Massimo Polidoro – författare

Let Secret Milan guide you around the unusual and unfamiliar. Step off the beaten track with this fascinating Milan travel guide book and let our local experts show you the well-hidden treasures of an amazing city. Ideal for local inhabitants, curious visitors and armchair travellers alike. The places included in our guides are unusual and unfamiliar, allowing one to step off the beaten track. Secret Milan features 200+ secret and unusual locations.Inside Secret Milan: Discover a canal lock designed by Leonardo da Vinci as well as the secrets of his Last SupperFind out where Mussolinit's hidden bunker liesMarry beneath frescos by TiepoloVisit artists houses usually closed to the publicSee exceptional private collectionsAdmire the sculpture of a young girl shaving her pudendaLook for the boxers carved on the roof terraces of the cathedralFar from the crowds and the usual cliches, Milan goes unrecognised as one of the Italian cities with the greatest cultural heritage. Yet it only reveals its hidden treasures to resindents and visitors who venture off the beaten track.An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew Milan well or for those wishing to discover another facet of the city. The definitive insider’s guide to Milan.

This is the story of an unusual friendship between two of the most intriguing characters of the early 20th century--renowned escape artist Harry Houdini and celebrated mystery writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes). Both men were fascinated by the occult practice of spiritualism, Houdini as an ardent skeptic who often publicly exposed fraudulent mediums and Conan Doyle as a true believer who became convinced that the dead could and did communicate with the living.Despite their differing perspectives the two men not only respected each other but became friends. The correspondence between them on the subject provides a fascinating glimpse not only into the personalities of two talented and interesting celebrities but also into a psychic phenomenon that is the ancestor of today's channeling craze.Based on original correspondence, photographs, and his own extensive research, Massimo Polidoro reconstructs this unusual friendship between a believer and a skeptic, which weathered mediums, seances, an apparition of Houdini's departed mother, automatic writing by Conan Doyle's wife, public debunkings, and hurt feelings. He also discusses the final rift that ended the friendship of the two strong-willed men. Fans of Conan Doyle, Houdini, magic, and the historical roots of the "New Age" will be delighted by this amazing story.