I had the same question as Autumn. It is nice to see all the feedback. After 20 plus years of buying individual tricks, and doing some pure sleight of hand...mostly cups and balls, some coins (mostly gaffed), ect I decided about 7-9 years ago to major on coins (mostly ungaffed)and minor on cards (untill now all my card routines are packets with a couple exceptions). Now I'm looking for some good card books.

Most coin men (except Larry) would lead you to the same book, Bobo's modern coin magic....I see with cards it's different.

It is very nice to see all this feedback and I will wager there is more to come!

Excellent points, Hideo Kato. Good explanations, stoneunhinged, snushy, and Silverking. Thank you for your input, Canvey Card Sharp. You have a very interesting point of view and bring up poignant questions. Good insight and well-handled rebuttal, Terry Screen. Thank you, sleightofand. Rossolim0z, what single book would you choose? Marlo? Don't you love Darwin Ortiz, Joseph?

Wes65, For coins, I love Bobo's too. I think there are simply more card magicians than coin magicians. Each card worker has their own style and individual flair, thus the possible reason for the distinct variation in choices.

Your forum contributions are quite interesting and will be very helpful for magicians who really want to get the 'best bang for their buck'. It is very informative when magicians have included the clarification of whether the choice is beginning, intermediate, advanced, or knucklebusting. I always learn a great deal from the magicians here at The Magic Café. Thanks so much. Keep writing!
Autumn

That is one of the most insightful and well-spoken posts that I have ever encountered. Keep posting, Jeff!

For the "desert island scenario", my choice would be Guy Hollingworth's 'Drawing Room Deceptions'. It is far from the best book on card magic, but I prize the book as a work of art: the literacy, the design, the art, even the binding, reflect the tastes and thoughts of a gentleman of refined sensibilities....the sort of person that is becoming extinct in magic with all of the Angel/Blaine style trends.

I agree with the dominant choices: Erdnase, Giobbi, etc., but if the objective is to learn sleight of hand card magic in the span of our short lives, I recommend DVDs/videos over any book.

This may seem odd since I am an old university professor and very pro-book...except where books are inadequate...such as in the teaching sleight-of-hand. Let me explain:

Thirty-plus years ago, Don Duncan Jr. of the legendary Duncan Yo-Yo Company came to visit me to commission me to do a book on advanced string tricks. At the time, I was considered a yo-yo expert (now, young teens have far surpassed where I was) and I was an artist. So, I began the project. After days of intense labor, six detailed laborious drawings and several pages of text, I had explained the very first basic move; a move that, in real time, took three seconds to execute.

It dawned on me that the only way to do the job was through film or video and I abandoned the project. Shortly after that, the first videos of magicians became commercially available and I jumped on them. I had spent thousands of dollars to go sit with people like Vernon and Jennings for a few hours. I remember Jennings trying to teach me a routine (the Devilish Miracle) on the telephone...I never understood the complex procedure until years later when it was released on video. I learned it in minutes. The first magic videos cost $60 plus, and they seemed, to me, to be a bargain.

A set of videos like Ammar's ETMCM is the equivalent of an experienced magician digging through 40 or 50 books, distilling the best material, and presenting it to you in person.

Life is short and magic is very long, indeed. It is a life's work to become merely a mediocre card man or woman. Get the Ammar set, Ackerman's series, and a few others. You will be performing very good card magic almost immediately.

Sacrilege, I know, but the real world results are undeniable.

Best regards,
Glenn Godsey

Thank you, Glenn, for a truly wonderful post. Fantastic advice from real life experience. Now that is truly magicians helping magicians.
Cheers,
Jason

Glenn,

I remember going to shops and people trying to sell me video. I would always pass. I insisted on learning from books....until I finally bought my first magic DVD. Now I'm hooked.

However, I would like to see combos of book and DVD.

So Terry Screen, I seem to have touched a nerve for daring to put a Paul Gordon book before Erdnase.

What I tried to do in my post was outline WHY I chose the two books in question and WHY I had reservations about another two mentioned beforehand. I see little value personally in posts that ask, "what's your favourite X Y or Z" unless the member explains their selection in greater depth. To my mind there is limited benefit by just adding a list of titles in these instances other than for purely statistical reasons.

So I hope that explains WHY I added remarks.

I'm sorry that you appear upset that I put Paul Gordon before Erdnase but over the past few years, it's the Paul Gordon books that have earnt me money in the real world of commercial, magical entertainment.

As for Paul's books being torn to shreds elsewhere well all I can say is that jealousy is a terrible thing. Clearly, this hasn't stopped a host of top names in cards (Harry Lorayne, Peter Duffie, Aldo Colombini, Roy Walton - shall I go on?) giving excellent reviews of his work.

As a matter of interest, do you own Nocturnal Creations? If so, tell me what's wrong with it and, if you haven't, then how can you possibly comment so critically of someone else's choice?

As an aside, I'm certainly not 'anti' older publications; many such as the Vernon Trilogy, Hugard, and don't forget Card Control by Buckley, were my introduction to card magic some 30 years ago. The point I was making is that IN MY VIEW Erdnase is overrated.

By the way, 100 years from now is the year 2107, not 3007 as you stated. Thought I'd tell you that...........only I'd hate you to look stupid!

I'm sorry Autumn, I should have said "coin worker" or "coin person".....My bad.

No problem, Wes. Coin worker or coin magician works well to include all!

Glenn Godsey, if you liked the post from Jeff, look at the one on page two. It is a masterpiece. One of the finest pieces of illustrative language I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Glenn, your quote should be memorized by all magicians:

"Life is short and magic is very long, indeed. It is a life's work to become merely a mediocre card man or woman."

DVD's have an amazing ability to visually communicate many effects, which are difficult to express on paper. Considering we do have SUCH a limited time on Earth, and so very many magic effects to learn, I might just have add a few DVD's to my collection.

Jason it is good to see magicians helping magicians!

Cavney Card Sharp, the nice thing about The Café is you can voice your own opinion. This forum is about ideas and opinions. If we were 100% in agreement on everything, we would all be doing the same show!

Autumn, I must say I have never encountered anyone who responds so graciously to posts, finding something positive and warm to say to each and every participant in the discussion. You are a charming lady and I feel certain that you are, by extension, a charming magician.

Best regards,
Glenn Godsey

RRTCM by Hugard and the 5 DVD set with the same name with Paul Wilson is unbeatable IMHO.

I have tried to answer this question about 3 or 4 times and each time I try it becomes more difficult.

I'll try and explain :-

There are books which are invaluable when you start card magic, such as RRTCM, ECT and Card College, my favourite of those being Card College as they are up to date handlings, written in up to date language.

Following on, there are the in-depth investigational works on sleight of hand techniques, such as Marlo's Revolutionary Card Technique.

Then there are those books which are more applicable to performing in different venues, such as the excellent Commercial Magic Of JC Wagner, which has a ton of useable material for bar workers, to the Slydini books which are biased towards a more theatrical presentation and setting.

Card magic also has a broad range of material for the card worker to choose from, ranging from self-working (if there is such a thing) material of which there is a plethora to select from. Up to the knuckle-busting, flashy and visual in-your-face effects that have gained real popularity over recent times.

We are also very fortunate that many of the world's best card magicians have committed their work to paper, such as Roy Walton, Larry Jennings, Alex Elmsley etc.

Also, there are a few superb books on the presentational aspect of magic, for example the Tamariz' books The Magic Way, Sonata and The Five Points. Ortiz, Kurtz and Tommy Wonder also have valuable material in this area that is well worth your attention.

Finally, there are esoteric works by such people as Jerry Andrus and Ernest Earick which provide off-beat ideas to stimulate your thinking.

With all the material we have from past masters such as Vernon, Slydini and Marlo, to the fantastic new talents we have today, we are blessed with so many fantastic ideas in so many wonderful books that it is almost impossible to choose my favourite.

BUT, I'll go for the Ascanio books by Etcheverry, they are everything that I would want in a magic book :- HISTORY, THEORY, HUMOUR, INSIGHT, TECHNIQUE & BEAUTIFUL EFFECTS.

My most anticipated upcoming book? The Magic Of Fred Robinson, which is long overdue.

Just my tuppence worth !!
Alan

Thank you, Glenn Godsey, for your kind comments! I just want to make sure magicians feel appreciated here at The Café.

Good suggestion, Peo Olsson! Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard is a classic. Didn't Hugard also write the Encyclopedia of Card tricks? You are from Sweden, yes? Love your country! I performed there a few years ago there at Dalhalla. That is an amazing stage, albeit, a bit cold even in July! http://www.dalhalla.se/

This is a tough question, Alan and I appreciate your insight! I have wanted to add 'The Magic of Ascanio' to my collection. Jesús Etcheverry's theory can be applied virtually every facet of magic. He shows you how to think critically when you create and perform, culminating in a literal "work of magic". What more could a magician desire in an act?

Excellent suggestions, everyone!
Autumn

Autumn and Glenn, it is my turn to *blush* at your compliments.

I ran into something interesting last night. Page 1400 of Giobbi's Card College (that's volume 5, for those of you who don't have it), footnote 65:

"See Encyclopedia of Card Tricks.... If you need a book for an island, look no further, because this will keep you occupied for years. Just remember to take a few decks of cards with you."

Gruss,
Jeff

It still depends on what YOU wish to do.

Even with a complete library onhand, Till you have a goal you have only a room full of paper and trivial knowledge.

First step might be to walk away from the clever and fussy stuff and find out...

What is Magic?

Then perhaps you will wish to proceed to study the craft and seek answers to:

How do YOU wish to offer magic to others?

What resources do you require to do this?

For those who want to begin their studies in earnest and start with language and people skills... off to "The Structure of Magic". Others may wish to start with fairy tales and fantasy. I wish all the best in their travels through magicdom no matter what path they take.

You can more easily choose the right leaf after you find the forest.

It makes sense that you would find such a line, Jeff. Volume 5, 1400 pages? ...I had no idea! No wonder so many had suggested this series as having everything.

Jonathan Townsend, you always have such a thoughtful way of stating things. I simply love your forest/leaf analogy. I fear so many of us end up with "a room of paper and trivial knowlege." So many of us are like kids in a candy store when it comes to magic books. Even though I succumb to the temptations to collect and devour magic books for the sheer pleasure of having magic books, fortunately, I have: "...Been in the forest for long enough that I have built quite a cool treehouse." I hope I get to see you work someday.
Autumn

What an entertaining thread, I have not smiled so much in a long time.

It started with a request to name your favourite book on card magic, and then seemed to go off track with people ridiculing each others selections, I joined this forum primarily in order to make judicious decisions when it comes to spending my hard earned cash, by reading as many reviews of books, tricks and dvd's as I possibly could.

Thanks to many of you I have still to make a bad purchase. I thought we were here to help each other, not to try and score points off of somebody else or to ridicule those that post here.

Every opinion voiced is just that, a personal opinion, it does not mean that someone is wrong or deserves to be made a laughing stock of just because theirs is a different opinion to that of another person, so come on people lets all shake hands and make freinds again.

Returning to the thread, I only own three books on card magic, they are RRTCM, Harry L's Classic Collection (I know it's more than one book, but they are all bound together in one volume) and Dear Mr Fantasy, they all have their merits but I must say that my present favourite is Dr Mr Fantasy purely for the reason that I have actually had people scream out at the conclusion of some of the effects in there. As a relative newcomer to card magic its reactions like that that make me continue with my methodical plod through the Royal Road.

I know that Mr Lorayne does not particularly like it when someone scores another persons work higher than his but at least he does not ridicule them for their opinion. Lets all take a leaf out of his book. All three of my books are superb and I would not like to be without any of them, who knows, by following the advice given out on the Café next month I may have a new favourite, I plan on purchasing Nocturnal Creations tomorrow morning just for the diary trick, with any luck that will not be the only effect that I use from it.

Regards

0045

PS Autumn Morning Star

Deine Grammatik ist beschtimt besser als meine.

Excellently put! I never thought of it as such, but as soon as I saw your comment about it being Machiavelli's Prince, I agreed 100%. My "desert island book" would probably be Mnemonica, and I have a feeling that I would actually get more out of it if it WERE my only book... I spend too little time in it as it is. That said, I can definitely see Erdnase being a good choice, for the reasons you mentioned. A book that only teaches sleights or effects will be useless eventually, but one that teaches you to think will always have value.

Glen,
I'm inclined to agree somewhat with you. However, your point appears to be directed at the newcomer:

1) Magicians tend to have a working repetoire of 10 or so effects.
2) Once your mass cull of magic effects via dvds has been effected leaving an individual with 10 or so effects which he likes, learns and practices we are left with the process of individualisation that separates the good from the average.
3) If all the person wants to achieve is to be able to mechanically perform the effect than dvds suffice but too often valuable information is lost, especially on conversions of books to dvd.

It is at this point that I would recommend the person goes and buys the book in which the effect he saw on dvd is contained. A lot of the best writers' books (I'm thinking of Giobbi, Ortiz and Wesley James) contain a lot of theoretical and presentational ideas for their effects that are not always displayed/emphasised in the video performance.

Giobbi Card College volume 5 is a particularly good example of this with little nuggets of information that are buried in the effects and not consolidated by him elsewhere.

An example of a piece of information contained in a book but not in the writer's perfomance is Ortiz' advice in strong magic not to convey the effects to the audience as sleight of hand effects because doing so reduces the magicalness of the effects. However, he begins each perfomance by stating that is exactly what the spectators are about to witness. His reasons for contradicting himself may have something to do with his persona and reputation as a premier cheating adviser.

Points like these allow the individual to become a performer and entertainer as well as an innovator.

OK, thanks for that opinion without merit.

Indeed there are a great many beginner books out there. Many are mediocre, some are atrocious. Only a few stand out, and none of them can possibly come close to Giobbi on the grounds of detail of instruction, clarity of illustrations, breadth and depth of sleights and effects, an apt pace of progressive advancement of material, and perhaps most of all, the contextualization of effects with regards to theory and presentation.

Sure, you might say that this book is better on DLs, and that book is better for key card effects, and something else is better for false dealing, etc. But in one source, I repeat that nothing holds a candle to Card College for beginners who wish to build a foundation of card magic skills and knowledge (and for pros who wish to brush up and review their fundamentals). Even just the first two volumes leave the next most popular contender, RRTCM, in the rearview mirror some fifty years down the road, in both quantity and quality of information.

Dear 0045: If you get Nocturnal Creations, also try TWISTER, EASY ACE ESTIMATION, PERFECT HEIST and, oh, the rest. See http://www.paulgordon.net/acatalog

Cheers, Paul Gordon