Recounting the life and achievements of Harry Houdini is a daunting task, given his involvement in so many ventures during his remarkable career including circus performer, illusionist, spiritual “medium” (when in dire straits financially), escape artist, historian of magic, published author, show manager, filmmaker, and debunker of fake spiritual mediums later in life during his tumultuous friendship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Through tireless effort that would have broken most men half his age—and frequently exhausted his devoted wife Bessie—Houdini had become a renown showman, philanthropist, and lecturer in demand throughout Europe and the United States right up until just days before his death on 31 October 1926.

In The Great Houdini, the husband and wife team of Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein deftly capture all of that and more in a 268-page biography that includes a foreword by Houdini friend and student, William B. Gibson (who also created the famous pulp fiction character, The Shadow).

Make no mistake, this is not a romanticized chronicling that elevates Houdini to unblemished sainthood. Williams and Epstein offer honest accounts of the performer’s bravado, arrogance, ill-temper, and occasional failures (as a show manager and film star) as much as his brilliance and industriousness in crafting each stage performance and besting every handcuff and escape challenge from law enforcement and container manufacturers alike. Nothing could keep Houdini restrained—physically or mentally—and nothing could hold him captive.

It was, in fact, Houdini who captivated the world.