The Art of Magic

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I cannot recommend this book to the beginning magician. The author of this book states that he assumes the reader is already familiar with the basic techniques of magic, and he backs up this threat. Therefore, the book is useless to everyone except people who are already magicians.

While there are a few chapters on other kinds of magic, this book is mostly about card tricks - and it immediately became useful to me only as a paperweight. The tricks sound interesting, I agree, but I cannot perform them, because I don't know the basic sleights that make them work.

The basic techniques that ARE described are described so poorly that I could not understand them ... and I am not a beginner at learning magic from books. Adding to the problem is the lack of illustrations and photographs, which are very helpful when learning some illusions.

There are texts on magic that start with the very basics, walk you through intermediate level illusions, and even go all the way to the most advanced, professional magic. From these kinds of texts, you can actually - with enough practice - become very versed in magic.

"The Art of Magic" by T. Nelson Downs is NOT such a text. I am sure that magicians who already know a bit about card magic would get a lot out of this book. They also probably value it for traditional reasons, since Downs was an acknowledged master magician - he even has sleight of hand coin tricks specifically named after him. But I suspect that other books on card magic that actually describe the basics of magic probably also cover most of the tricks in this book ... and do so with more thorough detail, illustrations, etc.

My area of practice is coin magic, and so - I am sorry - I cannot recommend another text on card magic. I suppose you could look at the reader reviews of other books to find a more appropriate learning manual for your skill level. HOWEVER, UNLESS YOU ARE ALREADY A MAGICIAN, I MUST TRY TO STEER YOU AWAY FROM THIS BOOK! Since I didn't already know card tricks, it was a waste of my money and time.

Rating:
Summary: Cannot Recommend
Review: I cannot recommend this book to the beginning magician. The author of this book states that he assumes the reader is already familiar with the basic techniques of magic, and he backs up this threat. Therefore, the book is useless to everyone except people who are already magicians.

While there are a few chapters on other kinds of magic, this book is mostly about card tricks - and it immediately became useful to me only as a paperweight. The tricks sound interesting, I agree, but I cannot perform them, because I don't know the basic sleights that make them work.

The basic techniques that ARE described are described so poorly that I could not understand them ... and I am not a beginner at learning magic from books. Adding to the problem is the lack of illustrations and photographs, which are very helpful when learning some illusions.

There are texts on magic that start with the very basics, walk you through intermediate level illusions, and even go all the way to the most advanced, professional magic. From these kinds of texts, you can actually - with enough practice - become very versed in magic.

"The Art of Magic" by T. Nelson Downs is NOT such a text. I am sure that magicians who already know a bit about card magic would get a lot out of this book. They also probably value it for traditional reasons, since Downs was an acknowledged master magician - he even has sleight of hand coin tricks specifically named after him. But I suspect that other books on card magic that actually describe the basics of magic probably also cover most of the tricks in this book ... and do so with more thorough detail, illustrations, etc.

My area of practice is coin magic, and so - I am sorry - I cannot recommend another text on card magic. I suppose you could look at the reader reviews of other books to find a more appropriate learning manual for your skill level. HOWEVER, UNLESS YOU ARE ALREADY A MAGICIAN, I MUST TRY TO STEER YOU AWAY FROM THIS BOOK! Since I didn't already know card tricks, it was a waste of my money and time.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: I'm not sure why a beginner in magic would attempt to critize a classic of magic so thoroughly if he is just a beginner (above reviews)...while the book does not have many illustrations, its text does give enough detail to perform the sleights quite accurately. I also would like to say that if you are a beginner in magic, this books is not for you. You should already know what a top change is, bottom change, double deal, second deal, bottom deal, palm, rear palm, side slip, and so on are. If you do not know these, don't get this book.... Also, for the serious card conjurer, GET EXPERT CARD TECHNIQUE BY JEAN HUGARD AND FREDERICK BRAUE...it is THE best book on card magic written and it so thoroughly describes technique that I think a fly could do the tricks. Again, this book is a classic...I suggest you get it if you're an experienced amateur.

Rating:
Summary: Sorry
Review: In today's time, words are not enough to describe a sleight. Reading this book is not very easy. I would appreciate more pictures, more details . Many pictures in the book are completly useless and should be replaced by detailed photos. Sorry, I don't like it.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic of Magic
Review: The book covers sleights with cards, coins, balls, etc. This is a must have for the serious student of magic.- Diamond Jim Tyler

Rating:
Summary: This is a magic classic!
Review: This should be in every magician's library. T. Nelson Downs popularized coin magic. This book is owned by every pro magician.