Suggestions on "must read" books

[nayost]

hi guys,

i live in thailand, legit magic shops are none existence. however, i do have a friend visiting me real soon. i would like him to bring some magic books over from the states. i like to find out what everyone thinks the "must reads" are. thanks a lot.

nayos

 

[Steerpike]

That's kind of nebulous, but I'll try to give some general suggestions.

Royal Road to Card Magic
Modern Coin Magic
13 Steps to Mentalism
Practical Mental Magic
The Illustrated History of Magic

 

[Squ!rrel]

I'd recommend the Art of Astonishment books, they are some the best books i've ever read. The effects are brilliant and they're really fun to read as well.

 

[Sean.Cinco]

Chris Kenner's Totally Out Of Control
Mark Wilson's Complete Course
Tarbell vol. 1-8

 

[PTG]

It really depends on what you're interested in...

*Marked Items that Are DVD's Are Still Considered A Must Have So Please Still Consider*

In general, I'd get these:
In General
Tarbel Course in Magic
Art Of Astonishment 1-3
Bobo's Modern Coin Magic
Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic
Card College 1-5
13 Steps to Mentalism
.....and one that I'd just suggest cause I liked it Chris Kenner's Totally Out Of Control


If You Like Cards, then Specifically:
Royal Road to Card Magic
Card College 1-5
Revolutionary Card Techniques by Ed Marlo
Expert at the Card Table
5X5 Japan (very gimmicky though)
Revolutionary Card Magic by Jay Sankey(DVD)
Ricky Jay's Card's as Weapons

Coins:
Expert Coin Magic by David Roth
Bobo's Modern Coin Magic
Revolutionary Coin Magic by Jay Sankey (DVD)
Revolutionary Coin Magic 2.0 by Jay Sankey(DVD)

Mentalism
13 Steps to Mentalism
Derren Browns Pure Effect
Banacheck's Pre Thought's
3510 by Luke Jeremy

Invisible Thread/Elastic
Yigal Mesika's Animated Miracles
Who's Afraid of Invisible Thread

Other Gimmicks
101 Tricks with a Thumb Tip
The Topit DVD with Michael Ammar (DVD)

Wacky Off the Wall Idea's
Chris Kenner's Totally Out of Control
Art Of Astonishment 1-3

History:
Magic Castle Tour
The Illustrated History of Magic


Hope this helps,

-PTG

PS if you tell us what type of magic you're interested in we could give you more specific suggestions

 

[nayost]

thanks so much guys!

sorry i was not more specific. i'm fairly new to the magic world. i got started in cards, and i do use loops, mostly with cards. i'm starting to build a shopping list now! luckly i don' t live in the states... i'd probably end up eating instant noodles 3 meals a day from being broke buying all them books and dvds!

nayos

 

[JakeH147]

thanks so much guys!

sorry i was not more specific. i'm fairly new to the magic world. i got started in cards, and i do use loops, mostly with cards. i'm starting to build a shopping list now! luckly i don' t live in the states... i'd probably end up eating instant noodles 3 meals a day from being broke buying all them books and dvds!

nayos

Haha! That made me laugh I'd highly reccommend The Paper Engine by Aaron Fisher. Most of the moves are pretty difficult, but after practice, are great!

 

[ZachMueller]

Totally Out of Control
Classic Magic by Larry Jennings
Art of astonishment Vol 1

and i hear Life Savers by Michael webber is good.

 

[dukehousemagic]

Card College volumes 1 through 5 by Robert Giobbi. (Available at multiple online retailers; I'd suggest Pengiun Magic - They're quick, and have good customer support.)

Penguin Magic links: Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3 | Vol. 4 | Vol. 5

The Paper Engine by Aaron Fisher. (http://www.aaronfishermagic.com/paper_engine.htm)

Also, you may want to invest in some DVDs (especially if you're going to try your hand at flourishing). This is a must-have DVD:

The Trilogy by Dan and Dave Buck (http://www.dananddave.com/store/trilogy/)

 

[darosa.justin]

The TRILOGY isn;'t a must have.

It's good for flashy dananddave type magicians, but not for other types.

 

[Crisco]

That's kind of nebulous, but I'll try to give some general suggestions.

Royal Road to Card Magic
Modern Coin Magic
13 Steps to Mentalism
Practical Mental Magic
The Illustrated History of Magic

I second this.

 

[Steerpike]

Just wanted to pop in and add Mark Wilson's Course in Magic and The Jinx to the list.

Mark Wilson's covers multiple genres and types of magic very effectively. Cards, coins, sponges, ropes, escapes, illusion technology, etc.

The Jinx is a massive collection of magic and mentalism published be Theo Anneman. The hardcover complete edition is expensive, but you can also get all five volumes at Lybrary dot com for $4 American each.

 

[MagicBillK]

Man... I've been doing magic for a decade and I'm taking notes!!

I can only reiterate what others have said:

Royal Road / Card College
Bobo Coin Magic
13 Steps
Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic
Tarbell 1-8

With these books, you have the fundamentals covered.

More advanced/flashy badass stuff:
Kenner's Totally out of Control
Art of Astonishment
Paper Engine
Expert Card Technique
Expert at the Card Table

Happy Hunting!
-Bill

 

[jonraiker]

A few favorites:

- Art of Astonishment Series by Paul Harris
- Pure Effect and Absolute Magic both by Derren Brown
- Mysterious Stranger by David Blaine (more history / autobiography than anything else)
- Psychological Subtleties by Banacheck

 

[D ICE R]

If you want a lot of info and for fairly cheap.

Royal Road to Card Magic
Expert Card Technique
Modern Coin Magic
Practical Mental Magic
Expert at the Card Table

For about 50 dollars you would have more than enough material on most form's of close up magic.

 

[firmz]

Strong magic anyone?

 

[dukehousemagic]

The TRILOGY isn;'t a must have.

It's good for flashy dananddave type magicians, but not for other types.

If you can read, I said, if you're going to try your hand at flourishing.

 

[Steerpike]

If you can read, I said, if you're going to try your hand at flourishing.

Personally, I think either Xtreme Beginnerz or Jeff McBride's Art of Card Manipulation would be a better starting place for a beginner in flourishing and manipulation.

 

[dragon521]

Personally, I think either Xtreme Beginnerz or Jeff McBride's Art of Card Manipulation would be a better starting place for a beginner in flourishing and manipulation.

It depends if you want to get into fancy cuts or all-around card manipulation.

 

[RC-Roi92]

Well i'll bump in and tell you what i think are must reads for the different styles:

Cards:
Card College By Roberto Giobbi ( if your getting started this is THE best place to start)
Expert Card technique By Braue and Hugard
Expert at the card table By S.W.Erdnase
the Art Of Astonishment By Paul Harris
Royal Road to Card magic By Braue and Hugard
The secrets series by Dai Vernon
The Dai Vernon book of magic by Lewis Ganson i think is out of print now
The Card magic by Paul Lepaul
By Forces Unseen By Stephen Minch
Revolutionary Card technique By Ed Marlo
Drawing Room deceptions by Guy Hollingworth
Totally out of control by Chris Kenner
Paper Engine by Aaron Fisher
Anything Lee Asher
Daniel Madisons trilogy
At the Card table by Darwin Ortiz
Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz
Mnemorica By Juan Tamariz
Full Metal Jacket By Syd Segal

These are the notable books that i have read about card magic

DVDs:
Derren Browns Devils Picturebook
Any of the Easy to master card miracles
The Encyclopedia of card sleights by Daryl (kinda the same as Card college)
Past Midnight By Benjamin Earl

Coins:
Not very experienced here but The Modern Coin magic by Bobo is a must read for any coin man.

Mentalism:
Anything by Derren Brown, Banacheck and Corinda.