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David MullerGrowing Up With Houdini Coffee Table Book by David J. Muller2024
2024
About the Item
Signed and inscribed copy of “Growing Up With Houdini” by David J. Muller
10” x 10”, 90 pages.
Condition: New. See attached photos.
Prologue
On February 17, 1984, I interviewed in the bond trading department at Goldman Sachs in New York City for a summer job for the summer between my two years of graduate business school.
The way the interview day was structured was that I interviewed with each of eight partners individually first. Then at the end of the day was a group interview: the eight partners and me.
Since I had gone to business school straight out of college, I really had nothing on my resume to speak of.
However, at the bottom of my resume, it stated, “spent summers as a tour guide and resident magician at the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame, Niagara Falls, Canada.”
During the group interview, one of the partners, Jon Corzine (who later became governor of New Jersey) said, “I see it says on your resume that you are a magician. Show us some magic!” I responded, “Well, I am here for a job in bond trading; you don’t want to see magic now.” He retorted, “Yes, I do. Show us some magic!” I looked around at the other partners in the room and gave them a look as if to say, please tell this guy to drop that idea and let’s get on with the interview. Their response, however, was, “Yes, we would like to see magic too.” I said it again, “You want me to show you magic right here and now?” and by now they were all nodding their heads, “Yes!”
I said okay, and I put my hand in my pocket and pretended to take out an invisible deck of cards. I shuffled the invisible cards and then fanned out the deck. I asked that partner to choose one of the cards. He looked around, puzzled, and I reiterated, “Go ahead, take one!” He played along with it and “took” a card. I told him he had taken two cards and I “took” one back. Then I said to him, “Show everyone else your card but don’t show me.” He “showed” everyone else his card. Then I told him that I was turning the cards face up and I wanted him to put his card into the deck face down, which he “did,” after which I pretended to put the deck of invisible cards back in the box and put the box into my pocket.
I then took a real pack of cards out of my pocket and said, “This is the same deck of cards we were just using, but now the cards are visible.” Then I said to him, “Now before I open the box, please tell us all, what was the name of the card that you took?” He responded, “The jack of clubs.” I asked, “Now did I in any way, shape, or form force you to take the jack of clubs?” He said no. I said, “You could have chosen the ace of spades or the queen of diamonds, but you chose the jack of clubs. Now before we open the pack of cards, would you like to change your mind?” He said no. I asked, “Are you sure?” He said he was sure.
I then opened the real pack of cards and fanned them out. Sure enough, the cards were all face up except for one card that was face down. I asked him to take out the face down card and show it to everyone, and he responded, “If that card is the jack of clubs, you have the job!” Well, it was the jack of clubs and I got the job.
I have Hugo Furney and Ron Conley to thank for my getting that job at Goldman Sachs. This book explains the process by which that happened, and so much more. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.
Previous books by David include Trajectory, Please Don't Buy This Artwork, The Jew In The Mosque, What We Were Thinking, Stuck In My Head, and Vignettes, Lessons & Stories: Written by Members of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Class of 1985.
- Creator:David Muller (1961, Canadian)
- Creation Year:2024
- Dimensions:Height: 10 in (25.4 cm)Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Boca Raton, FL
- Reference Number:Seller: Loho Vetz of Ancaster1stDibs: LU50416025152
David Muller
David Muller is President of Loho Vetz, Inc., the Muller Family Office based in Niagara Falls, Ontario. David is also the founder of Davler Limited, providers of meat ingredients to some of the world's largest food companies. David is also the founder of Photorealism, North America’s largest art dealership solely devoted to the photorealist genre of art. David, an Orthodox Jew, was the founder of Al Safa Halal, North America’s largest Islamic food company, which he conceived of and ran for twelve years before selling it to a multi-national food conglomerate. During those twelve years, David spoke in mosques and Islamic conventions around the country. As David describes it, “there was no Jew in North America who had been in more mosques, or more Imams’ homes, than I had”. In his new memoir “Trajectory”, David recounts his family’s recent trip to the ancestral home in Slovakia, and then recounts his ancestors’ harrowing escape from the Nazis and the rebuilding of their lives in Canada. He offers stories of his ancestors’ lives, his own life, and lessons he has learned along the way.
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