The details of the life of Eric Weiss (aka Harry Houdini) are fascinating. He's a complicated person who probably suffered from mental illness. The book describes his manic obsessions, his cruel efforts to destroy the reputations of other magicians, willingness to lie to promote himself, and other negative traits, as well has his remarkable showmanship. The writing style, however, is very odd for a book geared toward children. Nearly every other sentence contains a metaphor or some kind of expression. For example, when describing Houdini's grueling performance schedule, the author describes it as "life in a cement mixer." I constantly have to explain to my child what the author means.

This is probably the best Houdini biography I have ever seen.

I liked the book but I think Sid Fleischman should have added more pizazz in this book, but over all, I think this was a fairly fine read.

It was very interesting to read but when you look at the book you think that it will tell you Houdini's secrets but it doesn't. It was still pretty good though.