Other editions of book The Right Way to Do Wrong: An Expose of Successful Criminals

This book was published in 1906.From the book's Preface:The object of this book is twofold: First, to safeguard the public against the practises of the criminal classes by exposing their various tricks and explaining the adroit methods by which they seek to defraud. * Knowledge is power " is an old saying. I might paraphrase it in this case by saying knowledge is safety. I wish to put the public on its guard, so that honest folks may be able to detect and protect themselves from the dishonest, who labor under the false impression that it is easier to live dishonestly than to thrive by honest means. In the second place, I trust this book will afford entertain- ing, as well as instructive reading, and that the facts and experiences, the exposes and explanations here set forth may serve to interest you as well as put you in a position where you will be less liable to fall a victim. The material contained in this book has been collected by me personally during many years of my active professional life. It has been my good fortune to meet personally and converse with the chiefs of police and the most famous de- tectives in all the great cities of the world. To these gentle- men I am indebted for many amusing and instructive inci- dents hitherto unknown to the world. The work of collecting and arranging this material and writing the different chapters has occupied many a leisure hour. My only wish is that "The Right Way to Do Wrong " may amuse and entertain my readers and place the unwary on their guard. If my humble efforts in collecting and writing these facts shall accomplish this purpose, I shall be amply repaid, and feel that my labor has not been in vain. HARRY HOUDINI, Handcuff King and Jail Breaker.

The object of this book is twofold: First, to safeguard the public against the practises of the criminal classes by exposing their various tricks and explaining the adroit methods by which they seek to defraud. "Knowledge is power" is an old saying. I might paraphrase it in this case by saying knowledge is safety. I wish to put the public on its guard, so that honest folks may be able to detect and protect themselves from the dishonest, who labor under the false impression that it is easier to live dishonestly than to thrive by honest means. In the second place, I trust this book will afford entertaining, as well as instructive reading, and that the facts and experiences, the exposes and explanations here set forth may serve to interest you, as well as put you in a position where you will be less liable to fall a victim. The material contained in this book has been collected by me personally during many years of my active professional life. It has been my good fortune to meet personally and converse with the chiefs of police and the most famous detectives in all the great cities of the world. To these gentlemen I am indebted for many amusing and instructive incidents hitherto unknown to the world. The work of collecting and arranging this material and writing the different chapters has occupied many a leisure hour. My only wish is that "The Right Way to Do Wrong" may amuse and entertain my readers and place the unwary on their guard. If my humble efforts in collecting and writing these facts shall accomplish this purpose, I shall be amply repaid, and feel that my labor has not been in vain. I hope it will warn you away from crime and all evildoing. It may tell the "Right Way to Do Wrong," but, all I have to say is "Don't." - Harry Houdini

With this remarkable book, the legendary magician conducts a master class in crime by revealing the trade secrets of crooks. Harry Houdini is known not only as an illusionist and escaper of handcuffs and jail cells, but also as a debunker of phony spiritualists and other charlatans. His interest in exposing fakery led Houdini to interview both police and criminals around the world. The result is this captivating volume, intended to help readers avoid being victimized by pickpockets, con artists, and other thieves.Written with verve and humor, these lively chapters recount the techniques of burglars, sneak thieves, shoplifters, and pickpockets as well as those of faith healers, fortune tellers, art forgers, card sharks, and counterfeiters. The instructive and amusing book concludes with an autobiographical essay, in which Houdini discusses the early days of his career and the experiences that contributed to his renown as the Handcuff King and Prison Breaker.

For now theD evi] that told me I did weH iS ays that thia deed ta chronicled in liW 1HERE is an under world a world of cheat and crime a world whose highest good is successful evasion of the laws of the land. You who live your life in placid respectability know but little of the real life of the denizens of this world. The daily records of the police courts, the startling disclosures of fraud and swindle in newspaper stories are about all the public know of this world of crime. Of the real thoughts and feelings of the criminal, of the terrible fascination which binds him to his nefarious career, of the thousands yea, tens of thousands of undiscovered crimes and unpunished criminals, you know but little. The object of this book is twofold: First, to safeguard the public against the practises of the criminal classes by exposing their various tricks and explaining the adroit methods by which they seek to defraud. Knowledge is power is an old saying. I might paraphrase it in this case by saying knowledge is safety. I wish to put the public on its guard, so that honest folks may be able to detect and. protect themselves from the dishonest, who labor under the false impression that it is easier to live dishonestly than to thrive by honest means.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at

As Houdini himself notes in the introduction this book has two purposes: to protect the public from the swindles within by greater knowledge, and to entertain. It achieves both masterfully with clear, concise explanations of the various frauds and cons. While the setting is of course that of Houdini's time (this book was published in 1906) you may notice the ancestors of various modern phishing schemes and banking scams within.Houdini was such a famous escape artist and illusionist that his name has entered language. Those expecting a biography of the great man will be disappointed, although he does take diversions into discussions of rope tricks and a few other escapes. Most of the "ways to do wrong" inside are fascinating and skillful in how they part the target from their money and valuables without violence, but many of the perpetrators were still violent criminals. If there is a take home message it is that if somethings sounds too good to be true it probably is.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The legendary Harry Houdini started the tradition of magicians debunking charlatans and revealing secrets of the trade that continues today through the likes Penn and Teller or James "The Amazing" Randi. But Houdini went even further here, in this delightful 1906 novelty: he revealed the working secrets of thieves, swindlers, and con artists. Culled from his conversations with "the chiefs of police and the most famous detectives in the world," Houdini's tales of the tricks of the trade of beggars, pickpockets, and burglars are instructive and amusing. The master showman was also a surprisingly entertaining writer-and this is one of his most enjoyable books, one that will enthrall readers of true crime as well as fans of Houdini himself. Hungarian-American magician and professional skeptic EHRICH WEISS (1874-1926)-aka Harry Houdini, "Handcuff King and Jail Breaker"-also wrote Magical Rope Ties and Escapes (1920) and A Magician Among the Spirits (1924).

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This is an authorized copy of the personal copy of Houdini's book The Right Way To Do Wrong: An Expose'by Easton Press in a series entitled Treasures of the Library of Congress. Houdini's personal copy of this book is located in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library. The book was sold by Houdini during his shows and it reveals the methods of pick pockets, bunko artists and other thieves. The Easton Press reproductions are Exact copies of the origianls, and in fine bindings.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.