Reddit mentions: The best magic & illusion books

Not in any particular order, but any of these would be perfect for your young 10 year old aspiring student of magic! None of these will break your bank! :


The Magic Digest by George B. Anderson I picked up a used copy of this book 5 years ago for around 2 dollars. In my opinion, you should acquire a copy for your son for cheap before the prices go up! Don't worry about getting a pristine/good copy, my copy is in "acceptable" condition, but that doesn't take away from the secrets and advice it holds. It's an old book, but it's excellent! It is filled with solid advice for magicians of any age and very solid magic all throughout. It still falls into the realm of a "beginners" book, but I'm definitely not a beginner in magic but was still blown away by its content! Most of the tricks are self working, some use very basic sleight of hand that is also expertly taught in this work. This is truly a book I wish I could have had earlier on in my study! I simply can't recommend this enough!


Big Magic for Little Hands: 25 Outstanding Illusions for Young Magicians by Joshua Jay Despite his young age, the author Joshua Jay is without a doubt one of the most knowledgeable and thoughtful students of magic that I've encountered over the years. This book is a fantastic example of why I have this opinion about him! I picked this up a year ago for one of my co-workers kids that loved watching some of the magic I do. I was humbled to have my co-worker tell me that because of me and some of the tricks I taught his father, that she too wanted to learn magic. I was so humbled that I wanted to do her father and her a solid and get them both a quality magic book that was suitable for a 7 year old. I got wind of this and ordered it. After reading half the book over the weekend before handing it to her father the following Monday, I was so inspired and blown away by the content in here that I ordered a copy for myself to study also. The magic and advice in here is that solid and it I don't care if it's targeted at young magicians! I still learned from it! Fantastic!


Magic: The Complete Course by Joshua Jay There is a nice mix of basic sleight of hand and self working tricks in this big book for an outstanding price! The magic taught in here is top notch and this book encompasses many, many areas of magic! Heck, they even tip a way for an aspiring magician to make something like an Invisible Deck, which is considered by many top professionals to be one of the best "special decks", with a common household item. I've tried it myself and it works beautifully in a pinch! This book even comes with a DVD to accompany some of the amazing content in this work!


The Magic Handbook by Peter Eldin This holds a special place in my heart! I believe it was 1988 when my grandmother gifted me this very book when she thought I was "outgrowing" my Fischer Price magic set. This book is outstanding and it's easy to tell that Peter Eldin has a deep love and respect for magic as an artform. There is only a few basic sleights in here, but don't let that scare you or your son. I was 5 when I started learning a lot of this stuff and thanks to the clear illustrations and text, I had very little trouble learning basic card handling from this as well as ways to conceal a coin. One of the highlights for me in this was a very unique handling of a classic coin trick known as "The Miser's Dream". Your son will have the ability to seemingly and continuously produce coins out of thin air and get this...without sleight of hand technique....This version is still a "go to" for me...Need I say more? :D

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Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic This book truly lives up to what the title promises. I would be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive course in magic for 15 bucks! Sponge Balls, Cards, Coins, Mental Magic, Stage Illusions that can be made at home, solid advice from a legend, information that I haven't found elsewhere, among other things! This book will keep both and your son busy for a long, long time! Self Working tricks, basic sleights and tricks to accompany them, great methods, inspirational food thought. I simply wouldn't feel right not recommend this to anyone who loves magic!

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Karl Fulves "Self Working" Series: All of these are dirt cheap and worth any students time and study regardless of age or experience! Collect them all or simply pick a subject that your son favors! This series encompasses mental magic as well as magic with cards, coins, numbers, paper, rope, handkerchiefs, and household objects! Any one of these will serve your son well.

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Scarne on Card Tricks and Scarne's Magic Tricks I would recommend getting both of these together. There are hundreds upon hundreds of quality tricks from some of magic's legends including: Paul Rossini, Dai Vernon and Harry Blackstone to name a few! All these tricks were re-worked by those magicians with the help of John Scarne to eliminate most or all sleight of hand while not sacrificing the clarity of effect! These two books are classics for a reason! Highly recommended!


Lots of recommendations here for sure and yes these are all books, but I'll even recommend a fantastic and entertaining DVD for you and your son!


Amazing Magic and Mentalism Anyone Can Do by Jay Sankey 39 stellar tricks that are as fun to learn as they are to perform. Very basic sleight of hand tricks and even some self working ones taught by one of my favorite teachers, Jay Sankey!


TL;DR: Just click on the links provided. Hope you like what you see! :)

Stop focusing on what you don't have and can't do. That's like the kid learning to ride a bike and can't stop staring at the telephone pole in the sidewalk: he keeps staring at it and he keeps steering straight into it.

Put some focus on the things you can accomplish and can acquire: You can make yourself stronger, and it's not the thing that will take you 4 hours a day (4 hours would make it faster, but it's not necessary). 25 pushups four times a day will take you no more than 5 minutes total and costs you zero, yet after a month or so will start showing you some visible results. Swimming takes a bit more time a day, but has more pronounced results on your physique. Bike riding is pretty much free once you have a bike. The girls calling you ugly is at least half kids just being kids and doing what they can to hurt other kids - adults don't do that sort of thing very often even when it is true. Get yourself into better shape and they'll probably start changing their tune.

Good grades will only cost you the effort you put into it, and will pay off tremendously in the future: college grants and the like come far easier to the guys who have great grades and learn how to apply for them.

Get yourself a hobby that is interesting and teaches you something - this will make you interesting to others and give you things to talk about. You can research it online at the library or get books on the subject. Astronomy will give you some perspective, learning to perform magic tricks will help you entertain people (The Royal Road to Card Magic is an excellent book to start with, and can be bought used for less than $2 plus shipping), balloon animals will help you get along with kids.

Get a part-time job. If you can afford to take a girl to dinner and a movie, they'll not be inclined to turn their nose up at you. Also, if you work in the food industry (McDonalds, pizza, fine dining, whatever) you can get meals free and might be able to take some food home - your family having to pay for less meals will help their situation and perhaps generate some upward momentum.

Also, cut your soda pop intake by at least %50. For most Americans, soda makes up about 60% of their calorie intake and is horrible for your teeth. Rotting teeth are very expensive to fix and very avoidable. Plus, making yourself look good is a lot easier if you're not overweight.

Get in the habit of walking around with a good, upright posture. Whenever you can, force yourself to smile at least 10 times an hour - this has been shown to actually affect your mood regardless of whether you had a good reason to smile, plus folks take a much more positive view of people who seem happy.

At least once a day pay someone a sincere compliment - don't just make something up, find something about them or something they've done that you can honestly say something good about. Also, once a day try to do something, anything, to help someone out or make their job a little easier: people that see you do stuff like that will look up to you for it, and the people you help will try to pay you back for being a good Joe.

Also, don't even try to date girls that primarily pay attention to your wallet - unless you enjoy watching them have sex with your wallet instead of you.

First of all, that's great! I'm always happy to meet someone who wants to give magic a start! Don't worry about being good at it yet, it's a very involved performance art, but once you know the core fundamentals (misdirection, audience management, sleight of hand, banterful patter) it's super easy to get into.

If you want to know how I personally started seeking out magic to learn, it was around age 12 with a book called Now You See It, Now You Don't by Bill Tarr. That was my first book on sleight of hand and it covers a multitude of moves and sleights with various objects like coins, cards, and balls. I studied that book like it was a holy text and learned every move, though I didn't quite know how routines worked yet and I wasn't especially charismatic at the time. Not to sound dramatic, but that book had a huge impact on my life and very much shaped the person I would become. I still have that same copy on my shelf. After that it was the Royal Road to Card Magic for my first real introduction to card magic and card routines, but that was a much denser book. It wasn't until a bit later that I discovered online magic stores and downloadable instructional videos. They were so accessible and easy to diget, my desire to learn skyrocketed.

The first I found was penguinmagic.com when I was maybe 13? It's still my gold standard for online magic shopping; my first purchase was Sponge by Jay Noblezada, game changing magic for a kid. From there I graduated to coin magic routines from In the Beginning There Were Coins (also Jay). I recommend sponge or coin magic to start if you want an easy introduction to the principles and fundamentals of sleight of hand.

After that, just before starting high school, I found ellusionist.com and the "leather coat" magicians like Brad Christian and Justin Miller (they've since become more hipsterish, and still a great resource). They were edgy, cool, and influenced my personal style an unfortunate amount... I wore a lot of black and gray back then.

Just before high school I stumbled onto theory11.com, which had more of an artful feel to it, but it's there that I found out about Daniel Madison's Dangerous video. His card magic shaped my performance style in a huge way. He was so laid back and casual about his massive skill. I got really into gambling sleights and card control and manipulation around that time. Cards became almost my exclusive medium for years after that.

I'm 27 now and I'm more into organic magic that fits in one pocket, so less cards and more coins, rubber bands, and mentalism. I use a lot of different resources and it's mostly advanced stuff, I love the challenge of complex sleights though! Those books, those sites and those names guided me into the world of magic.

You can find some other great starting resources on the r/Magic subreddit they have a pretty comprehensive list. There are also a ton of free materials in the public domain available through libraries, google, youtube, tons of effects and fun routines you can learn quickly and easily. If you ever have any questions, need some direction, or just want to chat about where to start, I'm happy to help!

Do you have a type of magic or magician you especially enjoy?

FIRST PIECE OF ADVICE THAT TRUMPS ALL THE OTHERS...

Don't ever show a trick until you have it perfect. If that means you only get to show one trick, that's great. One amazing trick will make your reputation - three mediocre tricks and people will never want to see another one.

My current favorite is Dresscode. Now, there's some work involved in constructing the prop, but I got it to work the first time, and I only had to practice the trick maybe three or four dozen times before I went out with it. It's never gone wrong for me, and people are absolutely amazed - and yes, it looks just like the video.

Tenyo's recent 4-D Surprise is very easy to do and looks like a special effect on TV. BUT BUT BUT the fact that it's easy means you should practice twice as hard, and in front of a mirror.

If you don't want to spend money, get a book. I always recommend this one which I learned from, Henry Hay's The Amateur Magician's Handbook. It's a great book full of really practical tricks and you can get a used copy for about $2 and shipping.

And a few more tips!

Tip one is do everything as slowly as possible. Yes, it sounds like the reverse of what you'd expect, but the key to real mastery of this skill isn't speed - your hand can't possibly (in most cases) move faster than the eye, and even when it does the audience definitely feels something is wrong - the key to mastery is smoothness.

Dresscode does need you to do the change briskly - but even there, the first time I did it I jammed a finger trying to do it too fast, and I realized that I needed to slow down.

Never, ever allow anything that looks like "a move" in your trick. I spend hours making sure that each move in a trick is rational and natural seeming. Take Digital Dissolve, a staple trick of mine. If you note in the video, he has one "move" in there where his hands move quickly. I practiced this a hundred times and managed to get the trick to the point where I can do each move in glacial slow motion, and there isn't one single motion I do that isn't natural and logical.

And finally, tricks themselves are very short and people don't care unless you give them a reason to care. For example, in Digital Dissolve, I explain to people that magic is not quicker than the eye (as above) and I thus learned a trick which I could do as slowly as possible. I spend some time showing them the English penny and making sure it's in their hands for a long time, and the 50 cent piece too. I never say "Examine this," because it implies that something is funny about the coins (which there isn't), and because it sets up a bad power structure between you and the audience - instead I point out the details on the coin, get them to feel the milling on the edge or look at the Queen and Britannia on the penny.

By the time one coin transposes to the other, they're familiar with the coins, they believe they are real items (which they are!), and when they switch and you drop the coins back into their hands, they're flabbergasted.

Or take the Voodoo Doll trick, perhaps $10 or $20 at your magic shop. That video shows how to make a great trick dull :-D because there's no magic in it. I have a little straw box that I pull the item out of, I explain a little about voodoo and fetish objects - and then I ignore the audience for a minute or so when I spend the time whispering into the doll's ear (in French :-D).

When I finally do the levitation, I do it very slowly. I let it rise for a little and then stop... then I do it again and pass my hand around it slowly (no strings! There aren't any strings, but I never say that - I merely demonstrate that it's impossible). Eventually, I slowly get it standing upright - until it suddenly falls over - people usually are startled.

Have fun! Magic is a great hobby, you can do it anywhere and it costs very little if you do card or coin tricks.

I remember reading The man who counted about a million years ago in high school. I think it was pretty good (there's a particular "inheritance division" story which is pretty nice and I still remember a bit).

In college I picked up Conway and Guy's Book of numbers and I still think it's one of the best math books ever.

Then you have the obvious Anything Martin Gardner wrote suggestion which cant be bad. If you want to learn "serious math" he has an annotated version of an old book on calculus based on infinitesimals which some people are really into.

A bit meta but I for one enjoyed Polya's books on Mathematics and plausible reasoning (and also the very short but nice "How to solve it").

Also there's the very nice collection of particularly elegant reasoning Proofs from the book but the math is pretty advanced I guess.

A good way to learn math while having fun is to look at problem collections. I remember Halmos' Problems for mathmaticians young and old giving me many nice challenges to think of on the bus.

Those are all pretty old books. A bit newer is a book I haven't read it but I've heard really nice things about: Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham's book Magical mathematics which I think explains the math behind different types of magic tricks.

Hope this helps! Have a good time!

I cheated and picked three...I couldn't stop I'm sorry, please forgive me.

1. Dr. Sleep - I picked this one because it is on your wishlist and I have been dying to read it, so I decided you must be also
   
   
2. John Dies at the End - Another one from your wishlist. This one I picked because it is odd, wonky, weird, and wonderful. After stalking you a little, mostly I mean looking at what you have on your wishlists and seeing that we have a lot of common interests I really think you would like this one.
   
   
3. Fooling Houdini - This one was not on your wishlist, but like I said above we do have a fair number of common interests I believe. I have been recommending this book since I read it because I loved it. It is a fantastic mix of psychology, magic, logic, awesomeness, and humor. It was a fast read for me and I found it thoroughly enjoyable and made me want to research more into things he mentioned.
   
   Have fun on your trip! Hope you find a fantastic book to get you through the flight!

Okay, couldn't find my box, but I managed to dreg up what I remember as far as books go.

This book is a good start for coin magic and sleight of hand in general. Be warned though, the coins you will need for this might be slightly hard to find (silver dollars, half dollars) but is worth it. For whatever reason people think that the bigger the coin, the harder it is to work magic with it. This is false. The bigger the easier and the better looking.

This book is a good start for card magic. Sometimes it is a bit hard to understand (as all books are) but this is pretty simple and will give you some good pointers.

This book is my all time favorite. More card magic, but more advanced than the previous one.

And lastly this book which gives some good tricks, teaches some good things. Much of it is based on props and stage magic, and much of it isn't. A good read.

And lastly some advice: if possible find someone who knows how and is already practiced. That makes it MUCH easier. And stick with it. Once you learn something you never unlearn it. I have not practiced in near 5 years and I can still pick up a deck of cards and mess with them. Learn a few versatile tricks and learn some flourishes. The tricks can fascinate, and the flourishes look pretty, but only when used together does it really blow people's minds.

The very best thing you can do is find a magic shop in your area and tell them you're interested in learning. Buy books. Not tricks, books. They may actually have a reprinted copy of The Expert at the Card Table (by Erdnase), but in lieu of that, any card manip book by Dai Vernon will be both a wealth of knowledge for you, and an impressive selection for whomever the magician is that's selling it to you. Learn from the book, come back to the shop later and show some moves you learned, and ask if they're able to help you find some clubs to learn more and be more involved. You'll be introduced to at least two magic organizations, and one of them requires a couple other magicians vouch for you; which you'll have if you've shown you can learn something from Vernon.

It's likely the book you get will describe in stunningly precise detail exactly what you want to know anyway, but if you're serious about learning this stuff, being a part of the organizations will open up so many more doors and routes to have someone teach you these things face to face than any other method.

Good luck :)

Edit: If there's no magic shop near you, Amazon will do nicely too. The Erdnase book you're looking for is here. Amazon has a few Vernons too -- this wouldn't be a bad start. If you're having a hard time following the descriptions and desperately need video guidance, look up DVDs by Jeff McBride. He won't teach things like bottom dealing or double-lifts or passes, but his raw card manip is essential and will be a great gateway to building up the dexterity that you need to pull off full deck moves. Once you get the basic idea down, put a deck of cards by every computer you use, and force yourself to brainlessly repeat the moves as you browse Reddit. You will bleed between your fingers. It will be worth it.

I'm replying quite late, but I don't think you want to gift him bicycle decks. He's probably already got enough of those and would continue getting more. I think it wouldn't be special to him. He would really appreciate some fancier decks as a gift. Please take a look at www.theory11.com or www.ellusionist.com for some decks. Most of them are $10 so a fair bit more expensive than the regular bicycles. www.artofplay.com has some wonderful ones as well, broader range of prices. Multiple copies of whichever deck you select would be worth it, because he would never use a fancy deck if he had just one.

Its also worth checking with him on which books he has already. Royal Road is very popular and he might already have a copy.

An example gift I would set up, priced at around $30(not including shipping costs) :

3x Aviator Heritage Edition (Art of Play) [$21]

OR

2x Knights Playing Cards (Ellusionist) [$20]

+

1x Royal Road to Card Magic (Amazon US store) [$11]

I started performing magic as a little kid around 6 years old. One of my first magic books was this: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Encyclopedia-Magic-Illusions-Incredible/dp/1780193297. I learned nearly every trick in the book and started performing for my family.

After a few years of performing for mostly family. David Blaine's specials hit TV and I got hooked. I started to study more sleight of hand magic and learn as much as possible about the history of magic and how to become a better performer.

During high-school and college I performed ALL THE TIME.. but never for money. I would do it for friends at parties, in the cafeteria, in the gym, any time I got the chance I was performing.

In my forth year of school during the summer time my aunt recommended I perform at a nearby festival for Tips in Glens Falls, NY. I had nothing to lose and it was a new experience. I set up a sign that said "Magic Show" and a bucket and I started performing card tricks on the streets. I then had a friend tell me about Saratoga Springs, NY... as busy touristy city nearby. 5 years ago, when I was 21, I went to downtown Saratoga and started performing street magic. Here is a video of one of those performances: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFmxwfQrwUw.

When performing on the streets I would hand out as many business cards as possible. I also created a website and started to advertise my services everywhere I could. Gigs started to slowly come in... first birthday parties.. then a few small corporate shows.. I wedding here and there. It wasn't success overnight. It was years and years of slowly making improvements trying to make it.

It really depends on your skill level.

If you're more of a beginner, The Royal Road to Card Magic (mentioned elsewhere on this page) is a great introduction to the subject.

Card College is another great resource. This five-book series provides much more in-depth information on all aspects of sleight of hand, and as such is valuable regardless of whether you're a beginner or an advanced card handler.

Finally, if you already have a little skill, Expert Card Technique is a fantastic resource with tons of great tricks that will fit your criteria.

Hope that helps!

People use "brain washing" too freely.

My opinion is, people are too ashamed and scared to admit their own weaknesses.

Let me give you an example;

Bill Clinton. People love the guy. But here's the thing, a ton of people very much dislike his politics.

I forget the exact quote, but one of those people said, "You hate Bill Clinton before you meet him and after he leaves, but while he's there talking to you, you like the guy."

People can blame Scientology all they like, but I think it's exactly what the name sounds like; it's the religion of science. And it uses the science that everyone claims isn't a science, psychology.

Having a degree in psychology, and having had more people than I can count tell me I "should have picked a real degree," I can't help but feel a guilty twinge of happiness when I see people say things like "Scientology brainwashes people!"

No; they're using psychological principles to make you not only accept and like any horse poo they spout, but they change your beliefs. Brain wash? Pfft. They're doing what Bill Clinton does in his interviews.

It actually helps them that you claim they're brainwashing people, because it keeps people from learning the science behind what they're really doing (which just so happens to be my "worthless" degree). Words like brainwashing might as well be the modern day word for "magic," because 99% of people don't actually know what that means, or how people really change other people's minds. Another modern-magical word is "hypnosis." Everyone knows the word, and people are like "Oooo, magic..." but again, 99% of people don't know what it is or how it works. There are literal "magic shows" that have hypnotists, and people call things like that "mental magic."

Calling it brain washing is basically telling 99% of people, "It's not your fault. You couldn't help it. They used magic on you!" And for the people saying they were brainwashed? You notice how they never give real details about what the people actually did to them to "make" them want it? They might as well be saying "They used voodoo on me! I couldn't stop myself!"

Well you can stop yourself, it wasn't "brainwashing," and people want what Scientology has to offer because they're using science to make people want it (like Bill Clinton can control an interview on a supposedly Republican television network, and manage to look good, and make it look like everyone there loves him and he's in control). Even if they crash and burn as a religion, which I doubt, they'll make a ton of money in marketing.

If you're interested in the science, I'd recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Charisma-Myth-Master-Personal-Magnetism-ebook/dp/B005GSZZ24/

and

http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X/

and

http://www.amazon.com/My-Voice-Will-Go-You/dp/0393301354/

and

http://www.amazon.com/Sleights-Mind-neuroscience-reveals-brains-ebook/dp/B003ZDNZYM/

How old is he?

1. Get him Joshua Jay's Complete Course in Magic. It's super easy to read, has great photos, and covers card magic, coin magic, stage illusions, and tons of other stuff. Joshua also has this book for kids.
   
   
2. Royal Road to Card Magic is a book that starts with cuts and shuffles then progresses to card magic in the manner most helpful for building skill.
   
   Also get him several decks so he can tear them up practicing.
   
   Bicycle is the most universal brand. 808 Rider backs are the most common. So if he practices with those then he'll be great if someone hands him a deck at a party.
   
   They're sold in "bricks' of 12 for cheap (compared to $3.50 a deck at Walmart).
   
   
   So for like $40 you can start him on an amazing journey.
   
   
   

Learning how to do magic might be something to look into. It can get expensive, but if you're smart about it and you're willing to put in a good amount of work it can be pretty cheap. Get a deck of bicycles ($2-3) and The Royal Road to Card Magic (≈$10) and start working. That's an older book and a lot of modern beginners ignore it, but it has great information.

The biggest problem with learning magic as cheaply as possible is that you have to learn primarily from books. It's not a massive problem, but it can get really confusing when someone is trying to describe a slight without any real demonstration. I can list some other pros/cons if you're interested. It's a fantastic hobby and it'll help build creativity and dexterity.

Magician checking in... sooo many easy effects:

For general gags there's stuff like drinks on thumbs (no 10, here), salt-cellar BJ gag, reverse arm-wrestle.

For annoyingly 'knacky' physical bar games there's the napkin behind the back thing, cork penetration, pen twist, coin snatch, this co-ordination thing.

For little gifts there's napkin rose, napkin folds into pair of tits or a cock, money orgami like finger ring etc.

For challenging folk's minds try little brain-teasers and puzzles such as vocab tests, logic puzzles, number puzzles etc. Just search online for these as there's thousands. Go for something quite simple though - it's best if some people can work them out and others can't as it's more fun that way.

For betchas and games then there's the matchstick pickup (last match loses) and other match puzzles, heads and tails bets and odds, and a personal fave of mine removing a bra from under a girl's shirt in under 10s. Loads of others if you have money/pool table/playing cards/dice available.

For really simple bar magic there's the arm twist, ashes on palm, scarf through neck, simple coin/money tricks, cig tricks, stuff with your finger ring should you wear one.

For little mind-reading tricks there's stuff like a lying test using NLP cues (previous link), simple mind-reading and influence stuff, little prediction effects.

For 'super-powers' things then stuff such as spoon-bending, pain control, pulse stopping (just use a wadded up napkin not a ball) as well as the mentalism stuff above. Also simple mental arithmetic tricks like quickly multiplying numbers together, knowing what day of the week any date was on (or here), remembering long lists of random stuff, creating magic squares for any number etc.

That's off the top of my head. Most should be Google-able. Use terms such as 'bar magic', 'simple mentalism', 'bar bets' (or 'betchas'). Optionally include the effect as well.


EDIT: Added a few links. These were just quick Google hits so could be complete shit but look OK at first glance. If you're interested in anything in particular let me know and I'll dig out a better, or more complete, resource.

For general background....

Bar bets, games and little betchas look at Scam School. For more in depth (proper scams, some rudimentary magic / gambling ruses) I love the book How To Cheat At Everything by Simon Lovell. There's also some explanations here. Also the bar bet bits of The Real Hustle (loads on YouTube).

For some simple magic tricks which will work in a party/pub/street environment then Paul Zenon's Street Magic is a good beginning point. He also has a bar bets book but it's so-so.

For some simple mindreading / mental powers / memory things then Derren Brown's Tricks of the Mind is quite accessible.

Also if you're really keen, head over to /r/magic I guess and ask for advice on 'proper' magic resources there.

Second bob on posting in /r/Magic. However, I wanted to give you two quick specific recs. Mark Wilson's Complete Course is a classic, and it runs the gamut from cards, coins, rope, stage, etc. I personally found this book extremely useful in advancing my magical knowledge. The second is Josh Jay's more contemporary course. I haven't actually read this one, but everything JJ does is so good that I'm comfortable recommending it.

Feel free to PM me if you've got any other questions; I'm always happy to help out a new magi!

Magician here. Head on over to the sidebar at /r/Magic - there's plenty of information on exactly where to start.

For my money, there's no better place to start than a cheap book. For card magic, look to "The Royal Road to Card Magic". For coins, grab "Modern Coin Magic". For general magic, pick up either Mark Wilson's Complete Course or Joshua Jay's Complete Course.

None of those books should run you more than fifteen bucks. Grab a copy and just read it until you get bored.

Also, please, don't ever learn magic on youtube. The thing that's hard for those new to magic to understand is that it is a craft that has been worked on for thousands of years. Every secret, every beautiful piece of magic ever invented has been based on the work of others, which couldn't have existed if it weren't for the work of others even before them. Every secret, as minute as you can imagine, deserves to be shared with the express permission of the person who put in the hours, days, and years of work it took to discover that secret. YouTube magic schools rarely give proper credit, and truthfully, they rarely teach a magic trick very well at all. You can also never be truly sure that a YouTube magician is worth their salt, whereas you can see--from the fact that these books are decades old yet still being heralded as some of the best magic books out there--that we magicians think they are worth reading.

Bottom line: youtube will teach you secrets. A good magic book, like the ones I recommended, will teach you how to be a magician.

Congratulations on the bonus! Those are always fun.

I'm a booknut, so if I were you I'd go for Console Wars. I have that one on my "To Read" list as well and it looks really interesting. When you're 14 years old playing Super Mario Bros. 2 on your Nintendo 64 you'd never even consider the development, marketing--business--side of what you're playing with.

I love reading through other peoples' wishlists to see what they're reading and to find suggestions to add to my own list. (I "borrowed" a few from you too!) :)

I saw that you have The Truth About Uri Gellar on your list. Have you read [Hiding the Elephant] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0786714018/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2ODFXD0JPMTVD&coliid=I37PF07RQSRYSV)? I haven't read it yet so I can't tell you if it's any good, but it's in the same genre if you want to check it out.

Thanks for the contest! ;0)

Edit: renegade hyphen

Royal Road to Card Magic - http://amzn.com/0486408434

And a fresh deck of Bicycle cards (fancy decks are expensive and make people suspicious) - http://amzn.com/B010F6BXEA

I'd also recommend Modern Coin Magic - http://amzn.com/0486242587

If a coin book sounds good, get four kennedy half dollars (or similar sized coins if you're not in the states) from the bank, just ask a teller.

Reading books is way better than watching youtube, as most trick tutorials are by people who don't actually have a lot of experience or knowledge. If you read books, you also develop your own style instead of parroting whoever is on the video. Start with those two books, then practice a lot in front of a mirror. Think about presentation too- what will you say? When? Why? (a great resource, if you're interested, is Strong magic - http://amzn.com/B00534I956) Once you feel fairly confident, perform the trick(s) as often as you can for as many people as you can. At school, at home, on the street, wherever. Stick with it and do it a lot and you'll get the hang of it.

Break a leg!

I was hesitant to respond to this question initially. My first reaction was, 'For what kind of reading?' I use a variety of decks for a variety of readings. The list I am about to post is by no means comprehensive. It's just a starting point.

For readings in a public venue I'm a huge fan of the Etheral Visions Tarot. This particular deck is gorgeous with art nouveau/art deco style. The foil accented artwork really makes this deck pop and the images are generally in line with what you should expect of a Tarot deck. It does include to addition cards, the artist and the well, which can be used or not as the reader desires. This also the physically largest deck I own. This deck really grabs attention and pulls interest in towards your table.

For romantic readings in preestablished relationships I'm a huge fan of the Romantic Tarot. It hearkens back to the Victorian era for it's art inspiration and generally is on point for committed relationships.

For romantic readings with a bit more drama or uncertainty I have been digging the Mystical Manga Tarot. Manga does both drama and romance really well. It really captures these readings and the emotions that fill them.

For general readings I like the Rider-Waite Tarot or the Hanson-Roberts Tarot. I find both to give seriously solid readings for general readings and the imagery is fairly on point. Some people clearly prefer the Rider-Waite deck even to this day and, when I can, I try and accommodate them. I personally, however, find the Hanson Roberts deck to be just a little more on point.

When someone wants a reading that will lead them to make decision or they are asking about the future I tend to lean towards the Linestrider Tarot. It feels like the art invites the querent to see almost as much as the reader which really helps with these kinds of readings.

I could list a variety of other decks for other reasons, but I feel this will do for a starting point.

> Are there any must-read books or is watching youtube videos enough?

This used to be an easy answer, but juggling has advanced so quickly in the last decade that even the best books show age. Charlie Dancey's Encyclopaedia of Ball Juggling is the best book I can recommend. Only a couple names have gone out of style since its publishing, and it's a very charming read.

There are a couple videos that are essentially glossaries of juggling patterns - I have to leave now, but I'll edit this post later with them.

Edit: here's the one I was thinking of for all sort of standard tricks, and here's Steve's 101 Mills Mess Variations video.

Horseshit. First, in his TV shows he admits he uses "a combination of psychology, showmanship, 'magic' and misdirection". He up-front admits that he's lying to you, and that there's nothing magical or supernatural about what he does - it's simply all "for show".

Secondly, if you read his book he's actually quite scathing about NLP and the happy-clapping brigade, claiming they're basically self-deluding and idiotic, just as bad as religious people.

Yes, he admits he studied NLP at one point, but no, he doesn't claim it has any magical benefit - at best, he takes a few techniques from it and applies them differently in some of his tricks.

You should really take some time to read up on people before jumping to such strong conclusions about them - temperamentally the guy's actually more like The Amazing Randi than Uri Gellar.

Or does Randi's day-job as a magician also mean he's "not a friend of rationalism"?

While the Mark Wilson course that a few people have recommended is fabulous, it may feel a little dated for your group.

I would strongly recommend Magic: The Complete Course by Joshua Jay. It covers a variety of easy but powerful tricks, includes a DVD for those visual learners, and can be gotten for under $20.

Magic: The Complete Course https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761149872/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_X.X8ub133YA6B
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761149872/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_X.X8ub133YA6B

Josh has also just released a new book geared towards kids called Big Magic for Little Hands, which runs the same price as the other book. I've not read this one, so can't personally say what it contains. Josh is a very talented performer and teacher though, and I've always been happy with the products of his that I've seen.

Instead of $10 for one effect, spend $10 to get this book that's loaded with great stuff or this book that's a little more advanced - and also loaded with great info. Or spend $30 to get this book that takes you step by step through a lot of basics, or this one that's a little more advanced. If you just really want to avoid books, try this DVD. But, really, books are going to give you the most bang for your buck by a lot. Give books a shot. Your local library might even have some good stuff for free. DVDs would be the next obvious step, since you're paying $25 for 9 powerful effects taught by a master. Even with tax and shipping, that's under $4 each. When you're looking at stuff that's $10 for a download for stuff that's generally unproven, you're usually wasting money.

Also, check the thread in the sidebar. There are a lot of good references in there.

The 16th century isn't really the "Birth of Magic", so much as it represents the first printed magic books in English.

With that in mind, any resource is going to be primarily based on "The Discoverie of Witchcraft", and therefore you may as well go to the source yourself:

http://www.amazon.com/Discoverie-Witchcraft-Reginald-Scot/dp/1153345269/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

There are plenty of magic history books out there. The majority in print are by Jim Steinmeyer, but his all cover a similar period - the "golden age" of around 1900-1940 or so. "Hiding the Elephant" is probably the most generic of his books, and gives an overview to the period with particular regards to optical effects:

http://www.amazon.com/Hiding-Elephant-Magicians-Impossible-Disappear/dp/0786714018/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313347852&sr=1-1

For a wider point of view:

http://www.amazon.com/Performing-Dark-Arts-Conjuring-Consciousness/dp/1841501492

is not a bad alternative. This book tries to place magic in an anthropological context. This will detail more of the period you are after, but again, the same sources will be referenced, and they're not hard to find.

The birth of magic is really with Robert-Houdin, and you can't get any better than his own memoirs:

http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Robert-Houdin-ambassador-author-conjuror/dp/1178024555/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313348089&sr=1-6

This is, of course, 19th century and not 16th. They are still a cracking read, and what he got up to in Algeria defies belief.

For "Women and Magic", by far the most interesting I feel is the influence of the Suffragette movement on stage magic - specifically P.T.Selbit's "Sawing a lady in two" which bucked the trend of using young male assistants, in favour of the now-cliche women-in-danger. To what extent this was a (violent!) reaction to the greater powers and control that feminism offered is highly debatable, but very interesting. Houdini also had some tussles with the Suffragettes, mainly as publicity. Again, this isn't 16th century.

I'm a philosophically naturalist Buddhist. (I don't believe that anything supernatural exists.)

Therefore, logically enough, I don't believe that anyone ever has supernatural powers, whatever said person's religious persuasion or training.

(By "supernatural" we'll include all synonyms here: "magical powers", "psychic powers", "divine powers", whatever.)

On the other hand, people can develop unusual natural abilities through training - if I saw any performance of Cirque du Soleil and wasn't a hard-core naturalist, I'd be willing to believe that I was seeing a display of supernatural powers!

It seems reasonable to assume that said yogis and similar people do sometimes train and develop such natural but unusual and impressive abilities.

---

A very interesting book on Asian magic in myth, psychology, and actual performance -

• Net of Magic: Wonders and Deceptions in India, by Lee Siegel
  
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Net-Magic-Wonders-Deceptions-India/dp/0226756874
  
  Highly recommended.
  
  
• Also Flim-Flam: The Truth about Unicorns, Parapsychology and Other Delusions, by James Randi
  
  In which Randi exposes charlatans who deceive the public.
  

This is a great question for here.

Is your boyfriend into history at all? The Illustrated History of Magic is a beautiful book and full of fascinating facts about magicians from the past. It's not really just tricks so it's something you could enjoy with him.

For actual trick books, The Books of Wonder are probably the most important books for magic in the last 20 years. ^[Citation ^needed]

If your boyfriend is into more theoretical views of magic (not a whole lot of people are though) the Fitzkee trilogy are what Tommy Wonder (the author of the previous book) cited as the most important books for him. They don't really focus on cards, but are more a theoretical take on all of magic.

I'm not really all that much of a card magician. I would assume he has the important card books already. (Expert at the Card Table, Expert Card Technique, Royal Road, etc) Maybe Revolutionary Card Technique.

Hope this helps!

The Royal Road to Card Magic by Hugard & Braue

If you follow this book all the way through by the end you will have an amazing foundation in card magic.

Modern Coin Magic by J. B. Bobo

This is a must read if you're interested in coin magic.

Have fun, enjoy the journey and welcome!

Here's some beginner tricks that I learned from YouTube when I first started:

Biddle Trick

Don't know what its called but the title says "Slop"

Three Card Monte this one is a bit more difficult. Make sure you practice this so you don't flash a card!

For novinces, these tricks are all fine and good, but you should really get proficient at sleights. I can't recommend The Royal Road to Card Magic (and its on sale right now!

The Royal Road is what I used (along with Complete Card Magic with Gerry Griffin and a Royal Road Deluxe Edition that they've stopped producing ^(you can still find dvd's on it but not the specific one I have). However, the book is better than both of these, although they are good for reference should you get stuck or confused on a part). The royal road is very very good. A good investment and teacher

Royal Road to Card Magic is mentioned by another response... Other books that are considered the Sacred Texts of card magic would include Expert at the Card Table and Expert Card Technique...

Expert of the Card Table is has an interesting history and covers many gambling sleights that have some application in card magic. Depending on the edition, I believe there is some errata, but you can find the corrections online fairly easily.


I personally love Expert Card Technique because it covers so many slights and classic card magic effects. It has illustrations that are helpful.

It looks like it honestly could have been the favorite spot of a magician/card cheat. Back in the early 1900s, and still today, most card cheats would have to keep their cheating a life long secret, because many of them were upstanding citizens in positions of power. Some just like the thrill. They would hole themselves up somewhere that nobody would care to look in order to master all of the sleights required to give them an advantage. You can read more about things like that in the preface to "The Expert at the Card Table" by S.W. Erdnase published in 1902, under 9 bucks. Even if you don't care to learn the secrets, it has some phenomenal insight into the lives of these guys back in time period.

As far as magician's go, many will find a place completely deprived of distraction in order to practice for hours. The great Dai Vernon used to rent two hotel rooms, one to store all of his belongings, and the other to sit in and practice magic. Given the playing cards, I'd say either is at least a possible option. That corner looks like an excellent space to practice.

Source: I'm a magician.

Sleight of hand with coins

Sleight of Hand

Sleight of Hand with Cards


Edit: there's my 3 suggestions that I've had great experience with. These are 3 staples in any magic collection in my opinion.


Ok! I need to clarify one thing. These books are very old. Don't get discouraged at the fact that the vernacular can be somewhat confusing. If you take the time to look up any words that might be hard to understand and just work trough the text, you will find timeless effects that you'll be able to show off for years to come! Don't dismiss a move because it seems so simple!

I would recommend Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. It's a tried and true classic that covers card tricks in great detail as well as coins, sponge balls, and larger illusions. In other words, it's well-rounded.

With the money you save, you could pick up a deck of cards, a few sponge balls, and maybe a few quarters/halves from the bank.

Pick up this book Use your creative juices and fatherly wit to come up with obnoxious puns to go along with what you learn and you are set my friend.

I recommend this to people starting out in magic. It will teach you the basics of sleight of hand. Some things are outdated or inappropriate to show kids like a section on cigarette magic. But you can learn how to thumb palm a cigarette and apply that to a similar shaped object like a crayon.

Local Magic shop will usually show you what they are selling and recommend some good starter material.

I started out with Royal Road then I moved onto whatever seemed interesting.

A lot of the stuff seems a lot harder than it is, and presentation is really key. That book with some gimmick coin sets will get you rolling.

For coin stuff there is no better start than Bobo's Book.

Your mileage will vary depending on how much you practice. I usually practice flourishes on the subway, and some simple moves there too. Luckily I have a job with long stretches of down time so I am always practicing there too.

Yes.

Some advice first; skip the pass for now, skip the flourishes (unless that's what you are interested in). As for books, this book was like my card magic Bible when growing up, you can get the PDF version for free this week only at the Conjuring Arts website:
Expert Card Technique

You can algo buy a softcover version of this book for cheap (and you should).

Empty my pockets, breathe, check in on my mental state and focus in/get centered, and then fist bump someone.

Re Mantras/relationship to the audience: I like TJ Jagodowski's habit of shielding his eyes from the stage lights and looking at the audience. And I think it was in Hiding the Elephant that I read about a magician who, from behind the curtain, would whisper "I love you" to the audience before taking the stage. I've stolen TJ's move for once I'm on stage, and I try to remind myself of my love for the craft, audience, and opportunity before I step out as well.

Joshua Jay has some great material for kids, some of which is DIY. Magic the complete course is great and has a kids section. He also has a book called Big Magic for Little Hands which has tricks for kids to learn how to do if you are maybe into teaching them something.

Magic: The Complete Course https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761149872/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uNKtxbE5PTNRP

Big Magic for Little Hands: 25 Astounding Illusions for Young Magicians https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761180095/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7OKtxb1Q9HCK8

I love both books but another good one is called “Expert card technique” by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braué if you’d like to purchase it here’s a link https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0486217558/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=

another really great book for anyone interested is The Practical Encyclopedia of Magic.

i have found that cards and coins are harder just because my hands are not as stretchy as they once were... but, practice makes perfect.

Sleight of hand.

Week's challenge: Post a video of yourself performing a trick selected from the

Royal Road to Card Magic

Good luck!

I'd like to add, Expert at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase for a more experienced card handler, IE if you've tried some slight of hand and like doing it, this book contains a lot of basic and more advanced techniques you can use in card magic.

Hanson-Roberts is a beginner friendly deck with a lovely feel to it, and much of the original symbolism in the cards. Read the reviews.

Card magic. It will easily take up hours and hours. It's also cool as hell!

You can get a couple decks of good cards for less than $5, and you can get a copy of a good book on card magic for less than $10. I'd suggest starting with The Royal Road to Card Magic. It is pretty much THE intro text to card magic. You can probably find a pdf of the book floating around on the web somewhere. It's worth paying for, though. Plenty of used copies for less than $5 here.

I feel like most people would be disappointed to learn the secret behind most magic tricks.

Camera tricks, like cutting to different angles to hide certain elements, are different because the magician doesn’t have that same luxury with the live audience and so what is shown on camera should reflect what is shown to the live audience.

I’m currently reading Magic by Misdirection by Dariel Fitzkee and it has a really interesting point about how a person who hears music on a radio doesn’t consider it magical even though they don’t know how it works. They just assume the technology does work and move on. Similarly, if a magician is using a prop or piece of technology and it is clear that the trick is done using this technology, they will just assume that’s how it is done and will be less impressed. So in modern magic acts that use things like iPads, something needs to happen that makes the audience go, “Even though I get that the iPad is doing some of this, I don’t understand how they did THAT.”


Magic by Misdirection

Used to do card magic long ago. Having the muscle memory for classic forces is nice, but if you want to incorporate this kind of thing, there are a lot of super simple to do forces that require little to no practice to do effectively.

Edit: If you want to get into doing this, a great place to start is The Royal Road to Card Magic. Its a phenomenal book for beginners and intermediate skill. It was written back in the 40's and covers a lot of the basic foundations of card manipulation.

For those interested, Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham have a very interesting book titled "Magical Mathematics: The Mathematical Ideas that Animate Great Magic Tricks" (Amazon link). It mostly focuses on magic, and card magic at that, but there is an interesting chapter on juggling.

#1
Because I will need refreshments while studying

[#2] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030HMQTS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=EPS3TS5HDN6C&coliid=I1RU8CYY4TTINL)
Because I need to look good while studying

[#3] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006R9JXZG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=QE8F4372V12A&coliid=I278R7PDI8I7XK&psc=1)
Because I will wave these magic wands and conjure up a new hat

[#4] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZDNZYM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=T2W93XK4UYF3&coliid=IUYVA44S5HNZL)
Because I think this may be one of the textbooks

[#5] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GBLK5I/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1IW6H9DRTQ7C7&coliid=IR6NCVAZL9G7U)
Because it's always good to prepared for emergencies, especially when studying magic

[Bonus] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002FZ147G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3MTF6KZZSOOJR&coliid=I1F3K42FC1LC46&psc=1)
Because I need my dog to chill out so I can study

Some excellent Books on the subject:

Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms

Magic by Misdirection by Dariel Fitzkee (The entire Fitzkee Trilogy is great!)

Five Points of Magic by Juan Tamariz

Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz

Maximum Entertainment by Ken Webber

Books of Wonder by Tommy Wonder (I highly recommend these books for every magician - if you find them, get them!)

I learned to read on the Hanson-Roberts deck. I bought it with my best friend when we were 15 and she spilled wine on it a couple of years ago, unfortunately. ._.

Currently I am using the Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg for my readings. I actually bought it a couple of years ago and started to do a couple of readings with it, but I wasn't ready for it at the time. I found the imagery to be too intense for me. Now, though, I find that it is exactly what I need and I find myself very in tune with this deck.

I bought the Art Nouveau deck at the same time as the St. Petersburg deck, and although I used it at first and I think the cards are beautiful, it does not speak to me whatsoever. I don't really know what to do with the deck since I have already used it, I can't exactly gift it to anyone else, but I have zero communion with the deck and won't be using it again. The symbolism is virtually non-existent for me and I find myself becoming irritated with the cards very easily.

Now You See It, Now You Don't: Lessons in Sleight of Hand is a classic, and one that was recommended to me years ago when I was interested in learning magic tricks. Excellent starting point.

I loved Hiding the Elephant by Jim Steinmeyer. You'll likely get many recommendations for it here.

I also liked Fooling Houdini by Alex Stone.

Definitely books and instructional DVDs as opposed to gimmicks and one trick. This book is a great place to begin.

I read 48 Laws of Power few months ago. Very good book, which reminded me The Prince from Niccolò Machiavelli on some sides. I'll keep an eye on Mastery too.
Another very good book I forgot to mention : Tricks of the mind

Almost every card trick is a combination of a few basic sleight of hand maneuvers. Here's a decent intro, i think. I just checked it out quickly, but it looks like he talks about the basics. Buy the Royal Road if you really want to learn, it's old, but it's a total classic.

Get a good book like: Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic

Invisible Thread, thumb tip, variety of colored silks

Brilliant. To learn card magic, I'd recommend the books Royal Road to Card Magic and or Card College by Robert Giobbi (VOLUME 1) . If you can afford it go for the DVD set Royal Road To Card Magic by R. Paul Wilson (does not include the book). Both the Royal Road and Card College are essential for starting out with card magic. Some of the venacular may seem dated, if in doubt look up the moves on youtube, but study the books first, please do not rely on youtube for this

First off, pick up Mark Wilson's Complete Course. It's cheap, TONS of info (Though maybe a little dated), and at least an introduction to almost every kind of magic out there. Play around, see what you like, then learn to specialize in that.

I loved this one: Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown

1. Johnny Thompson Commercial Classics of Magic - $140
   
   
2. Michael Ammar Complete Introduction to Coin Magic - $20
   
   
3. Amateur Magician's Handbook - $15
   
   
4. The Collected Almanac - $60, if available
   
   
5. Three Uses for a Knife - $11
   
   
6. Regular Decks Red and Blue - $4/Deck ~8
   
   
7. 6 Kennedy half dollars - $3
   
   
8. 1 Expanded Shell - $35
   
   
9. 1 set of 4 sponge balls - $5
   
   
10. Strong Magic - $35
    
    
11. Tarbell Course in Magic - $168
    
    At this point, total is $500..
    
    
12. Art of Astonishment vol 1-3 - $35/book = $105
    
    
13. Five Points in Magic - $35
    
    
14. Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic - $15
    
    
15. Greater Magic - $195
    
    
16. Conjurors Psychological Secrets - $50
    
    
17. Essential Dai Vernon - $98
    
    Instructions to student:
    
    Read and study Three Uses for a Knife and Strong Magic. Notice the theories at work in other forms of media beyond magic.
    
    Watch Johnny Thompson and Ammar vids and observe the theories in practice. Work through Amateur Magician’s Handbook and Ammar vid.
    
    Read Five Points in Magic.
    
    Read Essential Dai Vernon and note how the five points work with those effects.
    
    Read Conjurors Psychological Secrets.
    
    Learn and practice Thompson effects.
    
    Pick and choose through remaining books what you want to learn.
    
    Keep re-reading theory books and modifying your routines.

I'd recommend getting it. Also get Royal Road to Card Magic. Hugard and Braue make card magic incredibly available in that book. If you wanna do coin stuff, David Roth's Expert Coin Magic is also amazing, but you could probably find it cheaper than that listing.

You might also want to check out the Illustrated History of Magic (Amazon) which is a pretty expansive historical review of the entire art of magic.

If you want specifically card magic, This book on Amazon is the Dover edition and highly recommended.

For DVD, get the one by R. Paul Wilson, titled 'Royal Road To Card Magic by R. Paul Wilson'.

If you want a more general magic kit, get Joshua Jay’s The Complete Magician Kit.

>able to pierce themselves with large swords / skewers, after their rituals.

Fuck that. I can do that. You can do that.

If they can do that, then anybody can do that.

If you can't do that either, then they can't do it. It's what magicians call a "trick".

>They wouldn't be able to do so before the rituals.

Bullshit.

If they can do it after the ritual, then they can do it before the ritual.

>I have seen it

I believe that.

But what you saw wasn't supernatural or paranormal.

It was just people sticking pointy objects into themselves (or pretending to.)

I've seen someone doing that too. The guy doing it specifically said that it was just a trick. I have no idea how he did it.

The most likely explanation based on what I saw is that he just stuck a pointy object into his body. I could be wrong about that.

>you are dismissing that they are illusionist who have nothing better to do but perform in temples or along the street??.

Please, please, please -

read this

Net of Magic: Wonders and Deceptions in India, by Lee Siegel

- http://www.amazon.com/Net-Magic-Wonders-Deceptions-India/dp/0226756874 -

It's a very good book about the thousands of illusionists in India who have nothing better to do but perform in temples or along the street. The author is an anthropologist and a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, and a good friend of a lot of these street illusionists.


and read this

Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions, by James Randi

- http://www.amazon.com/Flim-Flam-Psychics-Unicorns-Other-Delusions/dp/0879751983/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312470111&sr=1-1 -

Yes, you know what you saw. But you don't know anything else.

The people that you saw were doing magic tricks. People have been doing these tricks for thousands of years. They know how to fool people.

They fooled you.

Any "starter pack" you end up getting is probably going to be cheap and not contain quality materials. You're much better off buying them separately as needed.

For example, some of the things I would personally buy if I wanted to do...

Card Magic: A deck of Tally-Ho playing cards and the holy bible of beginner card magic

Coins: go to your local bank and ask them to exchange a $5 bill for some half-dollars. They're not as rare as you think, and you can always ask them to order some in for you for no cost.


I specialize in cards, and I can very confidently say that any deck of cards you get in a "starter pack" is going to suck. Tally-Ho is my personal favorite, but standard Bicycles will get the job done and cost about $15/12pack at Costco (or $12 when they go on sale).

Then I recommend picking up the books "Royal Road to Card Magic", "Modern Coin Magic", and "Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic"

As for YouTube, there's a lot of bad magic tutorials on YouTube. So be careful of who you watch.

Besides Chris, I would recommend watching Alex Pandrea, 52Kards, and SankeyMagic.

PigCake is a pretty good teacher as well but he can be sort of crude sometimes so that's up to you.

Xavior Spade also has good stuff but he also teaches a lot of advanced card moves.

Cards wear out. Books don't. The most bang for your buck is definitely books.

Now You See It, Now You Don't! by Bill Tarr. Around $17.00

You know the ones that are most regularly recommended. If there are any on that list you don't have, fill the gaps.

If you must buy cards, consider getting some double-backers. They are an incredible secret weapon.

Ahh! Now I get to plug my book :-)

CharlieDancey

Color Change Tutorial
I think you have to create an account for this one.

Royal Road to Card Magic

Reading a book on stage magic made me think more deeply about attention, and how you can “hide things in plain sight” by redirecting your audience’s attention.

A generation or two ago, henry hay was the equivalent of mark wilsons complete course. Everything you need to know about magic in one book.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amateur-Magicians-Handbook-Henry-Hay/dp/0785802045

http://www.amazon.com/Card-College-Vol-Sleight-Hand/dp/0945296185

https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Card-Table-Treatise-Manipulation/dp/0486285979

"The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation" by S. W. Erdnase, originally published in 1902.

The Royal Road to Card Magic.

I second the recommendation on the book route, I personally think a lot of the kits on the market are geared for a younger age group.

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Complete-Course-Joshua-Jay/dp/0761149872

http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Complete-Course-Magic/dp/0762414553

http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Complete-Course-Magic/dp/0762414553/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347715705&sr=8-1&keywords=magic+course
This is all you need starting out for awhile.

Hard to say, depends on how far into magic you are, but here's a book that should be in every magician's library:

https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Complete-Course-Magic/dp/0762414553/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512052771&sr=8-1&keywords=mark+wilson%27s+complete+course+in+magic

If you are into cards specifically, and don't have them, here are three books you should own (and I would suggest reading them in this order):

https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Road-Card-Magic/dp/0486408434/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512052913&sr=1-1&keywords=royal+road+to+card+magic

https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Card-Table-Treatise-Manipulation/dp/0486285979/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512052934&sr=1-1&keywords=the+expert+at+the+card+table

https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Card-Technique-Close-Up-Table/dp/0486217558/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512052952&sr=1-1&keywords=expert+card+technique