Learn Magic book

by Henry Hay

The Magician's Basic Tricks Explained Step-by-Step in 20 Simple Lessons

Have someone select a card from a deck and, without showing you what it is, put it back in the deck. You shuffle, throw the deck up to the ceiling. Lo and behold, the chosen card is nailed to the ceiling!

If you want to delight and amaze friends and family, the "Card Nailed to the Ceiling" trick is a sure winner. And it's just one of the more than 65 tricks, sleights and manipulations described in this book. Written for the amateur magician, Learn Magic will enable you to learn and start performing well-known tricks that professionals use, offering a well-rounded repertoire on which beginners can draw. Emphasis is on tricks that can be performed informally for a small group.

The author carefully explains every stage of each trick-an overview, how the tricks appears to the audience, the mechanism behind the trick and finally the presentation details that allow you to perform the trick in a completely professional manner. By following the guidelines, studying the almost 100 illustrations and practicing until perfect, you'll soon astound friends and family.

The whole gamut of pupular tricks is covered: mind reading, palming, coin and card tricks, simple vanishes and escapes, silks and thimble magic and more. You'll find such classics as the Miser's Dream, Erasing the Spot, The Flying Knot, the Turban Trick and Multiplying Billiard Balls. There are detailed sections on such important basics as: methods of palming, kinds of shuffles, special card decks, Afghan bands and necessary equipment. The final chapter is deveoted to explaining a few tricks of grand stage magic, including such famous illusions as sawing a woman in two and the Floating Lady.

Paperbound, 285 5 3/8" by 8 1/2" pages, 92 illustrations.