The Last Greatest Magician in the World

Book Description

Here is the seminal biography of the magician’s magician, Howard Thurston, a man who surpassed Houdini in the eyes of showmen and fans and set the standard fro how stage magic is performed today.

Everyone knows Houdini-but who was Thurston? In this rich, vivid biography of the “greatest magician in the world,” celebrated historian of stage magic Jim Steinmeyer captures the career and controversies of the wonder-worker extraordinaire, Howard Thurston.

The public’s fickleness over magicians has left Thurston all but forgotten today. Yet Steinmeyer shows how his story is one of the most remarkable in show business. During his life, from 1869 to 1936, Thurston successfully navigated the most dramatic changes in entertainment-from street performances to sideshows to wagon tours through America’s still-wild West to stage magic amid the glitter of grand theaters.

Thurston became one of America’s most renowned vaudeville stars, boldly performing an act with just a handful of playing cards, and then had the foresight to leave vaudeville, expanding his show into an extravaganza with more than forty tons of apparatusand costumes. His touring production was an American institution for nearly thirty years, and Thurston earned a brand name equal to Ziegfeld or Ringling Brothers.

Steinmeyer explores the stage and psychological rivalry between Thurston and Houdini during the first decades of the twentieth century- a contest that Thurston won. He won with a bigger show, a more successful reputation, and the title of America’s greatest magician. In The Last Greatest Magician in the World, Thurston’s magic show is revealed as the one that animates our collective memories.

中文：

书名：世界上最后一个最伟大的魔术师

以下是魔术师霍华德·瑟斯顿的传记，霍华德·瑟斯顿在表演者和粉丝眼中超过了胡迪尼，并为今天的舞台魔术表演设定了标准。

每个人都知道休迪尼–但瑟斯顿是谁？在这本丰富而生动的传记中，世界上最伟大的魔术师，著名的舞台魔术历史学家吉姆·斯坦迈尔捕捉到了非凡的奇迹工作者霍华德·瑟斯顿的职业生涯和争议。

公众对魔术师的反复无常已经让瑟斯顿几乎被遗忘了。然而，施泰因迈尔展示了他的故事如何成为演艺界最引人注目的故事之一。从1869年到1936年，在他的一生中，瑟斯顿成功地驾驭了娱乐业最戏剧性的变化–从街头表演到杂耍表演，再到马车旅行，穿越美国仍然狂野的西部，再到在闪闪发光的大剧院中上演魔术。

瑟斯顿成为美国最著名的杂耍明星之一，他大胆地用几张扑克牌表演了一场表演，然后有先见之明地离开了杂耍，将他的表演扩展为一场拥有40多吨器械和服装的盛大演出。他的巡演作品在美国有近30年的历史，瑟斯顿赢得了与齐格菲尔德或林林兄弟相当的品牌名称。

施泰因迈尔探讨了20世纪头几十年瑟斯顿和休迪尼之间的舞台和心理竞争–瑟斯顿赢得了这场比赛。他凭借更大的演出、更成功的声誉和美国最伟大魔术师的称号赢得了比赛。在……里面 世界上最后一个最伟大的魔术师瑟斯顿的魔术表演被认为是一场激发我们集体记忆的魔术表演。