The book tells the saga of the author, whose pursuit of a Ph.D. In contrast, the first 30 pages of Fooling Houdini was some of the most engaging non-fiction I’ve read in a long time. That mathematics book was excellent and taught me a lot, but wasn’t exactly a page turner. I happened to receive the book not long after I blogged about a book by two mathematicians on the mathematics of magic. That book is Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind, by Alex Stone. And about once a year, I actually start reading one of these books and like it so much I can’t put it down. Occasionally a subject will really interest me, and I will spend some time with a book, but certainly not read it from cover to cover. Most of the time I don’t even open the book – it would be a full-time job just to read everything sent my way. About 199 out of those 200 will walk away empty-handed. I get sent about 200 books a year by strangers who want me to provide blurbs.

Alex stone magic