Does anyone have this yet?

I've read some good reviews (some of them here at the Café) of his previous book 'Simply Harkey', but cannot find any reviews on the Net about his new offering. Rumour has it that these books are similar in content to the Paul Harris 'Art of Astonishment' series in terms of creative new magic using everyday objects.

Personally I'm getting a tad fed up reading magic books containing supposedly new approaches to old plots (842 ways to cut four aces etc...) as well as books crammed with nothing other than card tricks and coin assemblies. If Mr Harkey's books can indeed be compared to the AoA books then they will definately be going on my wish list.

Should I be considering these books?

P.S. In terms of magic books containing unusual effects and creative ideas my favourites are:

AoA 1,2&3 - Paul Harris
Constant Fooling Vol 1&2 - David Regal
Up Close and Personal - David Regal
Apocalypse (Any) - Harry Lorayne
Natural Selections Vol2 - David Acer (Anyone know where I can get volume 1 here in the UK?)
Sankey Pankey - Jay Sankey (Kauffman)
100% Sankey - Jay Sankey (Kauffman)
5x5 Japan - Kauffman

All of the above inspired my imagination to create my own original magic with everyday props and to look at buttons, pens, cuff links, shoe laces, paper clips, lighters, belly button fluff etc and think "mmm...I wonder how I can make a trick out of this".

Can anyone recommend some other good books that contain unusually great new ideas and original plots?

Can anyone really do magic with belly button fluff???

New?
I've had my copy since 1997.
Ted (Leondo)

Can any one tell me more about this 5x5 book by Kaufman....

Thanks

Symmatrix

5x5 offers some truly unique thinking magic. The plots for the most part are unusual & refreshing. I recommend it; even if you use no single effect from it, it will get your creative juices flowing.

WanderingMagi-

You have good taste in books, those are the types I like as well.

And Leondo is correct, Ah-ha has been around for 5 or 6 years now. I like it a lot, as I do his first book "Simply Harkey." Whether you use any of his tricks or not, the novelty of his thought process and trick plots will entertain you.

So get Harkey's books, you'll enjoy them.

I just sold a copy of 5 X 5 Japan on ebay last night for $15

Ah-Ha is a great book. It is actually a culmination of original material between David Harkey and Eric Anderson giving it the title AH-HA (Anderson-Harkey Harkey-Anderson). There are many things in the book for both close up and stand up performing. A few mentalism routines including "Scatterbrain", a great routine using only a pen and a newspaper. It also includes the impromptu pencil through dollar bill called "East, Meets South, Meets West". It, in my opinion, is the best bill penetration out there.

S.Segal

Thanks for all your help so far.

To Spiral-stares and Leondo:
I appreciate the correction. Obviously I've not been keeping my reading up to date!!
In my defence 'Ah-ha' has only just been advertised at the UK magic site that I tend to buy from. Maybe it's time I changed where I shop.

Similarly, apologies to Richard Kaufman for having misspelled his name (three times).

To Spiral-stares: Thanks for your appreciation of my taste in books. I'm proud of most of my collection too. I guess that it's only by sharing our views using sites like these that maybe we can all benefit from the experience and knowledge of others.

So what is my collection missing apart from the 2 not-as-new-as-I-first-thought Harkey books? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ixnay66: I'm truly surprised that you got rid of your copy of 5x5. Top book in my opinion. To be honest I don't actually perform any of the routines from it, but every time I read it I swear that one day I will.

Symmatrix: tboehnlein sums it up well. My favourites from the book are:

Ambitious Clip - paper clip attached to a selected card visibly rises to the top of the deck (Why don't I use this simple thing as an ending for my ambitious card routine??? I swear that one day I will!).

BoxBack - The card case goes to the pocket then the card case reappears around the deck.

The Talisman - A selected card changes places with the joker that originally was stapled to the back of the card case

The Appearing Deck - A deck of cards is produced from a flattened card case removed from a wallet

The Joker Takes a Ride - The image of the joker slowly disappears from its card (probably would never work but looks like loads of fun making it.)

Imprisoned Rising Card - Ok, ok so this one IS a rehash of an old classic AND a card trick but one day I really must make up this great gimmicked card box which enables you to do the rising card trick leaving the cards examinable.

Not the biggest of books but it’s good every time I go back to it. tboehnlein will probably agree with me, Symmatrix. Buy ixnay66's copy.

So anyway back to these Harkey books...to be honest I'm not too bothered if I never do many of the tricks from the books (don't faint but I only actually perform one effect out of all three AoAs!!!). I'm looking for books that I am going to enjoy reading as much as the Art of Astonishment books. So long as the material is creative and really good then I'm probably going to enjoy it.

Which of the two Harkey books is the best? Which one offers the most and perhaps the best effects? Please can either of you detail any of the better routines from Ah-Ha.

Are there any better alternatives to these Harkey volumes on which I should be spending my hard earned Pennies? Actually scrub that I'll buy 'em anyway based on your advice but what should go down next on my wish list of imaginative books?

This book is certainly not new as far as recent publications go. However, the thinking in some of the tricks and effects is certainly fresh and bright.

And IXNAY - you got unlucky. I saw the JAPAN book go for over $60.00 a little more than a week ago! I would have bought it for $15.00 just to give away as a gift!

Dave

What?!? I can't believe some people are too lazy to just look around. I got the price on 5X5 and it was like 50 Canadian. I got strong magic for 60 Canadian brand new and some people pay an arm and a leg.

Lee

Even at $60.00 Canadian, IXNAY was unlucky.

I agree; if you're going to buy a book, you need to shop around. I'm guilty of over paying for a book I just "had to have", but that's what eBay is all about.

Dave

Hi,

I am quite interested in getting Sankey Pankey, can anyone please provide a review?
Seems that a lot of Sankey's marketed stuff is in it.
Can anyone also provide the content list of this book? ( I can't find one in the magicref page.)

Thanks!

Quite all right. I have a ton of magic books and they're just a pain to move. There are MANY I won't ever part with . I have a lot that are signed by past masters long since gone and others with material that I actually do. 5 x 5 wasn't one of them. It was fun to look at but just wasn't my cup of tea. You should scan ebay more often! I just put up a super rare copy of Chris Kenner's first book.

Listing a book on Ebay as "rare" or "hard to find", irrespective of its actual scarcity within the market place, seems to be a viable selling tactic. “Rare” and “hard to find” books often sell for two or three times their retail value on Ebay. Often, a diligent search will reveal that these "hard-to-find, must have" items are still readily available.

Pyro, did you get your Strong Magic recently? I was also looking for it, and found one on ebay. However the guy did not respond to the email.

Wandering Magician,
I don't have Simply Harkey, but do have AH-HA. A false riffle shuffle by Eric Anderson contained in AH-HA is worth the price of the book (Shufflesque). I have been fortunate to take lessons from Eric, he is a gifted card man who cut his teeth doing street magic but now does trade show, corporate, etc.
AH-HA is full of the types of off-beat tricks and creativity that your list of books indicates you like. I'd recommend it highly.
Cheers!
Phil

Phil,

Thanks for the tip. Guess it's time to air the flies from my wallet again.

I reckon that I'll get the Simply Harkey book too, although by the looks of things its out of print now and tricky to get hold of. So far I haven't had any luck finding a copy in the UK. It might be time to broaden my shopping horizons.

HI,
I have Simply Harkey 1991 first edition and it is a good book with many unusual (yet doable) effects with all sorts of everyday objects; e.g., rubber bands, pool balls, paper clips, etc. I think that it is good for anyone wishing to add an unusual item or inspire thier own creativity.
Phillip

How many pages does Ah-Ha! have???
I am quite interesting in getting a copy.

Andrew Wong asked:
It's a slim hardcover, 90+ pages.

... Doug