Houdini's Box: The Art of Escape (2012)

Harry Houdini was the greatest escape artist of all time -- or was he? According to psychotherapist and author Phillips, we're all exceptionally well-versed in escape, building ever-more-intricate traps for ourselves and then either plotting our path to freedom or railing at our imprisonment. This carefully considered analysis alternates accounts of Houdini's unique career with case studies of Phillips' patients. While Phillips' topic is fascinating and his insights sharp (''If we can keep ourselves sufficiently busy escaping, we can forget that that is what we are doing''), the author's arguments can be convoluted, and his formal tone gives his extended essay a pedantic quality.