Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks & the Hidden Powers of the Mind - Tapa dura

"An enthralling journey into the inner world of magic. Alex Stone writes with a winning voice that you'll want to follow anywhere."--Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein

"Alex Stone's Fooling Houdini is a delight. In the physics Ph.D program at Columbia, he drops everything to pursue the murky world of magic. He writes with wit and scientific sharpness and grand humor. He immerses us in a fascinating world few have ever entered."--Buzz Bissinger, author of Father's Day and Friday Night Lights

"What I loved most about Fooling Houdini is the world it takes us into: these huddled cliques of obsessed magicians reinventing their art. . . . This book makes you want to do magic tricks, and convinces you just how hard it is to do them well."--Ira Glass, host of "This American Life"

"Fooling Houdini is a totally smart and engrossing study of one of America's most misunderstood sub-cultures, and at the same time the story of one man's quest to probe the mysteries of magic, science, and where the two meet."--John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise

"Fooling Houdini is an eye-opening, irresistible journey into the world of magic. Stone has written a masterful story that is bursting with energy, inventiveness, and a sense of wonder on every page. I couldn't put it down!"--Steven Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics

"The narrative is compelling because it comes veined with a very human question: What is truth? That may sound too philosophical for such a fun memoir, but when Stone invokes this question it comes across as pitch perfect."--The Boston Globe

"Fooling Houdini is not only informative, but highly entertaining. Stone has pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat."--USA Today

"I've always been intrigued by secret societies and artistic subcultures. Stone opens up the obsessive and hidden world of magicians with intelligence and sly humor."--Molly Ringwald, The New York Post

"An affable new book. . . . What differentiates Fooling Houdini is Stone's determination to understand the science behind his craft."--The Daily Beast

"This book is clever and winning--and well written, too. In turning our attention away from the magic and towards the magicians, Stone has pulled off an excellent trick."--The Sunday Times (London)

From the back rooms of New York City's age-old magic societies to cutting-edge psychology labs, this enthralling behind-the-scenes glimpse into the mysterious and vibrant world of magic, which is rife with eccentric personalities, recounts the author's quest to join the ranks of master magicians. 50,000 first printing.