I've just finished The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero by William Kalush, Larry Ratso Sloman
It's quite good, although I have now bought 3 other Houdini books so it's turned out to be quite expensive.
( magnum, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:12, archived)

I want to read
THIS
I'm not paying silly money for it, and instead waiting for one of my friends at work to steal it away from her magician boyfriend so as I can borrow it!
( mns 2️⃣2️⃣9️⃣0️⃣7️⃣, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:13, archived)

And then you can photocopy it for me
There is an biography of a magician I want to read, but it sells for £200-£300 which is a bit of a shit.
( magnum, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:16, archived)

bearing in mind the cost of the book, I might just spend a few evenings scanning every single page of it onto my PC
i may even invest in a textbridge program and create a pdf of it!
( mns 2️⃣2️⃣9️⃣0️⃣7️⃣, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:18, archived)

And by invest
you mean borrow off the internet.
( in vino veritas, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:21, archived)

precisely

( mns 2️⃣2️⃣9️⃣0️⃣7️⃣, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:24, archived)

ouch
is it out of print or does it really retail for silly money?
( rob, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:17, archived)

Out of print, limited run, written before he was famous, and magic books are usually very expensive anyway.

( magnum, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:22, archived)

*fives*

( mns 2️⃣2️⃣9️⃣0️⃣7️⃣, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:27, archived)

We totally answered his question.
Fucking sweet.
( magnum, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:28, archived)

It was published as a limited run for use within the magic circle when he wasn't famous
but as he got more famous, demand increased and drove up the price of it.
It is currently out of print, primarily because he refuses to sanction a new print run of it as about 60% of the techniques he uses in his live shows are explained within it (hence the pricejack)
( mns 2️⃣2️⃣9️⃣0️⃣7️⃣, Thu 18 Jun 2009, 22:22, archived)