Review by Andy Martin for Life and Times of a Legend – ANNEMANN by Ted Annemann
5 out of 5
What can you say! Simply Amazing!
I’m not going to fool anyone if I say I have read the whole of this book – it is huge and heavy. However, it holds nearly all of the known published miracles of Ted Annemann and it is a book that I am very eager to read from cover to cover.
Ted Annemann was one of the real heavyweights in magic thought and creation, and its hard to imagine anyone not getting a truck load of wonderful ideas from this book.
I know this doesn’t do justice to the man or the book, so buy it yourself and post a review for us all to read! Beautifully produced and Highly recommended!
Review by Andy Martin for Complete Magician, The by Marvin Kaye
5 out of 5
The Perfect Book for the Beginner
The Complete Magician by Marvin Kaye (or the $link(1886,Stein & Day Handbook of Magic) as it is known in the USA) is a wonderful book for the serious beginner who wants to perform magic as a hobby or as a profession.
What I liked most about this book when I first read it 27 years ago was that it didn’t just focus on tricks and sleights. It did provide some great routines in each of the main areas of magic, including a wonderful section on Children’s magic which I was performing most of at the time, but it also had chapters on patter, style, perparing for the big Stage show, routining and all the other things that make up a real performance. These other aspects of magic are often overlooked by the beginner.
The book also ends many chapters with a brief description of commercially available effects and gives sources of dealers and magical publications. As a budding young magician these of course inspired me to want to save up my paper round money to buy more magic!
I found this book a wonderful entry into performing magic for real audiences and for many many years used ideas and magic directly from it. Soon I will read it again and feel sure it will still provide me with some useful tips and ideas that I have forgotten.
(Notice: Although the printed word is basically the same in both versions of this book, the Complete Magician is a far superior quality book, with a bigger format, better quality paper and numerous black and white photographs. So if you can, get the Complete Magician instead of the Stein and Day Handbook of Magic.)
Review by Andy Martin for Stein & Day Handbook of Magic, The by Marvin Kaye
5 out of 5
The Perfect Book for the Beginner
$link(1900,The Complete Magician) by Marvin Kaye (or the $link(1886,Stein & Day Handbook of Magic) as it was known in the USA) is a wonderful book for the serious beginner who wants to perform magic as a hobby or as a profession.
What I liked most about this book when I first read it 27 years ago was that it didn’t just focus on tricks and sleights. It did provide some great routines in each of the main areas of magic, including a wonderful section on Children’s magic which I was performing most of at the time, but it also had chapters on patter, style, perparing for the big Stage show, routining and all the other things that make up a real performance. These other aspects of magic are often overlooked by the beginner.
The book also ends many chapters with a brief description of commercially available effects and gives sources of dealers and magical publications. As a budding young magician these of course inspired me to want to save up my paper round money to buy more magic!
I found this book a wonderful entry into performing magic for real audiences and for many many years used ideas and magic directly from it. Soon I will read it again and feel sure it will still provide me with some useful tips and ideas that I have forgotten.
(Notice: Although the printed word is basically the same in both versions of this book, the Complete Magician is a far superior quality book, with a bigger format, better quality paper and numerous black and white photographs. So if you can, get the Complete Magician instead of the Stein and Day Handbook of Magic.)
Review by Andy Martin for Magician's Magic by Paul Curry
5 out of 5
More than just Out of This World!
I read this book initially over 25 years ago, and remembered to this day the story that Mr. Curry relates about the time Winston Churchill was late for a War Cabinet meeting because he was busy watching a magician perform "Out of This World". But this book has so much more than Curry’s most famous card trick, which is does indeed explain.
I guess it was aimed at the layman or beginner in magic, but as a performer and collector of magic for over 30 years I still found it a very interesting and rewarding read. He has chapters on many aspects of our art relating all the way back to the Cups and Balls. He covers stage illusions, close-up, escapes, seances, mentalism, and more.
One of the things I really like about this book is that Mr Curry will detail some historical effect or principle and then describe a more up to date and easy to do version of the effect or principle that can be perfomed. Most of the magic in the book is possible to perform without complex sleight of hand or specialised props.
It is a mix of history, showmanship and magical effects, by one of the true greats in the art of magic. I for one believe this should be on every beginners and advanced magic list!
Review by Davide for Mind, Myth and Magick by T.A. Waters
5 out of 5
Simply the best
This is one of my favourite books it’s simply fantastic more than 800 pages full of beatiful ideas. There are a lot of new things, the effects are perfect and can fool even a magician. It’s a giant resource for mental magic. Any mentalist must have it! Simply the best!
Review by C.A.Messenger for 13 Steps to Mentalism by Tony Corinda
5 out of 5
Tony Corinda should have been given a special award for this book. There is nothing in the world of Magic or Mentalism that comes close to this ‘essential reference’ for completeness,organization,accuracy and all around excellence. Several books have been called "The Bible of Mentalism" but there is really only one…Corinda’s 13 Steps to Mentalism!
Review by Andy Martin for Joe Karson – Beyond Zombie by Michael Rose
5 out of 5
Much more than the Zombie!
So all of us at one time or another have either performed the Zombie floating ball effect, or dreamed of performing it. I remember even having a cheap plastic one when I was a kid. Performed well its one of the most fascinating magical effects ever devised. Its inventor, Joe Karson, is even more fascinating!
I have found reading this book very interesting; a real page turner! Joe was not a saint by any means, but he was clearly a borderline genius, a very talented inventor, and an incredible entertainer. Michael Rose has done a wonderful job of filling in all the blanks about this colorful character. A highly recommended read.
Review by George Guerra for Revolutionary Card Technique by Ed Marlo
5 out of 5
A True Classic!!
This book requires no introduction nor review. Plain and simple, it’s a classic belonging in any card magic enthusiast’s library. I have mine next to Giobbi’s Card College series. Ed Marlo has contributed immensely to card magic and I am glad this series is now under one convenient hard cover book. I am particularly glad it was released as it nicely replaces the loose soft bound series I sold on ebay.
Review by George Guerra for Collected Almanac, The by Richard Kaufman
5 out of 5
A True Classic
In the Magic Cafe, someone asked the question, "If you could only keep 5 books or series of books, which would you keep?" Among the books in my answer was Richard’s Collected Almanac. The others were Lorayne’s Apocalypse volumes, Giobbi’s Card College series, Ibidem set, and all six volumes of Marlo’s Magazine. Collected Almanac is full of great magic from top names in the field. Richard Kaufman is no stranger to those who admire well illustrated and well published books on magic, so this is definitely a MUST in any library. BTW, the most popular answer was Paul Harris’ Art of Astonishment set.
Review by Andy Martin for Stunners Plus! by Larry Becker
5 out of 5
Wow! This is where the true miracles begin!
Larry Becker is an incredible Mentalist. But once you read this book you’ll realize he is a lot more than that! One of his biggest hits, Russian Roulette, is explained in detail in this book, and frankly even when you know how this is done you will realise how absolutely brilliant Larry Becker is. I have long been an admirer of $link(http://www.martinsmagic.com/?html=gallery&keywords=becker,his magic), and this book prooves why.
Talk about incredible value. There is so much in here, and you can buy it directly from Larry for an incredible price at his new $link(http://www.stunnersplus.com,StunnersPlus.com) website.
This is such a thick tomb, it will keep you going and going and going. Thank-you Larry for re-releasing this incredible volume, and adding more to boot. If you buy no other book this year, buy this one!
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