Fooling Houdini: Adventures in the World of Magic

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Fooling Houdini: Adventures in the World of Magic

by Alex Stone

3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 · rating details · 723 ratings · 206 reviews

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ebook, 320 pages

Published June 19th 2012 by HarperCollins (first published October 4th 2011)

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May 23, 2013 Mendocino County rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-nonfiction

Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind, by Alex Stone

Why would a physics PhD student leave Columbia University to study magic? Why do we enjoy being fooled? What does math have to do with it? Answers to these questions and more can be found in Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind, by Alex Stone.

Stone was enchanted at age six when he received a magic kit. Enthralled, he immediately began showing off hi...more Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind, by Alex Stone

Why would a physics PhD student leave Columbia University to study magic? Why do we enjoy being fooled? What does math have to do with it? Answers to these questions and more can be found in Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind, by Alex Stone.

Stone was enchanted at age six when he received a magic kit. Enthralled, he immediately began showing off his magic “skills” to everyone he could wheedle into watching. It wasn’t until after he was hauled off the stage in disgrace at the World Championships of Magic in 2008 that he became serious about studying and practicing the magic arts.

Stone’s book is part memoir, part investigation into the hidden subculture of magicians (and street-side con men), and part a look into how and why magicians can fools us—a personal journey rather than a textbook. Obfuscation, distraction, and endless hours of practice all have their part in the success of an illusion. Stone explains how inattentional or perceptual blindness, the “failure to notice an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight” (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattent...), is used by magicians to bamboozle their audiences. He describes how the classic short cons (three card Monte and the shell game), well orchestrated ,multi-casted street theater acts, work to fleece carefully selected suckers; how he can distract a patsy while snatching his watch; and how psychics are able (well, actually not) to read minds.

In addition, Stone reveals some of the math and science behind conjuror’s tricks. For example, shuffling, on the average, must be done seven times to mix the deck--a hypothesis tested out by Perci Diaconis, a Harvard mathematician and magician. Shuffling only one or two times still allows the card magician to see out-of-order cards. This mathematical discovery not only tightened up casino security, it strangely enough also had significant impact on the medicine mixing strategies of pharmaceutical companies.

Being a muggle, I didn’t know that there is a world class magic library, The Conjuring Arts Research Center, in New York City. Like Hermione, serious magicians search here for ancient magical secrets. “‘If you want to fool magicians…you’re not going to fool them with a new move. You’re going to fool them with some hundred-year-old mathematical principle…Go dig up some ancient book. Go to the library’” (emphasis gleefully added).

If you’re a budding magician or a mathematician, request Perci Diaconis’ book, Magical Mathematics, the Mathematical Ideas that Animate Great Magic Tricks (793.85 Diaconis) from our catalog. Stone refers to Diaconis as a “naturally gifted magician [and] an underground legend.” Why not learn from the best?

UPDATE. We’re happy to announce, especially for our magic enthusiasts, that we now have the documentary Make Believe, the Battle to Become the World’s Best Teen Magician, in our library. Make Believe follows the journeys of six young magicians from around the planet as they vie for the title of Teen World Champion of Magic. In addition, the magicians share card trick tutorials in the Bonus Materials.

Reviewed by Anne Shirako, Reference Librarian, Ukiah Branch, Mendocino County Library, 3/2013

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Mar 12, 2013 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, memoirs, nonfiction

What entertainment! This is the autobiographical story of a graduate student in physics, who decided to take a detour into magic. Alex Stone starts the book with a giant flub; he competed in the "Magic Olympics" in Stockholm--and was disqualified because he hid his hands behind a table. That was, for him, "rock bottom". He decided to study, practice, attend magic workshops, and practice, practice, and practice. The book has some interesting digressions about neuroscience, and the psychology of i...more What entertainment! This is the autobiographical story of a graduate student in physics, who decided to take a detour into magic. Alex Stone starts the book with a giant flub; he competed in the "Magic Olympics" in Stockholm--and was disqualified because he hid his hands behind a table. That was, for him, "rock bottom". He decided to study, practice, attend magic workshops, and practice, practice, and practice. The book has some interesting digressions about neuroscience, and the psychology of inattention. Stone studied psychology, and came to the realization that hands are not really faster than the eye. But hands can be faster than the mind.

It is also filled with fascinating accounts of magicians and their diverse approaches to magic. There is a full description of how street grifters, or "confidence men" walk through the streets of cities, attended by a "mob" that lures in victims. These con-artists are magicians of a different sort. Note the use of the word "artists", the only type of criminal given such a title.

Stone worked with master magicians. He learned that magic is not just a set of tricks, but it is theater. He learned how to be a real performer. He realized that he needed a theme for his magic, and he eventually realized that his theme needed to have some relationship to physics or mathematics. Master magicians told him that the best tricks are old ones that have been long-forgotten. He did a lot of research, and found that he could take advantage of some special mathematical qualities of card decks. The last chapter describes two tricks that he invented--absolutely incredible! He throws a deck of cards into the audience, and asks the spectator nearest to where the deck fell to pick it up and cut it, again and again. Then he asks the nearest six people to pick up one card from the top of the deck. He requests the people who picked up red cards (or black cards, it doesn't matter) to stand up. Then, after some irrelevant comments and questions, he quickly tells the audience what cards they chose, in the correct order. Stone actually describes, in general terms, the secret of this trick. Even knowing the secret, it would be marvelous to see this trick in action!(less)

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Mar 12, 2013 Bandit rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

According to Alex Stone, the world as magicians see it has only two kinds of persons...magicians and laymen. Any of the latter kind who happens to be fascinated with the world of the former kind (as I am) should read this book. Through a personal quest to become a better magician, the author takes the readers on the incredible journey into an equally incredible world. We meet amazing characters (like a blind card expert/martial artist) and get to hear their stories. You really get to understand...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Valley Cottage Library rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: katie-pick, nonfiction

Fooling Houdini is an illuminating glimpse into the intensely secretive, obsessive world of magic and magicians. Without giving away too much, Stone illustrates the dedication and practice necessary to even be considered a passable, let alone good magician.

He claims that the principles of magic - particularly close-up magic - are explainable by understanding basic concepts of psychology, physics, math and neurology. He visits scientists that demonstrate that the mind can be easily fooled if dist...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Janis Ian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An absolute must for anyone interested in magic - but even more so, anyone interested in the cognitive sciences, particularly as applied to vision and cortex. For instance: "Studies have found that visual deprivation causes almost immediate changes in the brain. In one study, blindfolded adults picked up tactile cues in their visual cortex after just five days. Another group of researchers has shown that people become more touch-sensitive after ninety minutes of sitting in a pitch-black room.......more

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Jan 16, 2013 Mallory rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Alex Stone loved magic from the time he was a little boy and his father purchased him a child's magic kit. He learned several tricks when he was young and thought he was very talented; he was wrong. After quitting magic for a while in his early adulthood to pursue a Masters degree in physics at Columbia, he finds himself drawn back into the world of magic again. And this time, he begins to use his understanding of math, physics, history, religion, statistics and other subjects to become a better...more Alex Stone loved magic from the time he was a little boy and his father purchased him a child's magic kit. He learned several tricks when he was young and thought he was very talented; he was wrong. After quitting magic for a while in his early adulthood to pursue a Masters degree in physics at Columbia, he finds himself drawn back into the world of magic again. And this time, he begins to use his understanding of math, physics, history, religion, statistics and other subjects to become a better magician. It was only in really understanding magic on the deepest level that he felt he could become proficient, and he does so in an extreme and fascinating way.

This book is fun to read despite the fact that it contains a lot of information that can be confusing to the lay reader. I found myself re-reading several paragraphs trying to get my head around advanced math or science concepts and their relationships to the tricks described. Even some of the descriptions of the tricks needed a long pause and a mimed imitation, which sometimes made it a little embarrassing to read on the subway. But there are also moments that are laugh-out-loud funny and other commuters asked me on several occasions what I was reading because I was so joyfully engaged.

Stone takes his time to explain the history of magic and the way it works. There is some fascinating information about perception and the way the human brain works. Statistics and gambling make an appearance and the ruse of the Three Card Monte is exposed. Cold reading tactics used by "psychics" are exposed. Evidence of magic in biblical and ancient times is provided. And all the while, Stone navigates New York City and a cast of quirky, nerdy and slightly obsessive magicians who meet at magic stores and pizzerias to trade tips and tricks.

The only thing that disappointed me about this book was that Stone didn't give away the secrets of many tricks. Apparently there is a strict magicians' code which states that secrets must not be published or shared with non-magicians. While I understand this, I was a little annoyed to pick up a book about the history, science and probability behind magic while still being left in the dark when it came to the tricks themselves. While this ultimately didn't ruin the book in the slightest, it would've made it even better if Stone hadn't been so ethical and had broken the code at least a few times.(less)

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Jan 13, 2013 Grace rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Author: Alex Stone
Title: Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind
Description: Alex Stone was in graduate school studying physics, but he really mostly cared about his time spent learning magic tricks as an amateur magician. So he took some time off to write this book, which describes how hard one really has to work in order to be a decent entertainer with magic tricks. Alex does mostly card tricks, and he delves into the connections between his physic...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Hal rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I got wind of this book from the CBS "Face the Nation" presentation of authors singled out for there work. Bob Scheiffer the host went on and on praising Alex Stone and how funny and entertaining his book was. It sounded interesting but I did not quite connect in the same way.

Essentially the book is about how Alex a then student working on an advanced degree in physics decided to put his schooling on hold to further his first love performing magic acts and card tricks. He started out by getting...more

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Oct 04, 2012 Stefanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wish I could give this one a 2.5. The subject is interesting, the approach is varied, and it certainly held my interest. I was surprised by the lack of documentation and footnoting, especially with the numerous references to psychological studies. I copy edit psychological publications and was passingly familiar with some of the studies, but by and large he doesn't provide enough information for interested readers to track down the studies themselves to confirm what he's saying or read further...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Zachary Taylor rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I approached this book from the angle of a person interested in magic and its history. In the case of this book however that approach ended up being more a liability than an asset.

The author has a talent for turn of phrase. Sadly he also has a habit of sacrificing accuracy for a good story. During the course of the book Mr. Stone tells us a story of his personal redemption in the world of magic, after having been disqualified during his competition in what he calls the "Magic Olympics."

The autho...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Darrenglass rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Alex Stone is a magician. And a physicist. And a science writer. But at heart he is a magician.He competed in the Magic Olympics in Stockholm in 2006 and...well, as one reads about in the opening pages of his book the outcome was not quite what he had hoped. So he decided to dive deeper into the world of magicians, and FOOLING HOUDINI takes the reader on this dive with him.

Stone seems to be an eclectic person, and the book is an eclectic book. Large parts of this book are simply a personal memoi...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Jaylia3 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fooling Houdini reveals as much about how the brain works and how weakness in perception and attention can be exploited as it does about magic, and while reading it I kept annoying and then intriguing the people around me by interrupting their activities with fascinating bits of information. Like it takes a full seven shuffles to truly randomize a regular deck of cards, any less than that will give a shrewd magician, gambler or con-artist inside information that can make them look like they have...more

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Aug 17, 2012 K. Bird rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was hoping for some interesting tricks and connections between card-sharking and Math when I first picked up this book.

What I got instead was Alex Stone's journey from dabbler in sleight of hand to his transformation into a true magician with his own style of math-derived card routine.

And a fascinating journey it was. Did you know there was a Magic Olympics? Did you know many of the slight of hand masters are in danger of "recruitment" by the mafia? Did you know the masked magician on TV's Mag...more I was hoping for some interesting tricks and connections between card-sharking and Math when I first picked up this book.

What I got instead was Alex Stone's journey from dabbler in sleight of hand to his transformation into a true magician with his own style of math-derived card routine.

And a fascinating journey it was. Did you know there was a Magic Olympics? Did you know many of the slight of hand masters are in danger of "recruitment" by the mafia? Did you know the masked magician on TV's Magic's Greatest Tricks Revealed was kicked out of illusionist Criss Angel's series debut party?

What you won't find is an explanation of how illusionists and trick card sleight-of-hand artists do their trick. While Stone goes into deep detail about the development of his own routine, he evidently learned his lesson (he chronicles in the book the flak he got as a result of publishing an article in a mainstream magazine about magic tricks) about revealing others' secrets.

What you will find is an international veritable who's who of Magicians (mentalists, illusionists, sleight of hand masters) as Stone studies various Magician traditions (and some physics and math along the way)as well a look into the subculture of magicians, con artists, clowns, and performers.

I also enjoyed Stone's ruminations on the nature of the brain and how it both helps magicians (plasticity of the brain can help magicians develop an amazing sense of touch) and allows spectators to be fooled (memory bias helps us remember only the "correct" parts of the mentalists' predictions as well as misdirection of our attention making us miss obvious sleight of hand).

Throughout Stone's journey is his own, geeky, half-arrogant/half-deprecating view of the people involved in this subculture, as well as his own stubborn desire to succeed as a magician. Extremely readable and interesting look at what most laypeople have no idea exists.

This Book's Snack Rating: Melty cheese nerdery on waffle fries for the surprisingly satisfying and compelling taste of the magic subculture(less)

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Sep 13, 2012 Tony rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction-general

FOOLING HOUDINI: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, & the Hidden Powers of the Mind. (2012). Alex Stone. **.
It may well be that the second half of this book was much better than the first half, but I’ll never know. The first half was a rambling exposition about how and why the author wanted to be a magician and turned up short on his first few attempts, including being booed off the stage at an international competition. Then we follow his path through a series of mentors that helped him ho...more

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Aug 26, 2012 J.R. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-books

So... I hear this book is catching a lot of crap in the magic community. I can see why but I'm not going to pile on. I don't think it's much of an exposé at all. There are things I didn't like though. First off the writing isn't superb. I would expect this from a non writer memoir but the author writes and has for a while regularly for discover. The book could have been shorter. There were sections when it felt like padding. Another complaint was that he wasn't clear how major aspects of the sto...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Robb rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wasn't sure what I was getting when I picked up this book, was it a history of magic, a how to do magic, or a memoir of magic? In actuality it is a bit of all three and more. Alex Stone takes us on his magic journey from what started out as a childhood connection to his father to a full blown immersion into card tricks, hustlers, street performers, mentalists, and mathematicians. I was surprised at the psychology of magic and all the studies being done in neuroscience to understand what goes on...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a fascinating tour of the unique and heretofore unknown (to me) world of magic in the modern age. It was told with both an underlying story (the evolution of the author/reader in this world) and regular side jaunts into other subsets of the world or interesting studies or research. It seems like that should be jarring but the author did a fairly good job of blending it all together in a way that was interesting and thought provoking. That said, the underlying story that helped tie...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

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Sep 17, 2012 Joshua rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

Early on in Alex Stone's look into the world of magic, magicians and his quest to become a much better magician, I was really into it. But, as the book goes on, Stone's sense of exaggeration on just about everything--his skills, the skills of those he's talking to, his version of historical events--just began to annoy the heck of me. The way Stone writes about his own abilities seemed especially flimsy and forced to me. He sure picked up a lot of tricks that it takes master magicians years upon...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Maura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Alex Stone does a tremendous job here at explaining magic: what it is, how it's done (at least, some of it), but more importantly, WHY it's done. He explores his own journey from amateurish beginnings to his personal quest for the trick that will "make" him, one that will fool other magicians. Along the way, he introduces us to some fascinating characters, and he delves into the mathematics and physics of magic tricks, all of which I found totally absorbing. The mathematical explanations reminde...more

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Aug 12, 2012 George rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ipad, lacpl-epub, non-fiction

“NOW YOU SEE IT…”

There seems to be a spate of books about neuroscience and neuropsychology coming to market, lately; some good, some not so. With its emphasis on intentional deception, of the flimflam variety, ‘Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind,’ by Alex Stone, is one of the better ‘good ones’.

The book’s convinced me, tough, that if you’re not obsessive-compulsive you’ve probably no business in magic. A touch of psychopathy might help improve...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Jeff Raymond rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, goodreads-first-reads-wins, read-nonfiction, read-history, read-science, read-social-psych

I am a big fan of magic. I know it's all fake, and so much of it is psychological, but I love the process just as much as the execution. When I noticed that Alex Stone, who writes for Discover, was doing a book on magic, I dove right in.

The cool thing about this is that it's part-memoir, as Stone is an amateur magician who's competed in competitions and is very in touch with the national magic scene. Thus, a lot of the book has to do with the inner workings of the various magic groups in the US...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Marie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In Fooling Houdini, Alex Stone relates his story of how he became a master magician. His story goes beyond the training and hard work, though. He has done lots of research into the brain allowing the reader to see how magic and perception work with human nature.

I loved this book!! The whole thing is absolutely fascinating and so well written. When I pulled this off my shelf to read, I remembered that Mark from HarperCollins had recommended it, but I hadn't remembered that it was a memoir. I was...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Quoc nguyen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Love Ricky Jay the magician, but Ricky Jay gave Stone a bullshit review, it seems to me. Something about gratuitous exposure of tricks, and inaccurate histories, that drove Jay up the wall. If you want lots of exposure of tricks read 'Sleights of Mind' by Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde (though they merely expose already well-known tricks).

Stone hardly exposes any tricks, and the ones he goes in depth about are two of his own signature tricks that he created, though the methods behind...more Love Ricky Jay the magician, but Ricky Jay gave Stone a bullshit review, it seems to me. Something about gratuitous exposure of tricks, and inaccurate histories, that drove Jay up the wall. If you want lots of exposure of tricks read 'Sleights of Mind' by Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde (though they merely expose already well-known tricks).

Stone hardly exposes any tricks, and the ones he goes in depth about are two of his own signature tricks that he created, though the methods behind them are too laborious and technical for most laymen to want to invest time in.

As for inaccurate histories, Stone merely repeats well known lore told by other magicians as well. I heard the same Dai Vernon and Erdnase stories that Jay gets all uppity about. He's not writing a technical history here, he's writing for laymen, give the guy a break!

Ricky Jay even goes so far as to devalue the magic competitions that Stone participates in. Sure the Magic Olympics is not as big as the actual Olympics, but I doubt that readers would think that way. Jay practically accuses Stone of manipulating the story to be more dramatic, and exagerating the exploits of his magic mentors. Jeff McBride, Richard Turner, and Wesley James seem to be formidable magicians to me anyway. Maybe Jay thinks they are inferior or something, I have no idea. As for the manipulation angle, Jeezus, how the hell would he know Stone's personal story?

Enough about Jay, whom I love by the way, I just don't understand his gratuitous animosity towards the author. I think Stone must of hit on Jay's girl or something. I read Jay's review before I read the book, and I have no idea how that review was justified at all. Maybe Stone really is an asshole in person, I don't know. I don't know who's the asshole.

Stone's book is pretty much biography. Easy and informative read. Other critics cite him for being too technical in parts, but I preferred the technical descriptions and information on neuroscience, psychology, and mathematics over the biographical bits (personal preference, I suppose). I actually wish Stone had used more footnotes or something because in the course of reading there were a few times that I thought, well, that was interesting, I wish he expanded on that more, could've used a footnote here an annotation there, etc...

Ricky Jay, it seems to me, comes off as the cranky old man chastising the young magicians for failing to meet his impossible standards. But that's also probably the reason why Ricky Jay is such a good magician. Humans, go fig.(less)

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Mar 04, 2013 Donald Plugge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hobby, psychology, the-mind

I was back and forth on "Fooling Houdini" by Alex Stone, then ended up satisfied. The book was definitely a hodgepodge, part autobiography, part psychology, part history of magic, part "how to" and part brain science. Sometimes this type of book can end up being a "wiki" read, all the info from various wiki pages strung together. Alex was mostly able to avoid that tedium and weave together a unique blend of magic tales.

Alex Stone explores himself in this book. Anyone can write a book about them...more
I was back and forth on "Fooling Houdini" by Alex Stone, then ended up satisfied. The book was definitely a hodgepodge, part autobiography, part psychology, part history of magic, part "how to" and part brain science. Sometimes this type of book can end up being a "wiki" read, all the info from various wiki pages strung together. Alex was mostly able to avoid that tedium and weave together a unique blend of magic tales.

Alex Stone explores himself in this book. Anyone can write a book about them self, but can they keep it interesting? Is the story unique enough to immerse the reader? For the most part, Alex has an engaging story. The chronicle is not "I did this", "I did that" and "Here is who I know", rather, he intermingles his personal quest with that of the history and key figures of conjuring. Although he does have lots of names to drop -- Wesley (Mentor), Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger (Mystery School), Richard Turner (blind), Armando Lucero, Paul Vigil, Juan Tamariz (Madrid School), Penn and Teller , Simon Lovell (Base Deal), Ken Schwabe (SAM president), David Roth (coin), Bob Friedhoffer (foul mouthed teacher), John Born (IBM close-up winner), Apollo Robbins (pick pocket), Eric Mead (corporate magician), Asi Wind, Benzi Train, Cheng Lin, Jack Diamond, Eric Decamps, and Doug Edwards just to name a few.

The book displays an overall appreciation for the mere practice of magic, whether the advocate is professional or just a hobbyist. He never says this directly, however you come away with the benefits that attracted Alex to the field. The art of magic helps a person in showmanship, improves public speaking, is an ice breaker and is an aid to the compulsively shy. Hand-eye coordination and finger dexterity are the physical rewards in the practice of sleight of hand. The capturing and bending of attention is an intoxicating upper hand in both business and pleasure.

And as is now prevalent in non-fiction, he adds a bit of the science and neurology into the mix. References to brain plasticity, eye saccades, brain regions like the visual cortex along with a discussion of recent brain studies relating to magic. All this appears to be skimmed from the current volumes of popular brain science literature. Then Alex investigates the mathematics like the De Bruijn sequences and the statistics of card shuffling, group and probability theory. In a nod to the cultish aspects and mystique of the black art, the book includes secret societies, rites of passage, masonic rituals and the ceremonial breaking of the wand.

Although the book was more than a romp through the various wiki pages of magic, it did stray a bit from time to time. These included the talk of false memories and the legal system along with cell phone conversations and the dangers of distractions while driving. Then there was the usual repetition of brain evolution and the benefits to the hunter / gatherer. Yet none of this halted the forward progress. In the end the book had respect for my time as a reader.
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Jul 12, 2012 Celeste rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: summer-2012, neuro, non-fiction

I adored this book. While it helps that I have a predilection for weird nonfiction that sticks neuroscience and a bunch of other things in a blender, I think anyone with even the remotest interest in magic (and I mean, who doesn't like magic? dead people, that's who) will enjoy this book. Part memoir, part historical narrative, part shtick-lit, part science experiment, Stone doesn't stay still for a second. Like Foer's Moonwalking with Einstein (which is actually referenced in Fooling Houdini),...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Alexis rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

I really liked the premise behind this book and there was a lot to like about it. Alex Stone is a man who has been obsessed with magic- the kind of small scale card and cup and ball type. He goes into the history of magic tricks, tells us about things like the Magic Olympics and the magical/mystical societies. This is the part of the book that is interesting. Many of the famous magicians are fascinating.

However, a lot of this book was lost on me. There are chapters that deal with math and math p...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Mark Stevens rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been to the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, love the magic segments on the variety shows when I was a kid (still do) and have perfected one jaw-dropping card trick that works on about 30 percent of the four-year-old population. I liked to be amazed and amused.

In "Fooling Houdini," Alex Stone lifts the curtain on the world of magic. It's not a full-scale exposure. It's not a how-to or tell-all. It's a peek inside the relationship between magician and audience, between the duper and dupee, those...more I've been to the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, love the magic segments on the variety shows when I was a kid (still do) and have perfected one jaw-dropping card trick that works on about 30 percent of the four-year-old population. I liked to be amazed and amused.

In "Fooling Houdini," Alex Stone lifts the curtain on the world of magic. It's not a full-scale exposure. It's not a how-to or tell-all. It's a peek inside the relationship between magician and audience, between the duper and dupee, those with the secrets and those who seek to be wowed.

"To truly understand the art of magic and its timeless appeal, you wind up asking questions not just about how the mind works--and why sometimes it doesn't--but also about some of the most fundamental aspects of human nature," writes Stone. "Why do people take pleasure in deceiving others? How does the brain perceive the world and parse everyday experience? What are the psychological consequences of secrecy? What is reality, and how much of it do we consciously take in? How much faith can we have in our memories?"

Stone plays grasshopper to a series of gurus and masters and he dives deep into various aspects of the magic and its history--the lore, the heroes, the science, the psychology, the art, the math, the quaint clubs, the characters, the goofy mentalists, the rules and how the world of magic has changed over time. We meet a raft of individuals, including Richard Turner, a card handler without equal, "a man whose prowess with a deck bordered on the supernatural." (The chapter is called "The Touch Analyst" and Stone describes some skills here that probably have to be seen in person to be believed.)

Ultimately, "Fooling Houdini" is Stone's search for an improved performance self--finding a "person" inside who can hit the right note of credibility on stage. It's a tricky balance, as Stone notes, because "performing magic puts you in the awkward position of having to deceive the very people you seek to win."

By the way, the hand is not quicker than eye. Read "Fooling Houdini" if you want to understand why.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Pete Storm rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an interesting book. It's "story" sprawled around, as the author seemed to lurch from new idea to new idea. Despite the disorganized tone, it felt like the narrative had actually been tightened up from his actual life.

Since the book is essentially a collection of anecdotes about magic, with some math and physics and the occasional oddball topic, the sprawling narrative wasn't distracting.

The most interesting part of the book was the various magic societies and the author's interactions...more

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May 16, 2013 Jaq Greenspon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: lithuania, 2013, non-fiction, magic

While interesting, it seems a bit disingenuous.

Stone comes off as a bit of a dick and explores all aspects of magic through what feels like a fabricated plotline of "I didn't know what I wanted so I thought I'd learn everything." Also, he's spending a lot of money on travel and conventions and still explaining how he doesn't have the money for grad school, he drops names with impunity but since this is a memoir, he doesn't feel the need to cite anything. And then the history and psychology and...more

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About Alex Stone

There is more than one author with this name

When Alex Stone was five years old, his father bought him a magic kit—a gift that would spark a lifelong love. Years later, while living in New York City, he discovered a vibrant underground magic scene exploding with creativity and innovation and populated by a fascinating cast of characters: from his gruff mentor, who holds court in the back of a rundo...more There is more than one author with this name

When Alex Stone was five years old, his father bought him a magic kit—a gift that would spark a lifelong love. Years later, while living in New York City, he discovered a vibrant underground magic scene exploding with creativity and innovation and populated by a fascinating cast of characters: from his gruff mentor, who holds court in the back of a rundown pizza shop, to one of the world’s greatest card cheats, who also happens to be blind. Captivated, he plunged headlong into this mysterious world, eventually competing at the Magic Olympics and training with great magicians around the globe to perfect his craft.

From the back rooms of New York City’s century-old magic societies to cutting-edge psychology labs; three-card monte 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, Stone pulls back the curtain on a community shrouded in secrecy, fueled by obsession and brilliance, and organized around a single overriding need: to prove one’s worth by deceiving others. But his journey is more than a tale of tricks, gigs, and geeks. In trying to understand how expert magicians manipulate our minds to create their astonishing illusions, Stone uncovers a wealth of insight into human nature and the nature of perception. Every turn leads to questions about how the mind perceives the world and processes everyday experiences. By investigating 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.

Alex Stone has written for Harper’s, Discover, Science, and the Wall Street Journal. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English and has a masters degree in physics from Columbia University. He grew up in Wisconsin, Texas, and Spain. He currently lives in New York City.(less)

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Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind

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