Here is a fascinating collection of five true hold-your-breath stories about American daredevils and their death-defying feats. There's Blondin, who walked on a tightrope across Niagara Falls—carrying a man on his back; Annie Oakley, who shot a cigarette from the mouth of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany; and Evel Knievel, who tried to jump across the mile-wide Snake River Canyon in his Sky-Cycle. Other stories include a fight with a giant octopus and one of Harry Houdini's famous escapes.

From the book