Rating: 
Summary: Hiding The Elephant
Review: A great book by a great author. Gives insight into magicians of the past and their illusions. Highly recommended for people who love magic. I enjoyed reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Hiding The Elephant
Review: A great book by a great author. Gives insight into magicians of the past and their illusions. Highly recommended for people who love magic. I enjoyed reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Curious about Smoke and Mirrors
Review: For years we've heard that it's all done with mirrors. Hiding the Elephant
is the story of just how it's done. Why we insist on looking here while
they're doing something else over there.Starting with Houdini's greatest feat, attempting to make a live elephant
disappear, the author has tracked and explained the discovery of various
optical illusions, like how to become invisible by using mirrors. For
example, a magician in Paris actually made transparent ghosts, who performed
in plays that terrified his audiences. (I was surprised at how clever and
simple this could be done: again, think "mirrors.") Two spiritualist
brothers also produced the illusion of ghosts, although their version was
much less optical and much more psychological. These secrets are often easy
to understand, although I noticed that some secrets are explained in
deliberately sketchy form and remain concealed by the end of this book, like
a discussion of the famous "Sawn in Half" illusion. (Once a magician, always
a magician?) The author concentrates on why various secrets were useful and
how some were stolen or hoarded over the years. (Through some detective
work, he does manage to explain how Houdini did the elephant trick.) This
backstage element of the book might be the most interesting part. For
example, there were magicians who thought that secrets were worthless and
actually told audiences how they did it, because they thought that made
their magic tricks even better!
The book is fast moving and well written, leading us from one mystery to
another and re-introducing characters from the past or hinting about what's
just around the corner. It is illustrated with portraits of the magicians
executed by comic book artist William Stout, and there are photographs of
some of the magicians and their tricks. I actually wish there had been more
photos, as it would have been helpful to see some of these magicians in
action to appreciate their various tricks. I really enjoyed Hiding the
Elephant. The author makes the subject approachable and introduces us to a
number of unknown, interesting characters. Since these guys are masters of
deception, they might not always be trustworthy but they turn out to be
entertaining in their own way. Once we're entertained, it's easy to put one
over on us. That's how they do it!
Rating: 
Summary: I am still puzzed
Review: I am 1/2 way thru the book. And except for the mechanics of wires , trap doors and mirrors I have been a bit disappointed in not learning just how
some of those tricks were/are done.
Rating:
Summary: great slice of history and biography of magic
Review: I am surprised that one Amazon reviewer found the structure of this book to be inscrutable. I thought it was a well-structured book, which began and ended with the story of a disappearing donkey illusion, with the portion in between showing the history and development of the principles of illusion that made it possible. The elephant of the title is, in effect, a bit of illusion itself, since that trick as performed by Houdini turned out not to be very impressive to the audience, but a similar principle was used to greater effect for making a donkey disappear.
The book's focus is on illusions that involve disappearance using optical effects, but it covers far more territory in order to set the stage and context. From "Pepper's Ghost" and the effects of early film (George Melies) to the optical effects of Charles Morritt and John Nevil Maskelyne, with side trips into the spirit cabinet of the Davenport brothers and the escapes of Houdini, the book includes a wealth of history of magic.
Steinmeyer's book examines the nature of magic, and what makes an effective performance. He argues that a common implication of books of magic tricks is incorrect: "that executing and concealing the secret is always the ultimate goal of the exercise" (p. 93). Rather, he argues that "the deception in a magic show is a negative element, a hole in the middle of the performance. The performance is a sort of inadvertent dance around this hole, with the hope that each spectator will be coaxed to slip through it. ... The real art is in the subtle touches of reassurance that surround any deception and disguise it as a positive thing. With a gesture, a suggestion, ... the audience is convinced that they are watching a genuine wonder" (p. 94).
Steinmeyer's book is a genuine wonder, and I highly recommend it along with the works of Ricky Jay.
Rating:
Summary: The Insider's Story of Great Magicians
Review: I thought the book was wonderful. All the great names of past magicians brought to life with their real personalities and not just their stage personas. I thought the book was organized well around the theme of the development of a great illusion as improved by various magicians and designer/manufacturers, and wasn't concerned that magicians popped in and out of chapters. I found the sculdugery and intrigue around selling and stealing secrets was interesting and makes the whole field of top end magicians that much more interesting. "Top Hats Off" to Jim Steinmeyer.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mysterious Mess
Review: I thought this book was ambitious in scope, but ultimately failed to deliver. This "history of magic" seemed to me little more than a jumble of results from the author's no-doubt extensive research and experience.
The format is kind of a mess. I got worried when I saw the little oval pictures and bio information of the various magicians listed in the front -- "He's lumping a lot of basic info up front, in this 'cast of characters,'" I thought. "I bet the structure of this book is going to be all over the place. This does not bode well."
Boy, was I right. The chapters progress in no apparent order, and the titles and epigraphs can seem arbitrary. A chapter that begins with the picture of Georges Melies, with a quotation from this pioneer of visual special effects, ends up not being about Melies. A chapter titled "Houdini" opens with several pages about Charles Morritt. The reason for this becomes clear later, but a reader would have been better served by just cutting to the chase.
Speaking of Houdini, I'm a big Houdini fan, and I was intrigued and amused by what a trouncing he takes in this book. I knew he was regarded as a poor stage magician, but the extent to which he is reviled in this book was very interesting indeed. I enjoyed reading about one of my idols from this very different point of view.
But -- why on earth is the information about Houdini (and nearly every other magician in the book) spread across three chapters? Not even _consecutive_ chapters. The structure of this book really is inscrutable, and all the little oval pictures in the world won't help that. It's too bad, because the drawings of the magicians really are well-done -- arresting in black and white.
The writing was kind of a drag. I'm a fast reader, but it took me almost a month to get through this book, because I kept putting it down and having to force myself to pick it up again.
As for the explanations of the tricks, I still don't understand anything. I'm not given to quick, intuitive understanding of mechanical things, and I believe a successful book that was going to expose the secrets of magical illusions would do so in a way that was accessible to _any_ reader. I have a feeling this book is for readers who are already somewhat "in the know" about stage magic. The secrets of Morritt, Kellar, Maskelyne, Devant, and others are still safe with me; I simply didn't understand any of them.
Rating:
Summary: An Inside look at Illusion
Review: In an extremely entertaining and insightful new book, Jim Steinmeyer has
explained the world of the magicians. How they do it, how they entertain
audiences, and how, throughout the years they struggled for their careers,
begged, borrowed or stole people, secrets and ideas. Imagine a cross between Longitude and Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women and
you'll have a good idea of Hiding the Elephant. It's a fun, lively and
well-written read, a page-turner organized like a mystery to keep pulling
you from story to story. This book is a combination of history, biography
and science, a tribute to the art of magic. Some of the most interesting parts of the book are the accounts of magicians
like Davenport, Maskelyne or Devent, who changed what magicians did on stage
and the way magicians went about deceiving people. The author's "cast of
characters" have fantastic stories. Robert Houdin was asked to perform magic
for the French government and stop an uprising in Africa. Magicians Devent
and Melies discovered cinema. Houdini became a star by turning to dangerous
escapes. Morrit reinvented the way tricks were accomplished. Jarrett decided
to publish a book of all his secrets, explaining his best tricks for a few
dollars. Some of these stories end in triumph, some in tragedy. Many
magicians found that their careers ended when movies became popular. One
famous magician, at the height of his fame, tragically lost control of hands
and ended his life as an invalid. The author points out that the greatest magicians were successful because
they were partly artists and partly scientists. Some time in the 1800s, they
discovered a way to make things disappear, or as the author says, "the
formula for invisibility," which led to some truly amazing new illusions.
Ghosts walked on the stage. People appeared in locked cabinets. Harry
Houdini made an elephant vanish on the stage of the Theatre Hippodrome. Along the way there are a number of secrets explained. The author says that
magicians "guard an empty safe," and that their presentation and artistry
are more important than their actual secrets. As a magician, I was familiar
with most of these secrets, but the author has a friendly, interesting,
step-by-step way of presenting these scientific principles so that you
understand the basic secrets and how they could be used on a stage to fool
an audience. I know that there's currently a lot of controversy about Hiding
the Elephant, as a magic organization is upset about this book and the
author's revelations. They feel that too much has been explained in Hiding
the Elephant. But I actually thought that Steinmeyer handled this all very
carefully. Don't worry. Next time you see a magician, you'll still be
amazed, and you'll have a new appreciation for what he's doing. Even more important than the secrets, Steinmeyer has explained how audiences
think about magic, why they're interested in it and why they often welcome
being deceived. For example, some of the greatest illusions have been tied
to cultural events, fulfilling the particular fantasies or nightmares of the
audience. Much of this information is based on the author's own experience.
As an amateur magician, I've been a big fan of Steinmeyer's work and his
books, which are usually written for only for magicians. (He was the guy who
had the idea for making the Statue of Liberty disappear.) Hiding the
Elephant is an insider's view of magic, giving you a glimpse behind the
curtain. No matter how you've ever felt about David Copperfield or David
Blaine, you'll end up being a fan of magic by the end of the book,
understanding why magic fascinates us. I hope that audiences will consider
magic as an art and realize that its history has been filled with important
artists. I recommend the book.
Rating:
Summary: best illusion of science book ever:)
Review: its everything you wanted to know on illusions even hard work behinde the scences and new ways of angles of science cool ideas and ps. like i allways say jim steinmeryer is the clever person who invented soul passage and concived the best way of illusionist david copperfields staute of libertyvanish and reappperance and johng gohn illusion builder built it. hey andre kole is glad dc ging to make the real moon vanish cause anddre kole himself has thought of more then 7 ways to acomplish this hes clorabarting with dc to figure oiut the best way to make the real moon vanish. jim stein meyer knows his stuff real well even on animal plane on animal magic with lance burton jim steynmeyer let everyone know how illusions are done even lance burton and on anmal planets gorrla magic lost of magicians showed how to do illusions even lance burton :) that VAL masked magiciabn AND TILL MAN AND franz HARRY shows how illusions are done even on how they do thatand challenge to the secret game show AND abc 2 MASKED magicians and fox 2 new masked magicians and lance burton NBC UNVEALED on illusions AND HERBERT L BECKER AND MANY nbc secrets of mind readin pro magicians shows how its done and even CBS MASKED MAGICIAN IN 1980S SHOWED HOW TO DO COOL ILLUSIONS even cool magician david copperfield on his new TV hotel COMERCAIL
Rating:
Summary: best illusion of science book ever:)
Review: its everything you wanted to know on illusions even hard work behinde the scences and new ways of angles of science cool ideas and ps. like i allways say jim steinmeryer is the clever person who invented soul passage and concived the best way of illusionist david copperfields staute of libertyvanish and reappperance and johng gohn illusion builder built it. hey andre kole is glad dc ging to make the real moon vanish cause anddre kole himself has thought of more then 7 ways to acomplish this hes clorabarting with dc to figure oiut the best way to make the real moon vanish. jim stein meyer knows his stuff real well even on animal plane on animal magic with lance burton jim steynmeyer let everyone know how illusions are done even lance burton and on anmal planets gorrla magic lost of magicians showed how to do illusions even lance burton :) that VAL masked magiciabn AND TILL MAN AND franz HARRY shows how illusions are done even on how they do thatand challenge to the secret game show AND abc 2 MASKED magicians and fox 2 new masked magicians and lance burton NBC UNVEALED on illusions AND HERBERT L BECKER AND MANY nbc secrets of mind readin pro magicians shows how its done and even CBS MASKED MAGICIAN IN 1980S SHOWED HOW TO DO COOL ILLUSIONS even cool magician david copperfield on his new TV hotel COMERCAIL
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