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Overview
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? ...The Shadow knows!" And who knew The Shadow better than his creator, Walter B. Gibson? If few people know Gibson, many are familiar with The Shadow through the novels and the 1930s radio program.Walter B. Gibson's life and career come out from behind The Shadow in this biography. It covers his childhood in Philadelphia, his development as a writer and magician, his wives, his time in Maine and upstate New York, and his later years and death.
In addition to creating The Shadow (under the pseudonym Maxwell Grant), Gibson wrote 187 books, 668 articles, 283 stories for The Shadow Magazine, 48 separate syndicated feature columns, and 394 comic books and newspaper strips; he also helped develop 147 radio scripts and many other works under numerous pseudonyms. Gibson invented many widely used magic tricks and befriended Harry Houdini, Howard Thurston, Harry Blackstone, Sr., and Joseph Dunninger.
Synopsis
This biography traces the life and career of Walter B. Gibson, creator (under the pseudonym Maxwell Grant) of "The Shadow" novels, which were the basis for the popular 1930s radio programs. Drawing upon personal diaries and other family papers, magician-performer Shimeld recounts Gibson's Pennsylvania childhood, his development as a magician, his personal relationships, and his later years and death. This is a reprint of the illustrated case bound edition, first published in 2003 by McFarland. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR