Refreshingly different, Oliver Meech's book, The Plot Thickens (MSRP: $22.00), offers 22 fun effects. It's an unusual collection that offers clever tricks that are more notable for their entertainment value and visual illusion and not for their methods. And at $22 (US), this one is a bargain.
The Restaurant Magic Reader (MSRP: $30.00, Murphy's) offers a compilation of useful articles and essays by Jim Sisti on restaurant magic. Based on my experience working at restaurants, I found the material to be accurate and insightful.
From the brilliant and creative Danny Garcia, "Limited" teaches a compilation of his close-up moves and tricks. The material here, which is for experienced magicians, is excellent. Much of it has already been published and taught on Garcia's Project DVDs.
Tom Ogden has created a great book that teaches how to learn and perform magic with an emphasis on close-up and impromptu magic.
Paul Simon said in a song that there are 50 ways to leave your lover, and Allan Kronzek proves in his excellent book that there are 52 ways to cheat at poker. This book will appeal to anyone who is interested in card magic, card cheating and/or poker. There were some techniques that I was already familiar with and many that were new to me.
Scripting works well in theater, television and movie production, so why not magic? Pete McCabe drives this home in his excellent "Scripting Magic," a thorough 450-page book that offers scripts for well known effects by skilled magicians and insightful interviews and essays. With "Scripting Magic," McCabe has created a must-read book that will inspire you and help script and burnish your magic routines.
Here are the finest books that we have reviewed. They are well worth adding to any magic library.
When I first read that this book was about "bizarre magic," I thought that it wasn’t for me. But after reading it, I discovered that the book was definitely for me and anyone who wants to add dramatic impact to their magic through the use of character and storytelling. This book is relevant and informative and can help make your magic stronger.
Fulfilling a periodic inclination, in his "Fandango" booklet, David Forrest releases a set of good close-up effects, mostly with cards. I particularly liked his "Seal the Deal" where a previously used deck of cards is found completely sealed in its box - an impressive "back in time" plot. There’s some commercial close-up material to be found here.
John Pyka not only knows magic, he knows theater. And his book, “Theatrical Magic” will make you think about the magic that you perform and inspire you to add meaning to it. I got a lot out of reading this book.
John Luka’s “Uncovered” offers a strong compilation of first class card magic and a few non-card items that will appeal to serious and commercially-oriented magicians. The effects in this book are visual and have a strong impact on spectators and Lukas serves excellent and detailed instructions. And despite the power of his routines, none are “knuckle busters.” This is one great book that I highly recommend.
However, Mark Lewis, in his book, “Long and Short Of It,” explains some intriguing moves with a Svengali deck beyond the standard ones and offers a powerful routine. He also explains various effects that may be performed with a Svengali deck. While most of these can be done with a real deck and sleight of hand, they’re effective routines.
So you’ve got a decent magic act and are ready to make money at it. As any entertainment pro can tell you, it’s quite a leap to turn a magic obsession into a profitable business. Fortunately, magicians Elliott Smith and Ian Quick have written “Highway to Success,” a road guide, so to speak, that offers a solid foundation in business basics with an emphasis on entertainment. The book is a useful and easy read that dispenses excellent advice that can help you make the move into show “business.”
I’ve been reading this weighty, 600-plus page book for weeks. While I wasn’t initially sure how much this book would appeal to those who aren’t magic historians, I found it to be a fascinating read. And what really surprised me was the fact that Houdin writings and advice from some 150 years ago are still relevant today.
In "Power Plays," Mike Powers offers an excellent and comprehensive collection of close-up effects that use cards, coins, bills, rings, rubber bands, straws and more-some 58 effects in all. While the emphasis is on cards, Powers has created and compiled an impressive assortment of tricks that are visual, commercial and stunning. Don’t miss this one.
If you believe that presentation makes a trick and creates the magic, and you should, you’ll find lots to like in Dr. Jay Ungar’s "Bringing Magic to Life." Ungar offers his first rate presentations for lots of well known effects. Almost any performer can benefit from reading Ungar’s ideas and angles.
Combine a great close-up routine with an exceptional teaching tool, and you have a winner. Lance Pierce’s “The World-Famous Bowl Routine” explains a powerful “bill in lemon” act that provides a climactic moment to a strong “Benson Bowl” segment. Every move and word has evolved over thousands of performances, and Pierce thoroughly explains his routine in its entirety.
If you’ve always wanted to perform the “razor blade illusion” where a magician swallows several razor blades and some thread, and then “regurgitates” the blades back up, all neatly tied on the string, “Helter Shelter” is almost required reading.
The aptly named Devious Deceptions, a 65-page, comb-bound book, offers a wealth of varied, visual and entertaining effects-mostly of the close-up variety. This collection of winners, from the diabolical mentalism gaff, to the instantaneous deck changes-decks change sizes and into other objects, offers something for just about every magician.
If you’ve been wanting to work fairs and festivals, Keith Stickley's The Festival Entertainer offers an effective guide to booking and working outdoor fairs, festivals and similar events. While Stickly offers useful tips on working these events-what to wear, material to perform, traveling and more, it’s the marketing and promotional advice that is the book's strongest suit.
As the title implies, Bill Goldman’s book is small and may be read in less than half-an-hour. On the other hand, the collection of meandering essays, while entertaining to read, generally fail to deliver the inside scoop on what makes a magician of Goldman’s caliber so successful.
"Magic Bar and Grill" was Bill Goldman’s ten-issue newsletter that was published over a period of nine years. It was a creative and well received outlet for Goldman's ideas, presentations, methods, opinions and more. This book brings together all ten issues. While it’s somewhat quirky, there are some definite gems to be found within.
Offering a treasure trove of powerful card effects, Bill Goodwin’s “Up in Smoke” resurrects Larry Jennings’ earlier book of the same name. Goodwin has completely rewritten the book’s 12 effects, added photos where none existed before and includes two new effects. The title offers excellent instruction and some great card routines.
To learn a proven routine, nothing tops a complete, preplanned script that covers technique, presentation, patter and subtleties. For this, “Ron Bauer’s Gadabout Coins Revisited” provides a detailed, step-by-step lesson on performing a solid, but fairly easy, coin transposition that is good for intermediate and dedicated beginning magicians. And at ten dollars, the booklet is a bargain.
For kid performers, Greg Hamilton’s book offers a wealth of entertaining ideas to use the Rabbit in the Hat Puppet in their acts. If you want to create a fun segment in your show with the puppet, his book is must reading that provides lots of useful information.
A proven routine with a complete script is a sure way to master the classic cups and balls. And for this, “Ron Bauer’s Basic Cups & Balls Technique” provides a detailed, step-by-step lesson on performing a solid, but easy, version of the cups and balls. The routine is perfect for beginners and the booklet is a steal at only ten dollars.
Imagine a deck of high-quality Bicycle playing cards that has been reversed and you have the striking Black Tiger Deck. And to complement the deck, there's a Gaff Deck with 56 gimmicked cards, as well as an accompanying book that describes and teaches effects. It’s a whole new world of entertaining, edgy and spooky card magic.
Visit your local bookstore or library, and chances are, you'll find lots of books on magic. While most magic books explain lots of tricks, few provide a foundation in magic for the serious beginner who wants to learn fundamentals and move beyond mental puzzles. With this in mind, here are several beginning magic books that I highly recommend.
For beginners, “Magic for Dummies” provides an excellent set of easy tricks that require no complicated sleight of hand and use common objects that are found in homes and offices, and it offers lots of good suggestions on presentation. It’s a good way for novices, not necessarily dummies, to learn some basic magic.
Tom Ogden’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Magic Tricks offers an excellent introduction to magic and a solid foundation to those who want to seriously learn and pursue magic. Like the competing book, Magic for Dummies, Idiot’s Guide is loaded with good beginning tricks, comes with clear instructions and illustrations and is written in a light and entertaining style. But when it comes to magic, Idiots clearly rule over Dummies.
Far more important than the slickest new card move or latest stage effect is our ability as magicians to entertain. For this, Ken Weber’s Maximum Entertainment offers solid advice for improving one’s show and is must reading for anyone who performs magic.
Can you improve your card tricks by applying entertaining themes and stories? Cushing Strout’s "On The Other Side Of The Mirror" successfully dresses-up well-known card tricks with themes that are based on astrology, murder mysteries, lie detection, fortune telling and more. His plots indeed make the card tricks more entertaining, but the effects are limited to those that rely on stacked decks.
Numerous magicians began their education in magic with Mark Wilson's excellent book that covers close-up, stage magic and even large illusions. This one is definitely worth the look and is widely available.
Bill Tarr's well-illustrated books offer step-by-step instructions to learn and perform sleight-of-hand with coins, cards, balls, and other objects. This classic comes in two volumes and both are worth buying and studying. While the books feature some routines, they're mostly dedicated to moves. This book provided me my early magic foundation.
Not for kids, Henry Hay’s magic classic offers an astounding amount of information, but it's a harder read. It's an excellent book to add to your magic library. When I want to kick back and relax, this is one of the books that I like to pull off the shelf, open up and see where it takes me.
