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- The secret life of Houdini : the making of America's first superhero / by Kalush, William.(CARDINAL)551499; Sloman, Larry.(CARDINAL)719161;
After years of struggling on the dime museum circuit, Harry Houdini got a break that put him on the front page of a Chicago newspaper. Soon Houdini was performing for royalty, commanding vast sums, and exploring the new power of Hollywood. At a time when spy agencies frequently co-opted amateurs, Houdini developed a relationship with a man who would later run MI-5. For the next several years, the world's most famous magician traveled to Germany and Russia and routinely reported his findings. After World War I, Houdini embarked on a battle of his own, creating a group of operatives to infiltrate the seamy world of fake spirit mediums. In doing so, he triggered the wrath of fanatical Spiritualists, led by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Death threats became an everyday occurrence, but the group would pose an even greater danger to Houdini's legacy.--From publisher description.- Subjects: Biographies.; Houdini, Harry, 1874-1926.; Magicians;
- Available copies: 15 / Total copies: 17
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- The revolutionary temper : Paris, 1748-1789 / by Darnton, Robert,author.(CARDINAL)163593;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 463-519) and index."When a Parisian crowd stormed the Bastille in July 1789, it triggered an event of global consequence: the overthrow of the monarchy and the birth of a new society. Most historians account for the French Revolution by viewing it in retrospect as the outcome of underlying conditions such as a faltering economy, social tensions, or the influence of Enlightenment thought. But what did Parisians themselves think they were doing--how did they understand their world? What were the motivations and aspirations that guided their actions? In this dazzling history, Robert Darnton addresses these questions by drawing on decades of close study to conjure a past as vivid as today's news. He explores eighteenth-century Paris as an information society much like our own,its news circuits centered in cafaes, on park benches, and under the Palais-Royal's Tree of Cracow. Through pamphlets, gossip, underground newsletters, and public performances, the events of some forty years--from disastrous treaties, official corruption,and royal debauchery to thrilling hot-air balloon ascents and new understandings of the nation--all entered the churning collective consciousness of ordinary Parisians. As public trust in royal authority eroded and new horizons opened for them, Parisiansprepared themselves for revolution. Darnton's authority and sure judgment enable readers to confidently navigate the passions and complexities of controversies over court politics, Church doctrine, and the economy. And his compact, luminous prose createsan immersive reading experience. Here is a riveting narrative that succeeds in making the past a living presence"--- Subjects: Informational works.; Socialites; Intellecutals; Revolutionaries; Political culture;
- Available copies: 7 / Total copies: 8
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