Paperback. Pub the Date: July. 2008 Pages: 96 Language: English in Publisher: Hyperion Harry Houdini mesmerized a generation of Americans the when he was alive. and continues to do so eighty years after his death. This is a snapshot of Houdini's life. the centering on one of his most famous jumps. As Houdini prepares for a death-defying leap into the icy Charles River in Boston. biographer Jason Lutes and artist Nick Bertozzi reveal Houdini's life and influence: from the anti-Semitism Houdini fought all his life. to the adulation of the American public; from his hounding by the press. to his loving relationship with his wife Bess; from his egoism to his insecurity; from his public persona - to the secret behind his most amazing trick! And it's all in graphic form. so it's fresh. original. and unlike anything previously published about this most fascinating of American showmen.