merely want to read the book and are looking for an economical option, this would be a decent source. However, you should be aware that it is not the highest-quality reproduction. It does contain a number of errors and the text references numerous figures or illustrations that are omitted from this version. My review of the book itself would receive three stars (highly recommended for a select audience; not recommended for general audiences). I have reduced my rating to two stars for the errors in this particular edition.

3 people found this helpful

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biophile

intriguing and the touch of personal feeling which the author let show makes it a better read.

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2015

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I find the expose well documented, intriguing and the touch of personal feeling which the author let show makes it a better read.

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