In the dazzling heart of the Roaring Twenties, where magic and reality blur, "Carter Beats the Devil" by Glen David Gold invites readers into the mesmerizing world of Charles Carter, known as Carter the Great, a magician whose talents dwarf those of Houdini himself. With an enthralling mix of historical finesse and fictional flair, Gold crafts an adventure that spirals around Carter's most audacious illusion yet—a spectacle involving none other than President Warren G. Harding. This stunt, teeming with ambition and danger, threatens to unravel the very fabric of Carter's carefully constructed life, pitching him into a whirlwind of intrigue and suspense. As Carter navigates a labyrinth of love, rivalry, and political machinations, the story unfolds against the lavish backdrop of an America caught between the opulence of the pre-Depression era and the shadows of the coming storm. Gold weaves a tale that is as much about the art of illusion as it is about the search for truth in a world obsessed with the surface of things. "Carter Beats the Devil" is a richly imagined journey through a magical, yet perilous America, where the line between illusion and reality is as delicate as a magician's sleight of hand.