The Magician and the Spirits

Deborah Noyes's biography of Harry Houdini focuses on the famous magician's thirty-year investigation of spiritualism and psychic phenomena.  Noyes rounds out the biography with brief information about Houdini's childhood and early career, but the real story here is the rise of spiritualism, the various methods employed by spirit mediums, and Houdini's dedication to debunking the movement. 

This was a fascinating read (perhaps more so because I was coincidentally reading a fiction book set during the same time period with a spiritualist subplot) with brief biographies of important players in the spiritualist movement, how they pulled off their seances and a deft explanation of why people took spiritualism to heart.

Noyes also threads in the story of Houdini's friendship/rivalry with Arthur Conan Doyle, a staunch believer in spiritualism.  Ultimately, their friendship fell apart because though they both wanted to believe in communication with the dead, Doyle refused to the see the truth, and Houdini could only see the tricks.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable read.  Highly recommended!