Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic
Mark Wilson's
Complete Course on Magic is one of the best books on the market
right now for beginners who are interested in magic. It covers
Card Magic, Coin Magic, Cups & Balls, Sponge Balls, Mental
Magic, Billiard Ball Magic, Impromptu Magic, Rope Magic, Betchas,
Silk & Handkerchief Magic, Make at Home Magic, and even a
section devoted to Magical Illusions. The book is set up in
step-by-step format, with hand-drawn illustrations for each step.
Although the book is directed towards beginners, it has
information that even professionals could definitely use. Here
are just a few of the sleights that can be learned from this
book: The Glide, The Double Lift, False Cuts, Hindu Shuffle,
Paddle Move, French Drop, False Shuffles, Change Over Palm, and
the list goes on and on. Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic
can be found at just about any bookstore, and ranges in price
anywhere from $20-$40. So, whether you are an avid professional,
or a mere beginner, this book has information that can definitely
be used!
Stars of Magic
In 1975, Stars of Magic created a
storm in the magic fraternity. Included in it are effects from
the minds of such prominent magicians as Dai Vernon, John Scarne,
Francis Caryle, Slydini, Ross Bertram, and many others. This is
an excellent book for the beginner as well as the more advanced
magician, for it contains material that is very easy to pick up,
and also effects that require difficult palming maneuvers and
other sleights that the advanced magician will enjoy. One of the
highlighted effects is Dai Vernon's Triumph, in which a selected
card is returned to the deck, and the magician proceeds to
shuffle the deck face-up into face-down cards, thus creating a
mess! However, with some skill the magician is able to change all
the cards to face-down except for one card, which is, of course
the selected card. John Scarne's classic Triple Coincidence
effect is another featured effect in the book. The effect is two
decks with different back designs are presented. The magician
gets one, the spectator gets another. They pick three cards from
their own deck, and place them in each other's decks. When spread
out, the three cards chosen by the spectator turn out to be the
same taken by the magician! Also, Dai Vernon gives his complete
Impromptu Cups and Balls routine, worth the price of the book
alone! Other effects include The Homing Card, Cutting the Aces,
Ambitious Card, and Slow Motion Aces.
Modern Coin Magic
J.B. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic is
perhaps the most complete treatise of sleight-of-hand coin
conjuring ever written. Bobo has gathered the best and most
useful of all coin tricks, to form an astonishing book. His
explanations are complemented by 510 of Nelson Hahne's crisp
illustrations. Included in the book are such greats as Robert
Houdin, The "Father of Modern Magic", Professor
Hoffman, and arguably the greatest coin manipulator of all time,
T. Nelson Downs. Included in this book are palms, holds, flips,
switches, change-over, steals, cuffing, sleeving, and other
sleight-of-hand techniques. Bobo begins his book by teaching you
the basic techniques, such as the the palming coins and the Bobo
Switch. He then explains several different vanishes, including
the Pinch Vanish, Bobo Vanish, and French Drop. Then, Bobo
explains several different effects which utilize the sleights.
Bobo goes in depth on such classics as the Sympathetic Coins,
Homing Coins, and the Coins through table. An entire chapter is
devoted to the Miser's Dream effect, with versions from T. Nelson
Downs, Robert Houdin, and other famous magicians. Also included
in the book is a section on the Okito Box, and it's several
different uses. If you are the least bit interested in the art of
Coin Magic, this book is a must.
Magic With Cards
Karl
Fulves did an excellent job on this book. It was my first on the
area of card magic, and remains a keeper. When I am tired of all
the complex sleight-of-hand, I reflect back on Karl's book which
contains, as the title indicates, self-working card tricks. Now,
what is a self-working trick you might ask? Karl Fulves explains
it as one that does not depend upon legerdemain or special
abilities on the part of the magician, but a trick that works
automatically because of the mathematics inherent in the card
trick itself. Almost all of these tricks can be done from a
borrowed deck of cards, which leaves a big impression on the
audience. Included in the book are Card Locations, Poker Deals,
Coincidence Tricks, Mental Magic with Cards, as well as
Revelations. If you are new to the area of Card Magic I would
strongly suggest that you buy this book, which costs around $8.
Learn Magic
Another
good book for the amateur magician. Henry Hay does an excellent
job of teaching teaching the Magician's Basic Tricks, which are
explained step-by-step. I especially liked his first chapter,
which discusses some psychological aspects of the magician, which
are hard to find in books such as these. He explains things such
as how to watch a magician, how to get applause, and how to be a
magician. A great deal of magic is covered: Mind Reading,
palming, coin and card tricks, simple vanishes and escapes, silks
and thimble magic, Billiard Ball Magic, as well as a chapter
devoted to stage magic. I enjoy how Hay presets the material to
the author. He gives an overview, how the trick works, how the
trick appears to the audience, the mechanism behind the trick,
and finally the presentation details behind the trick. Also
included are over 100 illustrations from Hans Jelinek. While this
book is inexpensive, the material given is priceless.
The Card Magic of Nick Trost
Magician Nick Trost is well known for
his simple, easy-to-do brand of card magic. Instead of using
difficult sleight-of-hand, Trost uses subtle moves to produce
entertaining effects. However, don't let the simple effect
description fool you, for these are world class effects which
create a strong impact on the audience. The book contains 122 of
Nick's best effects, plus variations of these effects by fellow
magicians. There are many new, unpublished items here that are
sure to delight the card magician. In the appendix of the book,
sleights such as Orlam Subtlety, Braue Add On, The Elmsley Count,
The Cut Deeper Force, and The Biddle Count are explained. These
sleights, along with the patter, form the backbone of Trost's
effects. Some of the highlighted effects include Matched Picture
Cards, Blind-Sight, and Double Pinochle with an Elevator Finish.
Some of the areas covered include, Court Cards, Coincidences, The
Four Aces, Gambling Effects, Revealments, Special Decks, Packet
Tricks, and ESP Cards. If you are fascinated in card magic, don't
pass this book up.
Encyclopedia of Card Tricks
Jean
Hugard's Encyclopedia of Card Tricks is filled to the brim
with some 600 card tricks. The book is a collection of card
tricks from magicians of the early twentieth century. The book
covers a wide array of card tricks, including impromptu card
tricks, spelling tricks, "do as I do" tricks,
calculation tricks, tricks using key cards, reversed cards,
double backed cards, slick cards, special packs, prearranged
pack, one way pack, and much more! Also included are the
explanations of sleights such as the palm, false cut, simple
pass, double lift, glide, and the forse. However, if you are a
visual learner, this book will probably be difficult for you.
There are only 66 illustrations and some 600 effects (do the
math, it's a bad ratio). Also, this book was published in 1937,
and most of the material is from much earlier time than that. If
you are looking for "cutting edge" magic, this is
probably not your book. However in the words of Theo Annemann, in
the introduction, "It is doubtful if the day will come when
the tricks herin will not be useful." You can pick this book
up at your local bookstore for $9.
Simon Says
In the words of magician Scotty York
"This book gives it all away. The routines, patter,
approach....everything. It really is too good to be
published." This book is my favorite, and for many reasons.
First and foremost, however, are the dynamic effects which Simon
reveals in depth for the reader. He goes step-by-step over the
material, and carefully explains each move, the patter involved,
and also has something he entitles "During Thinks", in
which he adds little side notes about a particular move, or
patter line, or whatever. Simon Lovell offers a very, how shall I
put this politely,...."wacky" style of patter, which
proves very amusing to the spectators. Along with the
step-by-step description of the effect, Hannah Ammar provides us
with the dazzling illustrations to help reinforce the idea. I
especially enjoyed his introductory chapter, which dealt on the
psychological aspects of magic. Things such as comfort zones,
setting a routine, and flukes of magic are discussed. Simon then
goes on to reveal several of his favorite effects. While many of
the tricks are indeed difficult to learn and perform, Mr. Lovell
breaks it down into clear, simple sections for the reader, in
order to make it as simple as possible. If you are at all
interested in the art of close-up magic, and you have some
experience in the field, I would strongly suggest that you invest
in this book. A must buy!
Dai Vernon's Inner Card Trilogy
Dai
Vernon's Inner Card Trilogy is the combined works of Dai Vernon's
books: Inner Secrets of Card Magic(1959), More Inner
Secrets of Card Magic(1960), and Further Inner Secrets of
Card Magic (1961). The book contains 33 chapters and 240
pages of top-class sleights as well as 195 photographs of Dai
Vernon's hands. Vernon goes in-depth on several sleights,
including the The Tenkai Color Change, Vernon's No Palm Color
Change, The Chinese Second Deal, The Notis Cascade, The Zarrow
Shuffle, The Classic Force, The One-Handed Change, Top Palm, One
Handed Palm, Second Gambler's Palm, Vernon's Second Deal, and
several other sleights. Vernon also explains such classic effects
such as Twisting the Aces, MacDonald's Aces, Three Card Monte,
Larry Grey's Cards Across, and Out of Sight, Out of Mind.
However, this book is in no way intended for a beginner in magic.
Vernon was an extraordinary magician, and a good portion
of the material in this book is very difficult to learn. A good
deal of patience and practice is required if you are to obtain
anything from this book. However, if you are experienced in the
art of Card Magic, this book will teach you some of the most
difficult sleights to master.
Michael Ammar's Complete Cups & Balls
If you are looking for a book
on the cups & balls, look no further, for Michael Ammar's
Complete Cups & Balls is simply a masterpiece. Over fifteen
years in the planning, the book makes one of the more difficult
effects in magic as simple as possible. With over 750 
photographs of
Michael's hands, it is almost like having a personal tutor. To
make things even more convenient, the key points are highlighted.
Michael starts off by introducing several basic moves, such as
nesting, palming, the classic pass, french drop, and others which
give the reader basic knowledge on the cups & balls. A simple
routine is then taught, using these sleights. Michael then
teaches the reader more advanced moves, such as the Mendoza Move,
the Charlie Miller Move, the Click Move, etc. Another routine is
then explained, which utilizes these moves. The next chapter is
devoted to different types of wand spins, which I must admit are
difficult to master, but with practice, you will amaze both
yourself and your audiences. After several other sections, which
are devoted to such things as misdirection and loading large
objects, Ammar gives the reader a detailed look at both Dai
Vernon's Routine, which was recently performed by Lance Burton,
and Michael's own routine, which was recently featured on NBC's
World's Greatest Magicians. Either one of these routines, if
mastered, will provide years of entertainment and fun. Now, if
that was all the book contained, it still would be an excellent
work, and well worth the price, but the last section of the book
is devoted to other magicians across the globe, who give routines
or advice on performing the Cups & Balls. You'll hear from
magicians such as Mike Rogers, Eric Decamps, Tom Mullica, Paul
Gertner, Michael Skinner, Tommy Wonder, and many other greats. If
I have not convinced you to buy it yet, let me throw one more
piece of information on you: the book sells for only $40! Now, I
would highly recommend you pick up this book today, at any of
your favorite magic dealers.