Mysterious Stranger
Encyclopedia
David Blaine
David Blaine is an American illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records...
was published on October 29, 2002 by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. Part autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, part history, and part armchair treasure hunt, the book also includes instructions on how to perform basic card tricks and illusions.
In his chapter, "Discovery of Magic", Blaine tells stories of his childhood, of how he became interested in magic, and of his devotion to his late mother.
In "The Three Magi", he acknowledges Robert-Houdin, Max Malini
Max Malini
Max Malini was a Jewish illusionist who at his peak performed for several US Presidents, had command performances at Buckingham Palace, and received gifts from monarchs across Europe and Asia. Magicians are said to revere him for his skill and bold accomplishments.Malini's performance style was...
and Alexander Herrmann
Alexander Herrmann
Alexander Herrmann was a French magician, better known as Herrmann the Great. He was part of the Herrmann family name that is known as the "first-family of magic". Those who witnessed Herrmann the Great perform considered him the greatest magician they ever saw...
as major influences; in "Confidence", he cites Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
and Titanic Thompson
Titanic Thompson
Alvin Clarence Thomas was an American gambler, golfer and hustler better known as Titanic Thompson. He traveled the country wagering at cards, dice games, golf, horseshoes and "proposition bets" of his own devising...
as inspiration for his street magic persona; and in "Ehrich Weiss", he celebrates the man we know as Houdini.
In "The Man Ain't Right", Blaine describes the evolution of his street magic
Street magic
Street magic falls into two genres; traditional street performance and guerrilla magic.- Traditional street performance :The first definition of street magic refers to a traditional form of magic performance - that of busking. In this, the magician draws an audience from passers by and performs an...
act and how a masterfully timed card trick cinched his television deal with ABC.
In "Premature Burial", "Frozen in Time", and "Vertigo", Blaine details his grueling regime in preparation for each of his stunts of endurance, respectively, being buried in a glass coffin for seven days, standing inside a block of ice for sixty-one hours, and standing atop a 100-foot pole in high winds for thirty-five hours.
In addition, scattered throughout the book are clues to Blaine's $100,000 Challenge
$100,000 Challenge
Blaine's $100,000 Challenge is an armchair treasure hunt hidden throughout the pages of Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic by street magician David Blaine....
, an armchair treasure hunt of visual ciphers and logic deduction devised by game designer Cliff Johnson
Cliff Johnson (game designer)
Cliff Johnson is an American game designer, best known for the early computer puzzle games The Fool's Errand and 3 in Three . Both games were notable for unique visual puzzles and a metapuzzle structure.- Biography :...
, creator of The Fool's Errand
The Fool's Errand
The Fool's Errand is a 1987 computer game by Cliff Johnson. It is a meta-puzzle game with storytelling, visual puzzles and a cryptic treasure map...
. The Challenge was solved by Sherri Skanes on March 20, 2004, 16 months after the book's publication.