In this book, author Alex Stone describes his love affair with magic and how magic is tied with human perception and cognition. Along the way, he tries to compete in this magic competition and craft the perfect trick. It's pretty interesting, but I don't really know about reading it more than once. Personally, I thought the author was a bit of an odd duck, which I guess happens when you obsess over something as much as this guy does. Not that I am any more normal or anything, but I don't know if I would drop my course load at Columbia just to pursue magic. Then again...if it was something else, like anime or computers or something I would probably be in the same boat, but I don't really know. ( )

From the back rooms of New York City age-old magic societies to cutting-edge psychology labs, three-card monte games on Canal Street to glossy Las Vegas casinos, Fooling Houdini recounts Alex Stone'’s quest to join the ranks of master magicians. 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. 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, Fooling Houdini arrives at a host of startling revelations about how the mind works--and, why, sometimes, it doesn'’t. ( )

3.4 stars. This book is perfect for all those magic hobbyists out there. I do think the lay person might enjoy it, but might miss some of the finer references.
I did thoroughly enjoy the mixture of science and magic. This is something that hits home for me, although I never followed through with either. It certainly explains my interest in both as well as never-ending search for knowledge and secrets. ( )

This excellent book is more than just a book about magic. It's a mashup of topics and styles, each of which make for fascinating reading. It's a coming-of-age story, a phoenix-rising story, a marvelously in-depth multi-disciplinary discussion (the gorilla experiment showed up yet again in yet another book that interests me!), an excellent exercise in immersive journalism (my favorite genre of all), and, well, magic. What's not to love? ( )

most entertaining book I've read in a long time. Mix of memoir and information on becoming an almost-professional magician at the expense of almost everything else in life.