Product Description

Conjuring Arts' new take on the classic cardman's bible, The Expert At The Card Table. It's the perfect size (about 3"x 4.5") to fit in your hand or pocket and beautifully produced using the same paper as a Bible, gilt edges, a ribbon place holder and in a soft leather-like binding.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #260249 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-01
• Released on: 2007-03-01
• Binding: Imitation Leather
• 206 pages

Customer Reviews

The first is still one of the best - indispensible
Originally published over one hundred years ago in 1902, this book forever changed the way magicians viewed and practiced sleight of hand. Written by a former gambler, it introduced card sharp secrets to the magic community for the first time. Something you don't expect is that the style of the narrative is so timeless. This guy is very well educated and offers truisms that you might find yourself quoting from time to time. I have often heard a rather ridiculous claim that these "old" books are too hard to follow. The truth of the matter is that anyone who has sat down and tried these moves for more than ten minutes knows this is not true. It doesn't matter if you learn from a slick DVD or from "old" books, you can't ever get around the basic fact that a lot of this stuff takes time and practice... but, surprisingly, some of it is not difficult at all and can be picked up in very short order. Erdnase's book teaches you excellent methods that are not outdated and there are only about five well-known and obvious mistakes in the book that are pretty easy to figure out (most of them are in the bottom dealing section where the text should read the "third" finger instead of the "second" finger - trust me, you would figure it out when learning the moves). I also have the annotated issue of this book by Ortiz - excellent in that it provides photographs of the moves and enhances the original book with commentary. However, generally, there is no reason not to follow Erdnase's original instructions as outlined in this book, unless someone like Dai Vernon (who worshipped this book and had it memorized) or Paul LePaul has an improvement and even then it's sometimes just a matter of personal preference or style. And to top all this off, as of 2007, instructional DVDs taught by Wesley James (7 DVDs) and Alan Ackerman (still pending release) are on the market that walk you through the entire book step by step. What is next? Perhaps a Hollywood movie about the life of S.W. Erdnase?

By the way, another really nice version of this book is the now hard to find "facsimile" first edition issued in 2002 on the one hundredth anniversary of the original 1902 edition. That "facsimile" first edition is an exact replica of a real first edition that is perfect in all regards. The only tip off is that the word facsimile appears on the first page and that it looks brand new, but other than that it looks exactly like a real 1902 first edition that would cost $1,000 to $3,000 (only about 100 are thought to exist) if you could find one for sale. The publishers even found the exact same green cloth used for the original, but kindly updated the binding and paper used to archival quality. The "facsimile" first edition is hard to find (only 750 produced), but very nice to own if you really like this classic book.

This review, of course, is for the "bible" edition that is slightly larger in diameter than a poker-sized card and easily fits into a shirt pocket - it's about a quarter of an inch thick. The book has a semi-hard cover and a marker ribbon with gold edges that mimic a bible. Please note that the cover is not truly "leather bound"; if anything it might be some sort of hybrid-leather product that mimics leather. I find that the text font is a bit small, but I can still read it clearly - older readers might have trouble with this small font. The diagrams are large enough to easily follow - the diagrams are actually the exact same size as the original first edition, it's just the font of the commentary that is smaller to accommodate the compact size of the book. The bible edition is nicely produced and I highly recommend it.

Theory Plus
This book is thorough in both its theory and explanation of card manipulation. An enjoyable reading, it is a bit lengthy, but well worth it. From simple shuffling to expert three card monte, this book gives it all to anyone truly interested in studying card manipulation. Set forth to professionals and amateurs alike in 1995, it is a one of a kind in both content and style. Made to last, it is not written in common jargon and is not fancied with useless information about the latest crazes. Erdnase uses his knowledge of cards and card manipulation to create this compelling compendium.

This is the best magic book of all times!
If you are a magician you must have this book! This is my favorite book on magic ever written. Some of the deals might be a little outdated, but the book itself is timeless.