Dear friend,
This is one of the most valuable posts we’ve ever written on the topic of magic books…
Why?
Let me explain…
Imagine playing the Piano. It’s one thing being able to know which notes to play, and it is another skill altogether to know HOW to play them; playing them softer or louder, crescendo or diminuendo, etc.
It’s the same for magic. Just learning the tricks and moves themselves is no guarantee that you’ll be able to wow people. The key to wowing them is knowing HOW to sell the tricks and perform.
Magic Theory is simply the study and understanding of the principles and mechanics behind magic tricks and illusions.
The Best Books on Magic Theory:
There’s no one best book on Magic Theory. Actually there is (Strong Magic), but my point is this:
Imagine being challenged with the daunting task of eating a whole chocolate cake. I believe most sensible people, including myself, would slice the cake into manageable pieces and work through it, one piece at a time.
Magic theory is a pretty big cake.
It’s comprised of many important components…
- Showmanship
- Misdirection
- Psychology
- Audience Management
- Scripting and Choreography
- Stage Craft
- Creativity
In this post we’ll be recommending our favourite book on each subject.
So without further ado…
Let’s get started.
The Best Magic Book on Showmanship:
The best magic book on showmanship is…
Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms!
Magic and Showmanship is a handbook for conjurers, packed full of great information on how to perform for your audiences.
The others all teach you how to DO the tricks. But this one really teaches you how to PERFORM them.
The biggest difference between a bad and good magician is that the good magician knows how to perform. In fact, it often has very little to do with how ‘advanced’ the tricks are; many of the best magicians in the world use incredibly simple tricks and techniques.
The secret lies in being able to perform and work an audience. And the best way to master that art is by reading and implementing the tips in this book!
Investment Price: £13.49
The Best Book on Misdirection:
The best magic book on misdirection is…
Magic by Misdirection by Dariel Fitzkee
Understanding how to apply misdirection to your magic tricks is probably one of the most useful ways you can dramatically improve your performance.
Magic by Misdirection teaches in detail the psychology of misdirection and ways you can use that in your magic tricks. The finest minds of magic have recognized it as a vital core text on the subject.
It teaches you the psychological techniques and methods you can use to fool your audience:
- Disguise
- Attention Control
- Simulation
- Dissimulation
- Interpretation
- Maneuver
- Pretence
- Ruse
- Anticipation
- Diversion
- Monotony
- Premature Consummation
- Confusion
- Suggestion… and others!
Fitzkee also gives you examples in the form of magic tricks that incorporate these techniques.
I think this is the most comprehensive book on misdirection available on the market!
Investment Price: £18.99
The Best Magic Book on Psychology:
The best magic book on psychology is…
The Psychology of Magic: From Lab To Stage
This book will instantly improve your magic performances.
You’re researchers Gustav Kuhn and Alice Phailès have spent nearly half a decade conducting groundbreaking research on how to make our magic better.
This one-of-a-kind text explores the psychological components of magic, offering scientific insights to better understand how our audiences experience a magic trick.
Some of the many innovative concepts you’ll learn include:
- Exploiting psychology to improve forcing
- Taking advantage of your audience’s blindspots
- Understanding how visual illusions fool the brain
- Elevating the impact of all your magic
I’ll be honest with you I haven’t actually read this book yet but the reviews have been nothing but positive.
“Wonderful scientific insights into the psychology of magic. An essential read for any serious magician!” – Derren Brown
Investment Price: £36.25
The Best Magic Book on Audience Management:
The best book on audience management is…
Stage by Stage by John Graham
While showmanship is about creating a memorable and engaging performance, audience management is about ensuring that the audience is paying attention and reacting in the way that the performer intends.
Stage by Stage is the greatest personal guide to building a stand up magic show.
What makes Stage by Stage unique is the scope and intention of this remarkable magic book.
This is not merely a book on parlour and stage magic (though it contains more than a dozen complete parlour pieces). This is a book for those wishing to transition from close-up to stage.
It’s a one-of-a-kind roadmap that takes you through the nuts and bolts of how to design an act. Stage by Stage is an equal mix of essays and routines, gorgeously illustrated and designed.
You’ll learn how to convert the magic you already do to parlour situations, and make those same tricks play for audiences twenty times the size of a close-up crowd. You’ll learn about prop management, and how to create a show that is modular (so that you can swap tricks in and out, without sacrificing the feeling of a cohesive show).
Investment Price: £51.49
The Best Magic Book on Scripting:
The best magic book on scripting is…
Scripting Magic by Pete McCabe
This is without doubt the greatest book on the matter of scripting you’re performances!
You’ll learn how to write, edit, and perform compelling magic in this one-of-a-kind exploration into the presentation of magic.
For many magicians the thought of chaining themselves to a card table for 20+ years to learn sleight of hand is much more appealing to speaking in front of an audience.
Pure tongue-tied terror.
When Scripting Magic was first released in 2007, it was an immediate, surprise sensation. Magicians around the world, hungry for ways to improve their magic, were thrilled to have a volume dedicated to the vital question: what do you say when you perform?
Tuition Fee: £44.49
The Best Magic Book on Stage Craft:
The best magic book on stage craft is…
Maximum Entertainment 2.0 by Ken Weber
This is the best book on stage craft because the information in it is useful, no matter what stage you are at in your magic career.
It’s a book that you should constantly go back to and re-read. It is an undisputed classic and essential to read if you are serious about performing magic. This is a book that will always be relevant to magicians and will never fail to help you.
There are no tricks in this book. But it will teach you…
- How to Be Your Own Director!
- How to climb the Hierarchy of Mystery Entertainment!
- How to target the “Big Three” Reactions!
- Discover the Six Pillars of Entertainment Success!
- Learn powerful tips for Scripting and Rehearsing, and Choosing the Most Powerful Material!
- Discover invaluable Voice tricks and Language Skills!
- Do you know the best way for magicians to be Funny? This book will show you!
- Immensely practical tips on Sound and Lighting!
- Find out what the most successful performers do Before, During, and even After every show!
- Special problems faced by Close-up magicians and Mentalists!
“Little hints and big ideas combine until literally every page is sprinkled with priceless information!… The chapters on ‘Lights’ and ‘Sound’ should be required reading for anyone who performs on stage.”– Eric Mead (Genii magazine)
Tuition Fee: £35.49
The Best Magic Book on Creativity:
The best magic book on creativity is…
The Magic Rainbow by Juan Tamariz
This book is the most important theory text Tamariz has shared with the magic community.
Possibly even the most important magic book on theory ever written.
It combines essays, insight and analysis drawn from over forty years of thought by the most loved, creative, and respected magician in the world.
Here’s what it covers:
- In the Magic Rainbow the Maestro himself shares his incredible and original methods to erase the spectators’ memories. Making the chances of them being able to back track to a method impossible.
- He provides techniques to create memories that heighten the impossibility of the trick. Not only now, but also in the future.
- He shares his own strategies for coping with mistakes that can happen during a performance.
- He teaches you how to combine comedy and drama in ways that make your magic better.
- He also highlights areas these two areas should isolate to make them stronger.
“The Magic Rainbow is a ballad to magic and magicians. With lyrics that will steer your performances to heights you had never considered achievable.” – Vanishing Inc
“I’ve waited more than twenty years to read this book, and the wait was worth it. If you’ve spent years looking for magic but have only been finding tricks, this book may contain the secrets you’ve been searching for.” – Mike Weber
“The brilliance of Juan Tamariz, the greatest and most influential card magician alive, is the reason I can’t wait to read this book, cover to cover.” – David BlaineReviews
Tuition Price: £133.49
Did you know?
Two years ago, we discovered that many of the best magic books EVER WRITTEN—Tarbell’s course on magic, Expert at the Card Table by Erdanase and Bobo’s Coin Magic are ALL public domain.
That, in simple terms means, FREE TO READ!
Yes, you heard us right, just between these three books nearly 3,000 pages of incredible magic content is simply bouncing around the internet.
(and hardly anyone is using or knows about it…)
Here’s why:
- The content isn’t easy to find (you have to know EXACTLY what to search for and be aware of which sources are reputable and which aren’t)
- Many magic companies make NO effort to ensure this stuff is readily available (but they do profit off product after product that uses effects taken directly from these books and given a ‘modern twist’)
- People don’t know where to start (300 classic magic books is an overwhelming number, and it can be hard to find the really good stuff)
- The magic companies that HAVE collected these books sell them at a ludicrous price and they’re vastly behind the times ($80 for a CD ROM is kind of a joke…)
Here’s what we’ve done to tackle this issue:
- We’ve put all the books in one place (let’s not even talk about the 1000’s of hours this has taken, we’ll get PTSD…). There’s 368 in total.
- We’ve written a commentary for all the ones we think are worth starting with (91 to be exact)
- We’re making this accessible to the entire magic world (let’s just say our price tag doesn’t even get close to $80…).
View our 368 Classic Magic Book Collection
Well that it for today folks!
We really appreciate you taking the time to read this!
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