From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, an exuberant biography of the world's greatest escape artist "Will leave [readers] entertained and astonished, and that's a kind of magic of its own."-Jerry Z. Muller, Jewish Review of Books In 1916, the war in Europe having prevented a tour abroad, Harry Houdini wrote a film treatment for a rollicking motion picture. Though the movie was never made, its title, "The Marvelous Adventures of Houdini: The Justly Celebrated Elusive American," provides a succinct summary of the Master Mystifier's life. Born Erik Weisz in Budapest in 1874, Houdini grew up an impoverished Jewish immigrant in the Midwest and became world-famous thanks to talent, industry, and ferocious determination. He concealed as a matter of temperament and professional ethics the secrets of his sensational success. Nobody knows how Houdini performed some of his dazzling, death-defying tricks, and nobody knows, finally, why he felt compelled to punish and imprison himself over and over again. Tracking the restless Houdini's wide-ranging exploits, acclaimed biographer Adam Begley tells the story of a mystifying man's astonishing career. About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award. More praise for Jewish Lives: "Excellent."-New York Times "Exemplary."-Wall Street Journal "Distinguished."-New Yorker "Superb."-The Guardian

Move over, David Copperfield. The coolest magic tricks have been gathered together in one book, best-selling author David Pogue's Magic For Dummies, which is guaranteed to leave your friends, family and coworkers spellbound at your mastery of the mystical arts.

Perform great magic at the drop of a hat with these tips and tricks -- literally -- from Pogue and 35 of America's top professional magicians. With a little practice (and some clever misdirection, which lays at the heart of all magic tricks), you'll bewitch everyone around you with card tricks, coin tricks, disappearing acts, and even mind-reading! Magic For Dummies features more than 90 deceptions, illusions, and sleights of hand for all occasions, along with photos, patter, and presentation tips for every trick in the book. You'll be pulling rabbits out of your hat for years to come with these great magic tricks...easy enough to learn, and enchanting enough to keep folks baffled and bewildered.