Synopses & Reviews
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, and step-by-step directions showing how to perform 100 tricks.
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.
Review
"Finally, a book that brings the art of magic into the 21st century!"--Rick Merrill, 2006 World Champion of Magic
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
Synopsis
"Finally, a book that brings the art of magic into the 21st century "--Rick Merrill, 2006 World Champion of Magic
"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 of Magic Magazine
The Book: A book of powerful secrets. How to master the art of direction. Perfect the Sid Lorraine force, essential to card tricks. Harness PATEO to read minds. Learn skills like the false transfer, palm switch, big-action-covers-the-small-action, and more. Above all, how to create an emotional hook so that, in the fleeting moment when an effect occurs, magic truly happens, revealing the world to be a place of boundless wonder.
Dazzle your friends. Impress a date like never before. Confound your kids, or better yet, confound your parents. Magic shows you how to master over 100 effects that are simple to learn and guaranteed to astonish.
The DVD: Included with Magic is an entertaining 132-minute DVD featuring 35 effects performed and taught in great detail, with particular emphasis on rhythm and action and the nuances of timing and direction.
The author: Joshua Jay was crowned champion at the World Magic Seminar in 1998, when he was still a teenager. 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. His website is www.joshuajay.com.
Synopsis
Written by a charismatic young magician, "Magic" combines photographs, step-by-step directions on how to perform 100 magic tricks, and a DVD that demonstrates 75 of them, with lessons on what to say and how to direct the audience's attention.
About the Author
Joshua Jay, “one of America’s finest young magicians” (Genii, The Conjurors’ Magazine), has headlined at the prestigious Magic Castle in Hollywood, is a magic consultant for several multinational toy manufacturers, and has served as the monthly columnist for Magic magazine for 12 years. Recently, he consulted and developed a commercial spot for HBO, using sleight of hand to promote Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire. He was named the 2012 Magician of the Year by the Society of American Magicians. He lives in New York City.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Magic School:
Exposure, or How to Vanish an ElephantChapter 2: Impromptu Magic: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary
Chapter 3: Dinner Deceptions: Making Mealtime Magic
Chapter 4: The Ten Greatest Card Tricks of All Time: Becoming a Card Expert
Chapter 5: Kid Conjuring: Magic for Kids, and Magic by Kids
Chapter 6: Working Miracles: Magic and Mischief in the Office
Chapter 7: Money Magic: Conjuring with Currency
Chapter 8: Parlor Prestidigitation: Conquer Your Fear of Large Audiences
Chapter 9: Telephone Trickery: Magic Without Boundaries
Chapter 10: Get Your Act Together: Five Complete Shows to Amaze Any Audience
In Closing