Fooling Houdini

<p>From the back rooms of New York City's age-old magic societies to cutting-edge psychology labs three-card monte games on Canal Street to glossy Las Vegas casinos <em>Fooling Houdini</em> recounts Alex Stone's quest to join the ranks of master magicians.</p><p>As he navigates this quirky and occasionally hilarious subculture populated by brilliant eccentrics Stone pulls back the curtain on a community shrouded in secrecy fueled by obsession and brilliance and organized around one overriding need: to prove one's worth by deceiving others.</p><p>But his journey is more than a tale of tricks gigs and geeks. By investing some of the lesser-known corners of psychology neuroscience physics history and even crime all through the lens of trickery and illusion <em>Fooling Houdini</em> arrives at a host of startling revelations about how the mind works--and why sometimes it doesn't.</p>