Product Description

Magic is everywhere, from the big spectacle celebrity of David Copperfield and Siegfried and Roy to the quirky Penn and Teller to the spooky David Blaine and Criss Angel to the endless material on YouTube. But until now, learning it has never been easy—that's all about to change with Magic, a book that does for close-up magic what How to Grill does for barbecue. Written by charismatic young magician Joshua Jay, Magic combines expertise, photographs, step-by-step directions showing how to perform 100 tricks, and a DVD that demonstrates 35 of them.

Joshua Jay took home the top prize at the World Magic Seminar (the Olympics of magic) when he was just 16 years old. Ten years later, he continues to perform magic, write about magic, eat, sleep, and breathe magic. Here, he brings all his passion and knowledge to teaching magic. Each trick is broken down into the Effect, the Secret, the Set-up, and, most important, the Performance, with lessons on what to say, how to direct the audience's attention, where to keep your hands, and so on. (In other words, how to be smart about the things your audience is surprisingly clueless about.)

Here are the Ten Greatest Card Tricks; tricks to dazzle a dinner date; tricks to perform for the boss (poke a hole through his shirt, then magically mend it); tricks especially for kids; and even tricks for an audience in another state—with "Australian Self-Help," you can find a participant's chosen card over the phone. It's the Aha! book for a subject whose time has come.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7495 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780761149873
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Every 10 or 20 years a book comes along that introduces a whole new generation to the art and craft of magic. This is it!"—Stan Allen, Editor-in-Chief, Magic Magazine
(Magic Magazine )

Review
"Finally, a book that brings the art of magic into the 21st century!"—Rick Merrill, 2006 World Champion of Magic

About the Author
Joshua Jay was crowned champion at the World Magic Seminar in 1998, when he was still a teenager, and today is one of America's finest young magicians. He's performed and lectured in over 50 countries, is a headliner at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, and writes a monthly column in MAGIC, the leading magazine for magicians. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

How else can he explain....?
One doesn't judge a book like this by its style. This is too bad, really, because Jay's style is delightful. Nor does one judge it on the basis of such other "literary" criteria as humour, insight, or human interest, which is also unfortunate because, surprisingly, the book abounds in these as well. No, one buys a book like this for its ability to teach us, well, let's be frank, its ability to teach us how to make our friends look like idiots. (Sure, there are going to be some few who buy it to SERIOUSLY get a grounding in beginning magic, but, alas, they ARE few... and far between). Additionally, a large portion of the book's audience will probably be young people ("young" being in the eye of the beholder, but it has been my experience that we tend to lose either interest or simple dexterity as we age). So, the real tests of a book like this are: A) Are the tricks explained clearly and in an easily duplicable manner? B) Are there ENOUGH of them that DON'T require the hours of practice that any true afficianado of the art knows is necessary... but we really don't want to do? and C) Does it also contain a great DVD of over 2 hours in length that shows us how to do a lot of the tricks and, even if we don't want to do them ourselves, still is a heck of a lot of entertaining fun? The answer to all three of these is a resounding YES!!!!!! So, what are you waiting for? Buy this!

THE Book to buy on Magic
If you could only buy one book on magic, this is the one. The price is a bargain for the information being provided. One of the many great features is a DVD which covers (i.e., presents & demonstrates) about a third of the effects addressed in the book. The quality of the book's language and photos is likewise outstanding. Joshua Jay can be proud of himself and his really wonderful book which is sure to become a classic in magic literature. He hits the nail on the head when he points out that people don't simply want to learn the secrets...but to learn how to perform the magic itself. I am trying to adopt many of the effects myself so I can share them with family and friends. The wonder of magic for me and many others is to allow ourselves to be children again...and Joshua Jay is helping many amateurs such as myself to share that joyful experience with others. Well done, young Mr. Jay!

A Great Starting Place for the New Magician
In the beginning of this book Joshua Jay askes you to look at a cartoon drawing of New York City for thirty seconds then to turn the page. He then asks you a few simple questions. I'm a pretty observant person and was sure there was no way he could trick me. He did, because he asked me a question about something that wasn't there. It should have been, I imagined seeing it as soon as he asked me, but it wasn't there. Right then I knew I was in the hands of a man who knows his stuff.

And Joshua Jay's stuff is Magic.

Not only does Joshua teach his readers a plethora of effects (tricks), he teaches you a respect for the craft. Anyone, as he says, can do magic, but it takes more than reading a book as he points out. It takes practice, but don't let that put you off, some of the effects are simple and you can learn them in a very short time, others, even though you know how to do them, take time. But if you invest that time, you'll amaze yourself.

And here's a bit of advice from me, don't tell anyone you're learning magic. Spend twenty minutes or so with this book every night for a couple months, master, really master some of these tricks, then when you're out with a group of friends, casually perform one, like it's no big deal.

Then do it again at another time. You will amaze them. You will amaze yourself too. And you might find yourself wanting to go further with magic. If so, you started with the right book.