A Ph D candidate in physics at Columbia University Alex Stone is also part of the underground magic circuit an exclusive community whose members convene regularly in pizza parlours & coffee shops to swap tips & develop new illusions. Determined to take his lifelong hobby to the professional level Stone embarks on a personal quest to reach the pinnacle of this bizarre world & become a master magician. But he has some learning to do. In Fooling Houdini" we journey through a strange & colourful subculture of obsessive brilliant & dysfunctional geniuses
- blind card sharps street-hustlers & Las Vegas showmen
- learning the principles & history of some of the greatest tricks ever performed. Seeking answers to broader questions about decision making the limits of perception & the nature of deception Stone helps us understand what happens as we attempt to distinguish reality from illusion & discovers the link between magic & psychology physics & even crime. From back-street scams to laboratories to the Magic Olympics " Fooling Houdini" reveals the mysterious world of magic as never before."