When I first opened the book Houdini by Clinton Cox, I thought it was a little boring because it only stated facts. As I got further through the book it got more and more interesting. By the time I was about halfway, I got really into the book Houdini and read it every day as it got even more exciting.

I think the author could have been a bit more into Houdini's friends and family in the beginning. The author didn't describe most of the people but he really did focus on Houdini and his life and his wife. The book could have been really well done on characters if he had included more speech.

The setting was the U.S.A. in the beginning and middle, then switches to Europe when he wants to be more famous with his escaping. When the book starts he lives in poverty with his mother and father, then goes to Europe and lives in an expensive house with his wife.

The plot of the story is how Houdini came from nothing and poverty to performing in beer halls to getting gigs at small clubs all the way to performing in theaters that seated over 2000 people. Houdini had a collection of lock picks so he could get out of cuffs and he would have his friends weaken the trap so it would be easier yet still amazing. Houdini earned hundreds of dollars per week and spent it all on his personal library. Houdini never got a formal education so he liked to look sophisticated by collecting books and even writing them.

If you were to choose biography I would choose Houdini because it really shows how Houdini lived from childhood to his early death. Most people think they know who Houdini is, but after you read this you will find out that you were right on less than half. When you read this you will be excited and amazed by the greatest escape artist ever, Harry Houdini.