A couple of magic biographies I’ve enjoyed are Harry Loyrayne’s Before I Forget and Arthur Brandon’s Milo & Roger: A Magical Life. Does anyone have a favorite magic biography recommendation?

I enjoyed Jim Steinmeyer's Thurston bio and his Chung Ling Soo bio. There was a nice memoir also written by one of Dante's assistants. The name escapes me at the moment, but it was a fun backstage look at a touring life. Whenever this topic is mentioned, the Bamberg autobiography invariably is named as well.

I’ve read several biographies, all were rather boring (Fay, Hurst, Golden, Mr Electric, Levante, Angel…). The only which captured my interest was the Robert Houdin one, in French, Comment on devient sorcier. It shaped the way I’m studying, practicing and performing magic.

A few biographies that are a fun read are:

Wise Guy by Harry Anderson - Not only a biography but also includes many of the effects he developed. The biography portion is interesting.

The Odds Against Me by John Scarne - This is a true biography but it often reads more like an action novel. It's amazing the experiences Scarne had. You can find used copies for a reasonable price on Amazon

Tabman Magic by Tabby Crabb - Another person with a lot of amazing experiences and writes about them very openly and honestly. This is also available on Amazon and I'm not sure if it's still available anywhere else.

Carney, Pitchman, Indian Chief by Carl Herron (Brother Shadow) - Another interesting and fun read. Unfortunately, it looks like this is a difficult one to find and all I found were a couple of opportunists asking extortionist prices. It's worth keeping an eye out for though.

I can recommend The Secret Life of Houdini by Kalush and Sloman.

Barry

There's also Spellbound: The Wonder-filled Life of Doug Henning.

Note that there is a difference between biography and autobiography, the latter being a biography written by the subject themselves.

Some of my favorites: (in no particular order)

Pleasant Nightmares - Dr. Neff and his Madhouse of Mystery by William V. Rauscher

We Remember Dante by Joel Ray - while not so much a biography - the stories told by those that knew Dante really paint a picture....

Beating a Dead Horse: The Life and Times of Jay Marshall

Don't Fool Yourself: The Magical Life of Dell O'Dell - by Michael Claxton



Mike

Robert Houdin Biography.

I LIE FOR MONEY - candid outrageous stories from a magician's misadventures - about Steve Spill from the Magicopolis show in Santa Monica - available hardcover, kindle, audibles, etc - here's the amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/Lie-Money-Outrage......32204924

I'll second that. Hilarious and informative.

Hello all! Many thanks to you all for the above recommendations. I guess I better get cracking with the many biographies and autobiographies book recommendations. I tend to enjoy the stories from the early 1900’s. Such as Al Baker tome that came out several years ago (the title escapes me). I missed an opportunity to meet Tabby Crabb. At one time he lived not too far from me. I believe he passed away several years ago in South Georgia. He was very active in the workshop forum on this site.

Hiding the elephant by Steinmeyer! excellent history book , but also pure joy!

You might enjoy my book, Stories of a Street Performer:



https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Street-Pe......37981339

The Coney Island Fakir: The Magical Life of Al Flosso

Magic for Magicians by Nightingale the Mystifier. Wonderful book by a world-trotting magician who quit vaudeville in 1915 to become an electrical engineer for Westinghouse, and eventually the creator of garden lighting. He designed the lights for Brookledge-Thayer's home and shop in Los Angeles.

The Audible version of this is special because Spill reads it himself.

Two favorites of mine are:
Dante: The Devil Himself and Blackstone: A Magician’s Life.

Paul Daniels and the Story of Magic by John Fisher.

I Lie for Money by Steve Spill

Milo & Roger is a great read.

Illusion Show by David Bamberg is also one of the best.