"The Most Hated Magician Who Ever Lived!"

Nearly 20 years ago, a wonderful book by renowned magical author Arthur Setterington was introduced... then vanished! (The book's publisher suffered a stroke, dissolved his business, and the books languished in a warehouse for nearly a decade!!!). A limited number of copies have recently been discovered...

A fascinating account of Houdini's friend and contemporary during the "Ragtime" era! More than a biography ... you'll be transported back to the early years of the past century and meet all the major players of what was known as "The Golden Age of Variety" and the heyday of magic.

Revelations about Houdini, Horace Goldin, Will Goldston...

Little-known details about many famed magicians of the period, along with accounts of performances, news stories and personal comments by Houdini, Horace Goldin, Carter, P.T.Selbit, Chung Ling Soo, Jasper Maskelyne and others.

Here's just a sampling of what you'll discover...Houdini's "patriotic mystery" and his role during the war effortA surprising revelation concerning the rumor that Chung Ling Soo's death during the bullet catch was actually a suicideWhy Lafayette provoked (and narrowly avoided) a fistfight with the world heavyweight boxing championWhat was behind Lafayette's threatened law suit against Horace GoldinESPECIALLY REVEALING DETAILS ABOUT THIS MASTER SHOWMAN, INCLUDING...His unnatural, obsessive relationship with his mongrel dog, Beauty (if you thought Houdini's attachment to his mother was excessive, wait'll you see this!)Some of the fabricated legends surrounding Lafayette which are still perpetuated as trueThe unusual ways Lafayette attracted scores of publicity and set the standard for high fees, earning as much as