LIked it.
I feel the authopr used the better known Houdini to lure people to the book, only to then say a lot of negative things about him, but otherwise enjoyed the book. ( )

This is a well documented and interesting biography. It provides a very comprehensive picture of the times and the evolution of magic as entertainment. ( )

The Last Greatest Magician in the World is a BIG book about a man you probably never heard of -- Howard Thurston -- who started out as a penniless street hustler and wound up an international star of a hugely popular magic show that was an evening of top-drawer entertainment all across America in the days before radio and the movies killed off vaudeville.

The image everyone has of the stage magician with the black dress suit and the top hat is really Thurston though other copied the look after him.

The Thurston show traveled on its own train with cars full of equipment and people and lions and other animals too. He more or less invented - with some help - the changing the lady into a lion trick.

If you wonder why magicians used to say "There's nothing up my sleeve" well it was Thurston who perfected the "back-palm" and got conjurers once and for all out of the business of tucking cards and coins and other props up inside their (baggy) dress suits.

For someone like me who studied magic as a kid its fun to see that the principles of the big tricks haven't changed much in a century - fascinating. And the author gets points for not revealing how tricks are done even while discussing the fine points of Thurston's presentation.

The book is good about the gossip and petty jealousies of the magic community -- maybe more than you want to know but it's a fun read anyway.. The competition with Houdini - well there really wasn't one. They did very different kinds of shows and were in very different kinds of markets and were (more or less) friendly to each other anyway

The Last Magician stuff is also kind of problematic - the end of vaudeville ended all the big touring shows including the big touring magic shows including Thurstons. But magic - thanks to Las Vegas and television goes on and on. .
. ( )

Strange, stage magic bores me rigid, but I find books on the subject fascinating.
A very readable biography of Houdini's rival, Howard Thurston ( )

Out now in paperback is the story of Howard Thurston, a contemporary of Harry Houdini and arguably the most successful magician of his day. Unfortunately, he was not the best at budgeting his fortunes. Or, maybe, not “unfortunately.” Thurston used every dime he earned, and quite a few borrowed dimes, to construct increasingly more elaborate illusions. The illusions created by Thurston and built by his engineers are still enjoyed today by audiences everywhere. Steinmeyer’s book is satisfyingly full of the rivalries between magicians of the early 20th century and the risks of not retaining their trusted staff, who could eventually become someone else’s right hand. If you are a fan of Christopher Priest’s Prestige, you will truly enjoy the reality that fills the pages of The Last Greatest Magician in the World.

This review was originally written for Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore. ( )