Secrets of the mind and free will -- revealed by magic tricks

This great book gathers the current research on the science of magic and delves into our psychological processes that underpin our experience of magic. Written by one of the leading experts in the field, the book covers a wide range of subjects such as magical thinking, gender issues, perception, hypnosis and mind control techniques. An excellent popular science book to discover cognitive sciences and the art of conjuring.

The Spectacle of Illusion is a fascinating book about the art of deception and the psychology of cognitive illusions. You will be taken inside the weirdness of spiritualism and mesmerism, and the interactions between magicians and scientists over the last 200 years. This book is also a treasure trove of illustrations and a wonder for the eyes.

Written by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, this book is about the way we think and why we do the things we do. It reveals our cognitive biases and how we tend to behave in an automatic and impulsive way in our day to day lives. An eye opener about how our behaviours are constantly unconsciously influenced.

A great popular science book useful to anyone interested in psychology and economics, helping to understand how our decisions are unconsciously affected by diverse factors. Ariely covers how we have less control than we believe over the choices we make and how we tend to act irrationally in a very accessible and entertaining way.