Much as we may associate it with show business and chicanery, magic has a long history, traceable all the way back to an ancient Egyptian manuscript with tales of a magician who brought a dead goose back to life. Peter Lamont and Jim Steinmayer delve into the history of magical performances, mind-reading, and conjuring, while speculating on why these quirky art forms continue to enthrall us. Harry Houdini is here, but so is Robert-Houdin, the pioneering French illusionist, along with a global cast of cranks, mystics, tricksters, conmen, shamans, and vaudevillians.

"An original look at a beloved art. It reveals how magicians did it, why magicians did it, and why we will always be amazed."—Neil Patrick Harris