NEW Houdini Book

The books on Houdini just keep on coming. I had an enjoyable conversation with a fellow performer tonight who is working on a Houdini book and then I got off the phone and noticed yet ANOTHER performer has written a book on Houdini. This time Dixie Dooley, the Las Vegas magician, escape artist has written a book called "Houdini Question Reality".

The book is 146 pages and is self published through Lulu.com. Self publishing is a great way for a first time author to get their words out there. Plus with the up and down (mostly down) book market, it might also be a safer way to go. You can order the book through Lulu.com and if you prefer you can actually download it straight to your computer!

To order http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/houdini-question-reality/16611425

UPDATE: I decided to order the download version of the book. It takes a good 30 pages before you really get into Houdini stories and some of them are a little out of left field. Though Dixie makes no claim that they are true, just that he was told these stories. My favorite part of the book had to be Dixie describing his visit to the Houdini house in NYC. He is one of the few who got to go inside. It's a fascinating story to say the least. One downer though are the crude drawings of the interior that follow the story. I think perhaps having someone draft quality drawings of the floor plan might have been in order, or even doing it with a computer program. The hand drawn sketches are not the best.
Overall, it's an interesting book. A lot of things you've heard before, a couple things you might not have. It suffers from a number of grammatical and spelling errors and the photos leave a bit to be desired. But it's a quick read and proof that the Houdini stories just continue and continue!

SECOND UPDATE: I just heard from Dixie and he told me that the grammatical/spelling mistakes have been corrected. And he also said he added more photos! As a Houdini fan I enjoyed the book and honestly the story of his visit to the house alone is worth the price of the book.  If you haven't gotten it, please consider it. You can still get it as a soft cover book or as a .pdf download.

Upcoming Articles and other stuff

In the new few days & weeks, I'll be posting a bunch of new stuff. I've got an article coming on the magic used during the Civil War which is proving to be a lot of fun to research. In September I'll have a biographical piece on Walter Truman Best, better known as MARO Prince of Magic. Also coming is a biographical piece on Anna Eva Fay. Plus, there may just be one or two new Houdini articles, but you'll have to wait for those.

Over at my DeadConjurers blog, I just added the graves of Samri Baldwin, the White Mahatma and Maro, Prince of Magic. Please go over and check those out. I believe most of the graves on that blog also show the location of the grave. There are a few exceptions because at least three people listed over there were buried at Sea, so no grave exists.

HELP NEEDED
I'm trying to get together a group of volunteer magicians to help with the clean-up of the grave of Robert Heller in Philadelphia. I've contacted a woman who is a member of the Friends of Mt. Moriah Cemetery, and she is helping me with that. If you are in the Philadelphia area or anywhere nearby and you might be interested in donating your time in the clean-up of the grave/grounds please contact me at carnegiemagic@me.com. I'll give more details as they come.

Happy Birthday Robert Heller!

Robert Heller Happy 182nd Birthday! Well, that is IF it's your 182nd birthday. It's been difficult to pin point the exact year of his birth. My research shows 1829, but others record it anywhere from 1826 to 1830. I've also seen the date as August 10th and August 19th, but I'm going with the 19th (only because the 10th has passed, lol)

It's because of this blog that I developed a fascination for Heller that continues to this day. He was a terribly interesting character. So far there are three blogs on him and I can tell you there will be at least two more down the road.

To celebrate his 182nd Birthday, I treated myself to a copy of 'Melody Magic' the book which contains all the music he wrote, along with pictures of his posters and a biography included as well.

I would like to visit Heller in Philadelphia soon. I know exactly where the grave is, though I understand the location of the grave is in a very bad part of town. That is distressing to find out.

Though, I still may go. I'll let you know...