Product Description

Dai Vernon: the last great undiscovered artist of the 20th century.

His medium was magic and with it, Vernon turned the clandestine world of conjuring on its ear with virtuoso sleight-of-hand and a dogged pursuit for perfection.

Born in 1894 in Ottawa, the son of a Canadian civil servant, Vernon moved to New York - Manhattan - in 1915, and never looked back. Miracles flowed from his fingertips - effortlessly. The source of his secrets? The underworld and the gamblers, husters and con-men that roamed back-room dens of iniquity, bunked in jail cells and walked the streets of America. Vernon sought them out, befriended them, and made their work, their covert methods, his. This book, the first in-depth examination of Vernon's life, traces the first half of his remarkable journey - through Ottawa, Coney Island, Chicago, Manhattan, Kansas City and Colorado Springs - and the celebrities - Houdini, Billy Rose, and Roosevelt, that Vernon encountered along the way.

Dai Vernon: A Biography also details the evolution of magic in the 20th century. From the stages of London and Paris to the back rooms of magic emporiums where secrets were bought and sold, Vernon's life and work escort the reader through vaudeville, Broadway theaters, grand magic spectaculars, New York nightspots and the dawn of television. Here, cornerstones of the craft have finally been laid bare for all to see.

Hardbound, 370 pages with over 40 rare photographs and a full-color dust jacket.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #316846 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-15
• Released on: 2006-08-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 366 pages

Review
"The joy of the book comes from the quixotic quest at the root of Vernon s life. In an age when mediocrity and acquiescence to the banal is the norm, Vernon s relentless pursuit of perfection is invigorating. David Ben --perhaps because he shares the inclination -- details every step and misstep in this regard. He admires Vernon, but makes no excuses for his poor performance as a husband and father. Instead, he makes us understand that there is a universe of ideas and ideals -- we refer to it as 'magic', here on our little planet -- that some people find endlessly enchanting." ---Paul Quarrington, Books in Canada, April, 2007

A marvelously told story for anyone interested in magic history or in the absorbing life of, arguably, its greatest star -- MAGIC Magazine, July 2006

David Ben brings this new character back from history and very much to life in his marvelous tale. Combining meticulous research, a deep understanding of the workings of magic, and broad insight into magic's artistic history, Mr. Ben turns out to have been an ideal candidate to assume the undeniably daunting task of telling magicians a story of immense importance. -- Genii Magazine, August 2006

This book is a compelling read and an example of scholarship that will likely survive as the Vernon biography. It surely ranks among the very best of magic biographies and autobiographies given us to enjoy." -- MUM Magazine, July 2006

Customer Reviews

Dai Vernon: Artist, Magician, Muse
This is the kind of book that invokes a keen nostalgia for a part of the American cultural/artistic past in which creative personalities like Vernon were nurtured. Those of us who, in our youths, followed magicians and hung around magic shops may catch a whiff of that haunted and bygone time in this well written and eventful biography. This is not, I think, a book for non-magicians however, since it is rife with descriptions of effects that Vernon worked on over the years and which would more likely appeal to those familiar with the "inner" history of close-up magic, gambling and the clash of magical inventors than to outsiders.
Nevertheless, it was exhilarating to once again re-imagine the electrical atmospheres of late-night trick talk, the old magic shops, the clubs and the almost forgotten magicians who formed that vivid world-within-the world of theater arts in the first half of the twentieth century. The material on Cardini and Houdini alone is worth the price of admission. I hope we may soon catch Vernon's second act, since we left him at the end of this first volume recovering from a six story fall, with broken arms and a failing marriage... This book is an important contribution to the history of magic and an homage to one of its greatest practitioners. Anyone who wishes to feel the thrill of pursuit of an art form taken to its highest level in the person of Dai Vernon should read this biography.

A glimpse into the creative mind and struggle.
David Ben's autobiography of Dai Vernon gives us a unique glimpse into the mind, life and struggle of a man who was on a solitary path to a destination he could not quite see. In every age, there are a number of people - some known, others unknown - who put their passion and call before all else. For better or worse, Vernon was such a character. From his obsession with perfection to his general disconnectedness from business and life as usual, Ben paints the portrait of of an artist who carved a an alternative to the norm, and paid personal prices for doing so. While judgement is presumptuous, this chronology of Vernon's life may well inspire others to assess the direction of their own lives.

You get one life. What will you do with it?

Ben's writing is wonderfully readable and, at times, truly penetrating.

This book will not feed an insatiable need to know but, provided that the reader is prepared, may well illuminate a sublime aspect of honing skill.

E.S.M.