Here's a fun review of William Lindsay Gresham's 1959 biography Houdini: The Man Who Walked Through Walls by McNulty's Book Corral on YouTube. Mr. McNulty gives WILD ABOUT HARRY a very nice unsolicited shout-out near the end of the video, so I thought I'd return the favor! Enjoy.
Thanks to Diego Domingo for the alert.
It was more of a plug for the book and Mr. Gresham than an actual review. But he’s enthusiastic.
ReplyDeleteTrue. It's interesting that he found the Macfadden paperback edition. I would think those would be harder to find than that 1975 reprint from Manor. But maybe not!
ReplyDeleteBTW, he says the book is still in print, but apart from a recent Kindle release, it hasn't seen print since the 1975 paperback (as far as I know).
I've actually turned on this book somewhat. While Gresham debunked some mythology, he also created a fair amount. But it was a step forward.
Gresham created the character of Houdini: Fleshed him out like a character in a novel. It felt like I was reading a fictionalized historical novel about Houdini instead of a biography. Sloman and Kalush also did that using inner monolog for HH. They articulated his thoughts as if he was a character in a novel. This is why I prefer re-reading the Christopher and Silverman bios. They kept it straight with no frills. Gresham and Kalush have died on the vine for me, unless I need to look something up in those two books.
DeleteYes, I also don't care for the inner monologging or dramatic reenactments in non-fiction. Give me the facts!
Delete"I must find a way to get out of these handcuffs!" Oh brother...
DeleteGresham's Houdini is unlike any other. And not in a good way.
ReplyDelete