Reddit reviews The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero

If you go on twitter #hillarysdouble--then you can see an enlarged version of the above photo. I noticed that one has a small bump on nose (the other one is perfectly straight); one has double-piercing in her ears; one looks 15 years younger, slimmer. The Double also has green eyes (if you scroll to the bottom
you can see a good close-up--this would be another reason for the Sunglasses).

When "Hillary"came out of Chelsea's condo building she also had a strong voice (which you wouldn't expect in someone who passed out just 90 minutes before). Most of those taking video were pretty far away--and in an urban environment it would take a very strong voice to pick up exactly what someone is saying because of all the trucks, cars, etc. 30 or 40 feet is basically shouting distance, especially if the voice is to be captured on a cellphone.

Having a Double has a long history for heads of state and magicians. Hitler had a Double (Doppelganger). The Secret Service also has a long history of working with magicians--Harry Houdini was one of them!!! Harry Houdini even received a passport from the Secret Service which indicated he had been born in the USA (when he had actually been born overseas in Europe). When Houdini went to Europe this important detail allowed him to cover up his past family history (his father was a rabbi). It was a very symbiotic relationship--Houdini also got contacts thru the Secret Service and did some spywork for the US and England during his travels to Germany and Russia.

Over in r/TSBD we have one of the books by H. Keith Melton and Robert Wallace--but the one we don't have is very interesting:

*The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception According to WorldCat, "The manuals reprinted in this work represent the only known complete copy of Mulholland's instructions for CIA officers on the magician's art of deception and secret communications written to counter Soviet mind-control and interrogation techniques." [4]

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So, as wild as a Doppelganger may sound--there is a history of magicians working secretly with the Secret Service and the OSS/CIA. There is also a book called Harvey & Lee which extensively researches the possibility that Lee harvey Oswald had a double which can also be read over at r/TSBD (free pdf).

Harry Houdini did far, far more in his life than people will ever remember. He's a bit of a hero of mine, particularly after reading this excellent biography about a hundred times. He was a pilot, an inventor, a middle-distance world-record holder, a possible spy, and a man who spent countless hours debunking frauds and con artists of all kinds, among many other things. He's one of the most fascinating humans of the twentieth century, and far more accomplished than even his reputation would imply.

Scott's tome is an interesting historical event unto itself, but I don't think it's that instructive in any greater capacity. Milbourne Christopher's history is good for breadth, but not as much for depth. Everything by Jim Steinmeyer is probably a good idea.

If you're writing about women in magic, some more detailed biographical work is probably in order. Bill Kalush's Houdini book doesn't say much about Bess, but I think that a lot can be learned by reading between the lines. It's also very informative about the "Golden Age" boys club and the feud between magicians and spiritualists.

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Houdini-Americas-Superhero/dp/0743272080/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313429451&sr=8-1

On the same subject, the David Abbott books by Todd Karr and Teller are amazing. Abbott's wife helped a lot with the act, and the first book gives a lot of details about the development of magic and spiritualism in the US:

http://miraclefactory.net/zenstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=75

The Karr/Teller Germain books are also good, but not as interesting with regard to women and apparently out of print.

Our Magic, by Maskelyne and Devant, is one of the most influential books ever written on the way that magicians see themselves. Like Scott it isn't a historical analysis or overview, it's a historical document. There will be a whole lot in here that will help you represent magicians convincingly. Lybrary.com has a cheap pdf version if you don't have a kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Magic-ebook/dp/B004Z8L26Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1313429822&sr=8-4

Houdin's instructional books and memoirs are also held in high regard by magicians, and also give a lot of information about their own particular historical context:

http://www.amazon.com/Conjurers-Confessions-M-Robert-Houdin/dp/1425017150/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313429966&sr=1-1

I think a lot of knowledge about magic history still hasn't really been culled out of the books of tricks. In particular, the recent history (say 1940 to present) hasn't seen much analysis in print. If you want a historical view on that timespan, it's probably more efficient to consult a magician– or a few.

If you have specific questions feel free to message me and I'll give you an email; women and magic is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. If not, I think that most of the books mentioned previously and all of the ones I've linked are very good. In particular, the Karr/Teller volumes are incredibly valuable for the depth of historical knowledge that they contain. The Kalush book is a no-brainer because of how easy it is to get and how rigorously researched it is.

Hopefully that helps somewhat.

If you want to learn more about Houdini, I highly recommend The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero

He was really an amazing man and there is so many really interesting stories that they do a great job of analyzing some of Houdini's motivations.

Thanks for that. That all sounds about right to me. :) Have you read Houdini's biography by chance? this one Like you, I'm not big on biographies either, but I found Houdini to be one of the most interesting people I've ever heard of.