Making Magic

Excerpt from the inside of the dust jacket:
Down through the ages, countless ingenious performers have astonished their friends or audiences with "magic" - not the black arts, but simple or sometimes complicated tricks that can be learned and passed on. This book will tell you how to do some of these and do them well.

First thought you must learn two things: the technical skill to perform a trick, and the showmanship to pull it off with panache, confidence and brio. Many of the tricks illustrated are described on a step-by-step basis, accompanied by crystal-clear explanations and specially commissioned drawings or photographs that leave nothing to chance.

To inspire you to the greatest heights, the opening chapters tell the story of magic as practiced by the great professionals of the past and present - including many of today's major TV personalities. The book features the greatest escape artist ever, Harry Houdini, the famous team of Maskelyne and Devant, Las Vegas' Sieigfried and Roy, David Copperfield and the great illusionists, as well as the major mind-reading acts that have baffled leading scientists and even the creator of supersleuth Sherlock Holmes.

By the time you have completed the final chapter on "The Master Magician" you will know how to tackle most aspects of magicianship, from selecting tricks and perfecting your patter to handling awkward apparatus and bowing out in grand style.

Among the various tricks included in Making Magic are: The Black Bag Mystery, The Indian Basket, The Bewildering Boomerangs, The Slip-Away Knot, The Growing Wand, Find the Lady, Ribbon Restoration, Magical Magnetism, Card Stab, The Turnover Revelation, The Vanishing Rabbit, A Royal Mystery, Just a Thought, Extraordinary Aces, Dual Discovery, The Q Mystery, Mindreading, and The Space Age Mystery.