The Fine Print: Alex Stone

Fooling Houdini

An exploration of the world of magic that teaches the reader many tricks--including how better to understand the real world.
Alex Stone--journalist and part-time conjurer--is here to amaze you. But first he had to amaze his fellow magicians. Fooling Houdini is his fascinating, revealing, and nailbiting account of his attempt to win the 23rd World Championships of Magic, the "Magic Olympics," the largest and most prestigious competition of its kind.

Alex Stone managed to qualify for entry and began preparing to astonish people who astonish others for a living. It didn't help his nerves that he was placed on the bill straight after Canadian magician Shawn Farquhar, winner of more magic competitions than anyone in history. Stone's preparations and participation provide his readers with in-depth exploration of the world of magic, and magic's meaning.

He spills many professional secrets, arguing that what is important is to ask questions about what lies behind the tricks: how the mind perceives the world and parses everyday experience, about how the mind works--and why sometimes it doesn't, about why people need to believe.

Alex Stone

Alex Stone has written for Harper's, Discover, Science and other magazines. He graduated from Harvard University and has a masters degree in physics from Columbia University. He grew up in Wisconsin, Texas, and Spain. He lives in New York City.