For the last six months or so my 11-year-old daughter and I have become magic trick fanatics. I've purchased quite a few magic books, including several decades-old classic cards trick books that magicians have told me are essential. Magic: The Complete Course, is one of the best.
The problem with most magic books, at least for me, is that it's hard for me to understand how to do a complicated sleight-of-hand move just by reading about it. I'm not the only one who gets easily confused by magic books — there is a thriving market of magic DVDs for sale that serve as companions to these classic books, and they are terrific. Having a book and its matching DVD is the ticket to learning how to perform magic tricks.
Magic: The Complete Course was written by Joshua Jay, who was only 16 years old when he won the top prize at the World Magic Seminar (the Olympics of magic). The book has three things going for it:
- The 100+ tricks in the book are superb, and don't require special props. They use playing cards and other household items.
- The large color photographs are clear and instructive.
- The book comes with an excellent 2-hour DVD with example performances and explanations of 35 tricks from the book. Jay is a master of magic performance, and watching the video will completely change the way you think about magic tricks.
At $(removed), this book/DVD combo is an incredible bargain.
See sample pages from Magic: The Complete Course at Wink.
