Award-winning journalist and NY Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski enters the world of Harry Houdini and his legions of devoted fans within an immersive, enjoyable, and magical focus on the illusionist’s impact on American culture—and why his legacy endures even today.

Harry Houdini. Say his name and a number of things come to mind. Escapes. Illusions. Magic. Chains. Safes. Live burials. Near a century after his death, nearly every person in America understands his name from a young age, about THE LIFE SPAN and Afterlife of Harry Houdini capturing their imaginations along with his death-defying stunts and daring functions. He inspired countless people, from all walks of existence, to find something marvelous within themselves.

This is a book in regards to a man and his extraordinary life, nonetheless it is also about the individuals who he has inspired in death. As Joe Posnanski delves into the deepest corners of Houdini-land, going to museums (one owned by David Copperfield), destinations, and personal archives, he encounters a ensemble of unforgettable and fascinating heroes: a woman who runs abroad to chase her dream of becoming a magician; an Italian who revives Houdini’s most famous illusion every night; a performer in the Magic Castle in LA who calls himself Houdini’s Ghost; a young youngster in Australia who, 1 day, sees a vintage poster and seems his life modification; and a man in Los Angeles whose sole objective is life offers been to keep carefully the story’s name alive.

Both an individual obsession and an odyssey of discovery, Posnanski draws inspiration from his lifelong passion for and obsession with magic, blending biography, memoir, and first-person reporting to examine Harry Houdini’s life and legacy. This is the ultimate journey to discover why this magic guy endures, and what he still must teach the world about wonder.