This book would not have been possible had a number of outstanding magicians not been willing to share their insights and expertise with me—and for that I will be forever grateful. Wesley James taught me more about magic, and life, than I ever thought I could learn in a pizzeria. Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger helped open my eyes to the rigors of the craft. Richard Turner was a true gentleman and more than generous with his time. Armando Lucero and Paul Vigil motivated me to seek out elegance and beauty in the art. Joshua Jay shared his extensive knowledge with me on numerous occasions. Juan Tamariz was a constant source of inspiration who fooled me every time. A special thanks to Whit Haydn, Chef Anton, and everyone at the School for Scoundrels. Teller, Simon Lovell, Ken Schwabe, David Roth, Bob Friedhoffer, John Born, Asi Wind, Benzi Train, Cheng Lin, Jack Diamond, Eric Decamps, Doug Edwards, Ricky Smith, Max Maven, Magick Balay, Derrick Chung, Jonathan Hidalgo, Tony Chang, Michael Feldman, and George Silverman all lent a hand at various stages in the researching and writing of this book.
I am indebted to the many scientists with whom I communicated and/or collaborated. I am especially grateful to my coresearchers at the New School for Social Research—Arien Mack, Clarissa Slesar, Jason Clarke, and Muge Erol—who let me use their facilities and helped me design the watch-stealing experiment; and to Dave Bayer at Columbia for all the time he spent teaching me about card shuffling. The Columbia University Physics department, meanwhile, deserves a medal for putting up with my antics. Thanks also to Joshua Foer, for teaching me his amazing memory techniques, and to Nava Chitrik for her mathematical insights and programming expertise.
I am deeply grateful to my editor, Tim Duggan, for his expert guidance, patience, and encouragement; to Emily Cunningham, for her many helpful suggestions; to Jenna Dolan, who skillfully copyedited the manuscript; to Katherine Beitner and Leah Wasielewski, for their marketing and publicity skills; and to everyone else at HarperCollins for their hard work on behalf of this book.
I owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to my agent, Elyse Cheney, who truly does work magic, and to all the folks at Cheney Literary—Alexander Jacobs, Sarah Rainone, Hannah Elnan, Kristen O’Toole, and Nicole Steen—for their outstanding work. I am indebted to Beth Rashbaum for her feedback, help, and astute commentary. Thanks also to Christopher Glazek for checking my facts.
A number of friends and relatives contributed to this book and, in many cases, suffered through early drafts. Kristen Richardson’s impeccable taste and unerring guidance inform every chapter. Kate Villanova’s unwavering support, sage advice, and sound judgment made this book—not to mention my life—better in countless ways, both large and small. Tim Farrington offered detailed criticism and helped me sharpen my writing—for which I still owe him several dinners. Konstantin Kakaes was an exceptionally obliging and careful reader. Nick Stang was an unflinching supporter from day one. Rachel Jones provided many thoughtful suggestions during the formative stages of the manuscript. Burkhard Bilger was an unflagging booster who encouraged me to get this project off the ground. Corey Powell at Discover was a terrific boss and mentor. Ellen Rosenbush, Roger Hodge, Ben Metcalf, and Miriam Markowitz at Harper’s were a joy to work with. Thanks also to Sinclair Smith, Anaheed Alani, Steven Levitt, Ira Glass, John Hodgman, Buzz Bissinger, Angie Smithmier Eilers, Bonnie Talbert, Allison Schrager, Theresa Hong, Sarah Gelman, Camille Roman, Alex Hamowy, Sarah Grossbard, Marisa Biaggi, Kimberly Katz, Emir Kamenica, Jen Chu, Nathaniel Mendelsohn, David Weintraub, Jeff Enos, Miriam Enos, Maria Richard, Kristin Wall, Kate Enoch, Jessamyn Conrad, Amanda Simson, Tracy Rossi, Daniel Chapmen, Joy Didier, Gary Cheng, Pontus Ahlqvist, Becky Grossman, Amber Miller, Gabriel Perez-Giz, Joseph Thurakal, and John Kehayias.
Finally, thanks to my family for their love and support.
Hundreds of sources went into the reporting, writing, and fact-checking of this book. To save space (and trees), detailed information about source material has been made available online at: www.FoolingHoudini.com.