Interesting, If Interested In Magic

books:


	• Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear Jim Steinmeyer Carroll & Graf, 2003 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 30 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Brings the magic back to magic

I loved Steinmeyer's The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the Marvelous Chinese Conjurer and so was looking forward to reading this book. It did not disappoint. Steinmeyer brings alive the excitement of magic from the turn of the century, the early innovations and the amazing characters who performed these tricks and illusions and brought them to life. Mixed in with the stories, the history, the secrets, and the magic is Steinmeyer's view that the way the tricks were performed was more important than the secrets behind them, and yet figuring out the secrets and the way they evolved has a thrill all its own. A wonderful read from cover to cover that brings new light to an amazing piece of history and magic.

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Interesting, If Interested In Magic

Fortunately I am as this is no laymen's book. I quite enjoyed it and found it full of the fragmented tidbits of information I am so fond of. A little technical at times - I was far more interested in some of the stories then in precise line drawings or sketches, though Steinmeyer is skilled at taking complex principles and breaking them down into simple line drawings. I wish it had been a bit more chatty but am glad i read it.

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Good History, Easy Reading

This is a fun and easy read. Probably nothing new for serious fans of the history of magic but it is a good summary of the lives of some very special people in an interesting sub-culture.

For those buying the book to discover magical secrets, they will learn little other than the truth of the cliche that magic is all smoke and mirrors.

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Intriguing and engrossing

This is probably my favorite nonfiction book ever. Not being a magician or otherwise a part of the magic community, I'd never thought about the history of stage magic. Steinmeyer lays it all out, the people who made magic what it is today and how their careers and rivalries interlinked, with a tone that's readable and engaging. I couldn't put it down and after reading it I have much more appreciation for the art of illusion.

To amaze and delight

The author, Steinmeyer, amazes and delights along with the top magicians who appear in this book. I never had any interest in magic until my grandson, then 11, became interested. He's now a member of the Society of Young Magicians. Now, having some insight into the creativity behind illusions, and the stage presense required to create them, I appreciate and enjoy the illusions much more. This book is a delightful read. It's well organized and beautifully written. Woven through all are the personalities of some of the best magicians who worked in England and the US in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. Steinmeyer follows the development of certain kinds of illusions from early ideas, to later and more spectacular versions. The illustrations are helpful, and there's a nice photo section.

Seeing how incredibly precise and creative these entertainers were makes this a fascinating book. I highly recommend it. Even if you've never had much interest in magical illusions, this is simply a good read.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Harry Houdini was the greatest escape artist in history, yet known to his contemporaries as a terrible stage magician. Nevertheless, in 1917 he performed a single illusion that has been hotly debated ever since: Under the bright spotlights of New York's Theatre Hippodrome, he made a live elephant disappear. Where did he learn this amazing trick and how did it work? The answers lie in magic expert Jim Steinmeyer's chronicle of illusionary innovation, backstage chicanery and espionage, elevated showmanship, and keen competition within the world of magicians. Steinmeyer has captured the cultural history of magic during its "Golden Age" in America and abroad. Readers will learn the secrets and life stories of the fascinating personalities behind optical marvels such as floating ghosts appearing onstage and interacting with live actors, disembodied heads, and vanishing ladies. The people and events surrounding each step toward "The Vanishing Elephant" reveal how simple principles, mixed with ingenious psychology, can entertain and deceive. Houdini's great feat of invisibility was based on a secret passed onto him by Charles Morritt, and the trick remained their secret for more than eighty years. In this book, Steinmeyer reveals Houdini's mystery and more.

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