Hello, I am sixteen years old and very interested in getting better at close-up magic. I am thinking about getting a more advanced book or video to help me.
Do you have any good intermediate books to help me with my quest to become a better magician? I am also specifically looking for a book to help me with the Elmsley Count. Also, please give me a description of the books you recommend, such as the difficulty and why you like them. I have seen a few lists of good magic books and videos, but it doesn't tell me a whole lot if a short description isn't included.

Thanks for your help,
Maestro

By the way, I already have Royal Road, the 1st Tarbell book, and Now You See It, Now You Don't.

I would recommend Michael Ammar's Video series as well as Daryl's Ambitious Card Routine.

You should also try Card Manipulations, More Card Manipulations, by Huggard. Do a search on Amazon for them for more information. I have them and they are excellent.

Then I would get Dante King's
http://www.danteking.com
Practical Methods and Fanning Tutorial. These videos will help you in your card control, shuffles, false cuts and fanning.

Lonnie Dilan has a set of "Lecture notes" view his page at
http://www.pastboardpimps.com

Despite what others feel, I would also recommend Ninja 2 from Ellusionist.com

Most of these all deal with Card Magic. For coin magic, try David Roth Expert Coin Magic Made Easy series.

That should keep you busy for awhile.

Roy Ornelas

There are many videos and book out there.
But you must know which will suit your learning needs. Some of us are more visual than others, as such, videos work best. If you like to read, probably books are good too.

Yes, I agree that Mich Ammar's series are very good. He is a good coach for magic.

Before spending your $ right away on tapes, books or tricks, please read the forum on the good, bad and garbage before buying them, that will save you some $.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Maestro,

You didn't say what area of close-up magic you like, except for the Elmsley Count. That makes me think your primary interest is in cards.

Jerry Mentzer has an inexpensive book entitled "Counts, Moves and Subtleties" that covers most counts you'll need.

Ed Marlo's "The Cardician", although an older book, is not expensive and will start you out right with one of the "gurus" of card magic.

For general close-up, "The Dai Vernon Book of Magic" (written by Lewis Ganson) is a classic about the magic of one of the men who transformed magic. Also considered a classic in close-up is "Stars of Magic." Many of the magicians in that classic are now dead, but their magic is the basis for a lot of the newer stuff you see today.

Good luck!

Thanks for your replies everyone, I will look into these. There are so many books and videos out there it's hard to sort through them all if you don't have somewhere to start looking. This will help me a lot.

JD Clarkson, you are right in guessing that my primary interest right now is in cards (It's what I'm the best at right now and you don't need much in the way of expensive props if you know what I mean) but I'm looking to get better at things such as coin and rope tricks as well.

Once again, thanks for your input, and other people can still add on if they want to.

If coins are your forte, then look into David Roth's series Expert Coin Magic Made Easy.

I have that series and it is excellent. It allows for improtu magic by simply asking someone for a coin.

Roy Ornelas

I don't know how much money you have (gosh, when I was 16, I was pretty poor....). I agree that card magic carries a lot of punch with relatively little investment.

"Stars of Magic" is a classic close-up book as is the "Dai Vernon Book of Magic". Both cover tricks with many different kinds of props. In the 70s, Jerry Mentzer published a series entitled "Close-Up Cavalcade." A good series and the advantage is that you can buy the books one by one...

Good luck. You've chosen a wonderful hobby.

I am not putting down the recommendations made above. They are all very good.

I am going to recommend that you put buying a ton of specialized books and video’s “on hold” right now. I suspect that you do not have unlimited funds and I never recommend that a person specialize in one kind of magic. I don’t know many magicians that can get away with doing just cards or coins or ropes. They are the exceptions not the rule. I always recommend balance. Learn a few good solid effects in several categories. Then you can build a nice and entertaining close-up or stand-up act that has variety and is magical.

OK, that said, what do I recommend that you start with. Two books come to mind right away. Both are inexpensive and both cover a lot of areas of magic. Both will keep you busy for the next several years and both will give you enough to build a good, solid, entertaining, and magical act.

The first is Harry Lorayne’s “The Magic Book”. It is now back in print and costs around $10.00. It includes card flourishes, card slights, and routines, basic coin slights and routines, mental magic, and some miscellaneous magic that has even fooled magicians (the moves needed to pull off a couple of the sequences in Dean Dill’s rather expensive “box” are found in this book!)

The second book is Mark Wilson’s Complete Encyclopedia of Magic. Usually costs less than $20.00. This book also has Instructions and routines for cards, money (coins and bills), ropes, silks, sponge ball, and impromptu magic. It also has a section on mental magic, a section on the classics such as the cups and balls and billiard balls, a section on make at home small illusions and a section on stage illusions (easy to make).

I think that they will become the cornerstone of your reference collection.

I think that you can get both for about $30.00. That is a lot of general magic for a little money.

Yes, very good advice from mumblepeas.

p/s: Thanks for the egg bag routine my friend.

Mumblepeas, thanks for your help. I have one question though. Is it hard to find a place to purchase Mark Wilson's Complete Encyclopedia of Magic or do you just have to know where to look? I was just looking for a place to potentially buy it but couldn't really find it for sale anywhere. Do you know if most magic shops have it or where I could find it?

Thanks,
Maestro

Maestro,

Both Mark Wilson’s book and the Harry Lorayne book are easy to find through a regular bookseller. That is why I recommended them. While some of the better magic shops will carry them, they can be found on the shelves of a Borders or a Barnes and Nobel’s bookstore. By the way, The Mark Wilson’s Complete Course in Magic and the Mark Wilson “Cyclopedia of Magic” are two different things. Get the Complete Course NOT the Cyclopedia.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com
has the Mark Wilson book for $19.95. The best magic investment you will make this year or ever. They did not have a copy of The Magic Book.

Borders http://www.borders.com
had a link to a used copy of The Magic Book for $22.00.

However, Magic Smith http://www.magicsmith.com
does carry a new copy of The Magic Book. It costs $30.00! Mine cost a big $9.95 new when I bought it all those years ago. Of course then it went out of print for about 10 years and is now back in print. Still it is a good buy and a great basic magic book.

Hope this helps!

Mumblepeas!

I'll second mumblepeas' recommendation of The Magic Book.
The $30 - $35 it costs does not even begin to reflect its true value!
It was originally written for a lay audience and so it begins with the very basics -- how to shuffle a deck of cards, for instance.
And yet it has become one of the major "must-have" books among magicians.
Because it is those very basics that we sometimes need a refresher course in; just because we have been doing something for years, does not mean that (a) it's the only way to do it; or (b) we are doing it correctly.
The Magic Book is worth a read about every 18 months.
cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

Ok, thanks!

I would recomend a Video called Off the Cuff. The difficulty is Intermediate and I like it because with these tricks, you can perform then anywhere anytime with anything. Thats the theme of the movie infact. It also has a really nice vanish in it.

Hope my words were of help!
Lance R. Wilson