Reviews (9)

Excellent material on stage craft for magicians
To many magicians don't know how to behave on stage properly.This work gives them the tools and ideas they need to be able to learn how to carry themselves on stage like a professional.Not just a professional magician, but a professional actor.
Review by a Professional Magician of a Very Important Book
I have been a professional magician for the better part of 32 years. When I first started into magic full time, this was one of the books that I read and re-read thoroughly. It gave me real insight into how to create a consistent character and how to THINK about magic when I was doing magic. The Bible for Magicians
Nelm's Magic and Showmanship is like the Bible for magicians. By that I mean it is the MOST highly praised and the LEAST ACTUALLY READ of any magic book in existence! All magicians pay lip service to it, but I've never met that first one who actually followed the advice given.
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Subjects:  1. Body, Mind & Spirit    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Magic    5. Magic tricks    6. New Age    7. Reference    8. Conjuring & magic    9. Games / Magic   

Reviews (1)

Another gem from Draja
Draja Mickaharic has come out with a new book. I have spent the last week checking it out and I have found it a fascinating tome. Like everything else he writes, this is a book that is short on hyperbole and long on practical recipes.Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Health/Fitness    4. Magic    5. Indoor games   

Reviews (9)

Life changing
This is the most thought provoking life changing book I have ever read. Why it is not a no1 best seller eludes me. It is a bit repetitive but I believe this is necessary to get the message across. While the middle can be tough going once you have completed the last few chapters it's a revelation. This is my "bible"

Very Profound

Superb
This is a superb book.US Andersen is one of the best!He has an understanding of principles of Law beyond most writers.When he really gets going, it's almost like poetry.Only drawback is a lack of organization - this is not the most well-organized treatise written.This is to be forgiven, as it all is worthwhile.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Magic    3. Personal Growth - General    4. Psychology    5. Self-Help   

Subjects:  1. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    2. General    3. Humor    4. Magic   

Subjects:  1. Card Games    2. Card Games - General    3. Card tricks    4. Games    5. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    6. Games/Puzzles    7. Magic    8. Magic (Performing Arts)   

Reviews (1)

Magic in Theory - Review by Clark May
I recently purchased Magic in Theory which is a college level text on the theoretical and psychological elements of performing as a Magician.
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Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. General    5. Magic    6. Psychiatry - General    7. Psychology    8. Occultism & quasi-religious beliefs    9. Parapsychology, psychic powers, ESP    10. Psychology & Psychiatry / General    11. Unexplained phenomena   

Reviews (4)

Would give it a 3 1/2 but gave it the benefit
This bok is great book for starters! I really do recomend it for starters. Other than that its an ok book. You can master the book in 3-4 days, and a magic book should last much much much longer. I do however recomend this book for people who are intrested in starting card magic.

Good book on card magic!
This is not an excellent book, but it's not a bad book either. It's a good book: it contains tricks for you who doesn't know sleight of hand and for you who knows it. The self-working tricks contained here are not dumb, theydo have that great climax too. You'll also find some tricks that requiregimmicked decks, such as the Stripper Deck, but most of them only require anormal deck and/or usual props such as a rubber band. If you look for someclassic tricks but not the one's shown on TV, you'll be happy to own thisbook.

Unique card magic!!
This book has a wealth of information on card handling and technique.There are many top notch card effects including some different and offbeat tricks.Charles Jordan was definetely a card genius and you will see whyin the way his card magic is done.A must have! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Card Games    2. Card tricks    3. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Magic    6. Conjuring & magic    7. Games / Magic   

Reviews (2)

A fun read. From a student of Mentalism & Magic.
I bought this book on a recomendation. The vast majority is entertaining,informative, & Honest. My only complaint is that after he has explained the mechanics of how he does his illusion, he sometimes tries to sell us on the idea that he occasionally can do feats that he can't explain. This is simply not true. He DOES know how these feats are done, as does every mentalist on the planet. My guess is that he has a following of " Believers " and so feels obligated to include just a little mysticism in the text. His section on hypnosis, and what actually occurs is lucid & revealing. One explanation on how to do an effect made me laugh out loud. Not because it was silly, but the explanation was so simple, I was caught off guard. Certainly worth the price of admission.

Another book by the World's best know modern day Mentalist
Kreskin offers another book. He is by far the most well know mentalist in the field today. After a over thirty year carrer of appearing on the top television shows of our time and crisscrossing the country appearing at colleges, etc. Kreskin is truly a professional and expert in his field. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cognitive Psychology    2. Extrasensory perception    3. General    4. Magic    5. Magic tricks    6. New Age    7. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    8. Telepathy   

Reviews (1)

Excellent for beginners or even old pros!
This book has excerpted material also found in Gardner's mammoth "Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic," and the material, as the title suggests, is limited to items performable in an after-dinner setting. This is the sort of magic, when one produces seemingly off-the-cuff miracles, that helped great magicians, such as Alexander Herrmann, Max Malini, Nate Leipzig and Dai Vernon become legends. For if you can do magic any time, anywhere, with anything, then the magic is not in the props, but in YOU!Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    2. Games    3. Games & Activities - Magic    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Magic    6. Conjuring & magic    7. Games / Magic   

Reviews (5)

Excelent choice
I actually prefer this book to the first one.If you have any doubt about the effects in this book just learn the very first trick.I've used it for years and it just knocks people off their feet.Now, I do a lot of sleight of hand magic but a trick doesn't have to be difficult to be good.It's the crowd response that counts.
Good Beginner Book
All of Karl Fulves books are good for beginning magicians.When you read the effects they seem very simplistic, but with good presentations everything is very usable material.As a professional magician I am often asked where to start learning effects and this would be a good place.
Another great book!
This is another really fine book of material for the average magician. Much is from 'Pallbeares Review', a magazine published by the author, and now considered one of the best sources for excellent material.Read more

Subjects:  1. Card tricks    2. Gambling - Card Games    3. Games    4. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    5. Games/Puzzles    6. Juvenile literature    7. Magic    8. Magic tricks    9. Card games    10. Conjuring & magic    11. Games / Magic   

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Science    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Experiments    5. Games & Activities - Magic    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Magic    9. Science    10. Science & Nature - Experiments & Projects    11. Science & Nature - General    12. Scientific recreations    13. Experiments & science projects    14. Juvenile Nonfiction / Science & Technology / General    15. LITERATURE - LIT CLASSICS TRD PB   

Reviews (5)

Great tricks for those willing to practice
This book is a wonderful resource for those wanting to improve their sleight of hand, and contains over 165 card tricks and stunts. While the book starts with the basics, understand that the basics can be very challenging to master! Many of the tricks will require serious practice to make them polished enough to perform. The text of this book can be somewhat dense, and require a few readings to get the gist of what is being said. And while there are some difficult tricks to perform, there are a number of things the absolute beginner can pick up rather quickly.

A great book, unfortunately quite dated.
This is a great book. A lot of the things in this book have inspired a lot of ideas and variations. However, this book suffers from a major flaw: many of the techniques in this book are out of date, and many of the tricks would not be as powerful for today's audiences.

This is the best book of the century!!!!?????
This is an excellent book, which I waited for for two and a half weeks, it came to me and I was excited, it turned out to be quite a wonderful suprise.The appearing card trick is quite suprising, but difficult tocomprehend what he is getting at.no dissapearing card tricks either,other than that, he has some excellent one handed shuffles and other greattricks. thank you ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Card tricks    2. General    3. Humor    4. Magic    5. Performing Arts/Dance    6. Conjuring & magic    7. Games / Magic    8. Indoor games   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Juvenile literature    5. Magic    6. Magic tricks    7. BG-JUVENILE PROP - BG-JUVY PRESCHOOL    8. Games / Magic   

Reviews (3)

...er, there IS a book to go with this deck -
(See subject.) Why is it not listed here??!? It is called "Feng Shui Tarot" by Eileen Connolly and Peter Paul connolly.
Artistically beautiful, but...
There's no book, other than the tiny white one that provides no clue on nearly all hundreds of symbols employed on the cards.Since many of them aren't related to the feng shui but were adopted from Chinese mythology, we're left poorer on both counts.Gorgeous to look at, it's clear some publisher decided to go with the deck without paying the designers to do the book--and provide the clues to their very original work.Too bad.

With its beautiful images inspired by Feng Shui symbols
Peter and Eileen Connolly have artfully collaborated to produce a tarot deck that superbly combines the traditional elements of tarot divination with an ancient Chinese spiritual wisdom embodying the principles of Form School Feng Shui (balancing environment, surroundings, materials, and colors). This unique tarot deck is based on the Feng Shui philosophy that a "chi" or flow of energy can be directed in certain ways by the optimal placement of large or small items to balance yin and yang, thereby creating a more favorable environment for people living or working in a particular space. With its beautiful images inspired by Feng Shui symbols and Chinese art enhancing the tarot experience, Feng Shui Tarot is a very highly recommended addition students of metaphysics in general, and to any tarot reader's collection in particular. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cards - Playing / Tarot    2. Divination - Tarot    3. Games    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Magic    6. Tarot   

Reviews (7)

Great for the bookcase
I would reccomend this buy for any magic enthusiast because it's history.No, it's not gone, but it contains the writings of Erich Weiss.I wouldn't say that I got a lot of trick ideas for my own act out of this book.However, it is just fascinating to read and to imagine Houdini as he created this compilation.

A sneak peek into the mind of Houdini!
It's well-known among Houdini buffs that much of Houdini's writing was ghostwritten for him. So what? This was part of his role as a master publicist. Nevertheless, this book is a great insight into Houdini's mind and methods, because it's certain that he had at least a hand in the production of all of the material in this book. There is no single book that gives a greater insight into the scope of Houdini's interests than this one.

Not by Harry houdini
I was disapointed in this book because there is only a few pages written by Harry Houdini. There was also added material that had nothing to do with Houdini.
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Subjects:  1. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    2. Magic    3. Conjuring & magic    4. Games / Magic   

Reviews (2)

How to be a ventriloquist
For about five bucks you can't go wrong.It has some useful tips on ventriloquism for beginners, but there's not a lot of info in this book.I would suggest picking up something else in addition to this book.

Bergen and McCarthy, Our History and Art of Ventriloquism
Edgar Bergen takes us on a personal voyage through his world and beyond, Ventriloquism. Bergen tells us "there is no deep, dark mystery about Ventriloquism" and exposes the secrets andIllusions of Near and Distant Ventriloquism, figure making as well as the start of his showbiz companion Charlie McCarthy. A book well worth reading and a history worth knowing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    2. Magic    3. Performing Arts/Dance    4. Puzzles    5. Ventriloquism    6. Games / Puzzles    7. Puppetry, miniature & toy theatre   

Editorial Review

This book deserves a place alongside the many wonderful tricks that James Randi has pulled off in his amazing career. He's gotten 24 of the finest magicians in the world to contribute favorite tricks to this collection. Some can be done with little or no practice, others will take some rehearsal. All are fiendishly clever and many are very funny besides. Contributors range from David Copperfield to Penn & Teller. Plus, of course, the Amazing Randi himself. Randi also treats readers to profiles on the contributing prestidigitators.Grab this book and prepare to bedazzle and deceive. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Professor Digitator likes it!
A wonderful book from various magicians from aroung the world. From to coins to cards.

another good book by Randi
If you enjoy magic or ever wanted to learn some easy tricks then you will enjoy this book. I enjoyed this book a lot and I plan on re-reading it soon. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Crafts / Hobbies    3. General    4. Magic    5. Magicians    6. Tricks   

Reviews (1)

Your eyes may deceive you...
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys optical illusions. It is a great collection of them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Magic    5. Optical illusions    6. Puzzles    7. Tricks    8. Games / General   

Reviews (7)

An awesome book!
Ventriloquism Made Easy, by Kolby King, is a well written book, which "covers it all"! This is a MUST-HAVE for anyone who is seriously considering taking up ventriloquism! Kolby takes you through the basics of ventriloquism, in a well written, fun-filled book, that is WELL WORTH READING!!

Save Your Money, Folks!

not worth it
Has only a tiny section on the really important stuff about the hard letters.The rest is padding.I'm going to look for something more serious. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    2. General    3. Magic    4. Performing Arts    5. Performing Arts/Dance    6. Puppets & Puppetry    7. Puzzles    8. Ventriloquism    9. Games / Puzzles    10. Indoor games   

Reviews (17)

Keep this on the DL
This book is amazing, as previously stated, but I am STRONGLY against any reprinting of it. One of the things that makes card throwing so amazing is the fact that so few people know about it / how to do it. Imagine everyone being able to throw cards. Personally, I think this book is perfect in its current rare form, and should NOT be reprinted.

Good techniques
I am a semi-pro card thrower in the national card throwing league (ctl), and I have to say that this book is the bible of card throwing. The techniques I have learned from Jay's book have helped me a lot. I was struggling on the tour last year when I got to talk with the famous Bill 'the Hand' Strongtide who recommended I read this book and it has really helped my form this past year.

A well written How-To by the master of the art.
If you want a hobby and might try sticking a target on the back door and spending your nights throwing cards at it ... you will find this practical guide just as helpful as I did. Fully illustrated with good pictures. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes, facetiae, satire, e    2. Anecdotes, facetiae, satire, etc    3. Card tricks    4. General    5. Humor    6. Magic