THE RIGHT WAY TO DO WRONG: An Exposé of Successful Criminals
The legendary Harry Houdini started the tradition of magicians debunking charlatans and revealing secrets of the trade that continues today through the likes Penn and Teller or James “The Amazing” Randi. But Houdini went even further here, in this delightful 1906 novelty: he revealed the working secrets of thieves, swindlers, and con artists. Culled from his conversations with “the chiefs of police and the most famous detectives in the world,” Houdini’s tales of the tricks of the trade of beggars, pickpockets, and burglars are instructive and amusing. The master showman was also a surprisingly entertaining writer-and this is one of his most enjoyable books, one that will enthrall readers of true crime as well as fans of Houdini himself. Hungarian-American magician and professional skeptic EHRICH WEISS (1874-1926)-aka Harry Houdini, “Handcuff King and Jail Breaker”-also wrote Magical Rope Ties and Escapes (1920) and A Magician Among the Spirits (1924).
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I read about this book while reading Derren Brown’s very entertaining book titled Tricks of the Mind. I thought it sounded interesting and would provide a glimpse into the mind of Houdini.
I was sorely disappointed. The book is a replicated copy of the original 1906 book which contains all of the printing press mistakes and crude drawings. This I didn’t mind.
What was disturbing is the complete lack of any depth to the subject matter. Each chapter was very sketchy and also childish in it’s brevity of both substance and knowledge. Indeed, from watching TV and general reading, I propose that most modern people could have penned a book superior to this novelty tome.
Houdini’s tales of beggars, pickpockets, spiritualist and burglars are neither instructive nor very amusing. In fact, I found the totality of the work to be rather bland and unevenly written. The editorial review stated that he was a “entertaining writer”. He was obviously great with magic and escapes but he should have left the writing to the experts.
This is not a book I would recommend for fans of true crime or even Houdini fans. Still yet, I am still pondering whether to buy Houdini: A Magician Among the Spirits (I never seem to learn).
I hope you find this review helpful.
Michael L. Gooch