best Books List

By Request

I was gonna pen a top 10 book list. Alas, I don't think that's possible.
I simply love magic books way too much.
I could come close, but instead, I'm just gonna list what I think are books the aspiring magi simply must read:

First and foremost,

The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley (Two Volumes by Stephen Minch)
These are not the best beginner books... but they are my favorite magic books ever penned.
I think Elmsley's "Automatic producer" is an amazing system for producing competant magic performance and the tricks within these two volumes stand the test of time (yes, mostly cards, but LOTS of other great stuff as welll... his T&R newspaper is just waiting to make someone a reputation)

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I guess before progressing... I should list a few good beginner's books
This is pretty easy for me. I have a top 5 list that any/all magic enthusiasts should own.
They're cheap and good. Chock full of enough info to build an entire career.
Here ya go:

Bill Tarr's Series: Now You See It (1 & 2) and 101 Classic Easy Magic Tricks
The Now you see it books focus on Sleight of Hand Technique and the Easy Magic book describe some of the classic stage / prop effects. All of these books are wonderfully illustrated and they're all available at a reasonable price.

Mark Wilson's Course in Magic. An Incredible Encyclopedia of EVERYTHING.
Simply Amazing how much info Wilson Fit into this volume.

The Magic Book by Harry Lorayne (this one is a little harder to find these days)
This is the book that changed the game for me. A good tome with a wide variety of close-up and parlor magic

The Tarbell Course.
You want it all? Here it is.

Honorable Mention: Joshua Jay's Beginner book. He gives away ALOT of killer stuff and the tipped in DVD allows the beginner to see the magic performed. This book is almost too good to be on Barnes & Nobles Shelves
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Ok, onto the meat

I'm a sucker for a zine compliation.
I think some of the best stuff to see print has been in the various 'Zines' that aspiring publishers have released.
Howard Lyon's & the IBIDEM top that list... following that, in no particular order:
Epilogue (Fulves) Apocalypse (Lorayne) Hierophant (Racherbaumer) Almanac (Kaufman) Trapdoor (Beam)

Moving onto more serious books....
The Books of Wonder (Minch) are invaluable sources of inspiration and guidance.
The magic within is challenging to perform to Tommy Wonder's level of perfection, but the interwoven essays provide the guidance you'll need to get there.

Carneycopia (Carney/Minch) is another hand's down must have
The opening chapeter on 'how, when, why magic can be art' is worth reading & re-reading
And the magic within is top notch grade A wonderworks material

Cellini's The Royal Touch is what a magic book should look like
It's a work of art designed by a master for the student. Read this book and become a better magician.

Paul Cummins FASDIU 'notes' Volume #1 & #2 contain some of the most practical card magic to ever see print. There's also a handful of coin items that might strike your fancy. Get your card tricks here!

The Art of Astonishment Series is Paul Harris' compilation of his best stuff.
It's a gold mine of magic. Some of the best stuff to EVER see print is in this 3 volume set.
Get it.

Card College (5 volumes... and then some)
Wanna learn cards? Just get this. Thank me Later.

Coins? Expert Coin Magic by Roth and "CoinMagic"  (both penned by Kaufman)

God, there's so much more... The Dingle Book, The Jennings Stuff, Cervon (and on and on and on)

I've gone way past a top ten list and could easily list another 10...
(in fact, a 10-20 list is a more interesting challenge... some stuff off the beaten path)
maybe I'll do that tommorow ...
For now, it's a busy day and I've got things to get done.
surely you do to? If not, get one of the above books and get started on it!

More MIMs

I've been reading the new/outstanding Magic in Mind tome from Josh Jay / Andi Gladwin (Vanishing Inc) It's a wonderful collection of 30plus essays on magical theory. IMO: It's a must read (and I'm only 1/3 the way through... this is not the kind of book you'll pick up and plow through.) I think each essay is worthy it's own meditation. IMHO: You should put some thought into what these masters are trying to say.

Last night I was reading John Carney's wonderful section (concerning magic as art) and I reflected back to how strong the opening segment to Carneycopia is.  If you're intention is to become a well rounded magician, I think his book should be both on your shelf and in your brain. The tricks in Carney's book are great, but the opening segment on HOW to do magic is greater. Carney's theories on magic (misdirection, timing, etc.) are among some of the best in our craft (art?) <heh, that's up to you to decide.

I have three favorite concise essays on performing competent magic. Writings that at least give you enough information to think about and make your own decisions. They're not all in Magic in Mind, so for your consideration, I suggest you track down and study:

#1: The Automatic Producer by Alex Elmsley (my main man!)
This is a  wonderful procedure for insuring that you're performing material that will interest and excite your audience. It can be found in Volume #1 of  The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley (Published by Stephen Minch and his Hermetic Press) Now that this book is available in Electronic / .pdf form for the low price of $20, there is simply no excuse to call yourself a magician without studying this man's work.

#2 Secret Philosophy by John Carney
The 15ish pages of magical theory that open Carneycopia breathe life into such subjects as "muse" , "craft", "misdirection" and much more. It's inspirational, thoughtful and giving. Read it (also Published by Stephen Minch and his Hermetic Press)

#3 The Books of Wonder by Tommy Wonder
These two WONDERful volumes are scattered with a variety of must read topics from one of the best magicians to  ever walk this planet. Tommy Wonder made magic art. Study his works and maybe you can as well. Is it any surprise that this is also: Published by Stephen Minch and his Hermetic Press!

There are many more I could mention...  but those above are my 'top three' (at least for today ;) If you've studied these works,  good for you. If not, there's no better time than the present... and then you can get started on Mike Close, Eugene Burger, Henning Nelms, Darwin Ortiz, Ken Weber and so on.

Meanwhile, I'll remind you that "Magic in  Mind" is a great place to start for free.
Thanks again Vanishing Inc. Good on ya!



Here's an excerpt from the Carney Book (which is an excerpt from another book ;)

Progress Well Begun

A Description of the Operator

He must be one of a bold and undaunted Resolution, so as to set a good face upon the matter

He must have strange terms and emphatical words to grace & adorn his actions
 and the more to amaze and astonish the bystanders

And Lastly, He must use such gestures of body as may take off the specators eyes from a strict and diligent beholding your manner of performance.

  Henry Dean    "The Whole Art of Legerdemain"  1722