For the rest of the week I’m going to rightfully be focusing on the classic Doug Henning and Charles Reynolds book “Houdini: His Legend and his Magic.” The book, originally published in 1977, is widely considered one of the most thorough and personal books ever published on Houdini. The reason for this lies in its origins.
Doug, always an admirer of magic history and Houdini in particular, visited Houdini’s niece Ruth Kavanaugh in Pinehurst, New Jersey. After viewing her uncle’s personal collection of clippings and rare photos, Doug offered to buy part of the collection. As the legend goes, she gave Doug the collection outright and the rest his magic history. Assisted by famed magic writer and designer Charles Reynolds, Doug fit the writing of the book around “The Magic Show” and his already busy schedule.
What you will see over the coming days are a selection of pages that highlight what I feel are some of the book’s best moments. Sorry for some of the binding getting in the way. Enjoy!
THE DOUG HENNING PROJECT 
That was such a great book! One of my favorite books on Houdini. Over the years, since getting into magic in the 1960’s, I have read pretty much every book that’s come out on him, including older ones, other than a few I didn’t believe would show him in a good light & where the author was obviously just trying to sensationalize & muddy his name.
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