THE GREAT HOUDINI

Edwards begins with nine-year-old Ehrich Weiss' debut as an aerialist in a neighborhood ""five-cent circus."" And a hunger for nickels to help out his poor mother, matched only by a passion for learning tricks, sets Ehrich on the road to becoming the Great Houdini, star of moving pictures and air shows as well as master escape artist. One longs to know how Houdini made 10,000 pound Jennie, an elephant, disappear or how he learned to breathe ""in such a manner that he didn't need air for nearly two hours."" Even Ernst's Escape King (1975) gave more inside tips, though Edwards and Ciardello score their points for easy-reading showmanship.