I did order from Tannen! How I wish I still had all of those things. That's great that you are collecting those catalogs. Like you said, the illustrations are classic.

What a fun thread! Following the advice here, I've filled a few holes in my library. And following the advice in another thread, I ordered Harry Lorayne's "The Magic Book" directly from his website. Could I have saved a few bucks buying a use copy elsewhere? Sure. But doing business with the creator is a way to give something back to somebody who has given so much to an art I love.

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone thought that way. Your order received and the book will be brought to the Post Office early next week. Thanks & Enjoy! H.

Yes the Magic Book is fantastic... I own three copies; a paperback that is falling apart, a hard cover that is dogged eared with notes and the reissue that came out years ago.

Thanks Harry!

Here's the only link you need: http://www.lybrary.com/the-amateur-magic......565.html to get a good start in magic. The best beginners breakfast reading.

AND Join a Magical Society, (AFTER you've studied the book) to meet Magicians!

Click here to view attached image.

This thread has been great to read and I would like to toss in my thoughts from a true beginner and "entry level" point of view. I honestly can't say there is "one" great book to start with, and found that by reading several about the same topic I benefited the most. Here are the ones I own and have used so far:

Mark Wilson Complete Course in Magic Book - Great all around book that teaches a little bit of everything, but not too deep into anything This has been on my book shelf since I was young, and is still relevant today.

"The Magic Book" by Harry Lorayne - Another fantastic book that teaches a bit of everything, but also the philosophy behind it which I really enjoy. None of the other books seem to do this, and I find the philosophy very useful and insightful. If I had to pick one general magic book to own, this would probably be the one.

Karl Fulves Self Working Card Magic - Some people don't consider self-working "real" card magic, but as a true beginner it helped me learn a few easy tricks while I started working on presentation and confidence building without complicated moves to worry about. It's a fantastic book.

Royal Road to Card Magic-Hugard and Braue - This is my most recent book that I just started into based on suggestions from the Café forums. So far it has been excellent and progresses you one step at a time logically, and has been worth the money for sure.

I've recently put out a little Kindle book for beginners which at $2.99 is bound to be value for money. The book assumes no prior knowledge.
If any beginner would like to buy it and then give it a verified review, contact me here when you've done so and I'll send you another magic e-book for free

Just looking for a few honest reviews from someone at beginner level. It is aimed specifically at beginners, not necessarily children. If you're over 10 and like reading you should be able to cope with it Obviously, this deal for Magic Café members won't last forever, once a few people have done it, it'll stop.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Magic-Tricks-F......d+family


Paul

I would advice "Card College". You will find in one book : the technique, real good routines and a lot of matter to increase your comprehension of Magic. Roberto Giobbi is one of the great thinkers and an excellent pedagogue

Hi people. I know it may sound a bit weird, but can you suggest any Portuguese language books?

I can read English novels and fiction books, but magic books have a lot of technical words that make this a lot harder.

Thanks in advance!

As a beginner, I personally like Joshua Jay's books. I feel they break things down very simply. After reading his books, I feel I can use these methodologies in both classic and more modern ways. I also love Mark Wilson's book. It is a must have and I have read it cover to cover many times.

I listen to a lot of the magic podcasts and it seems every time a performer is asked for a book recommendation, they name Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life." I guess it is a fantastic book for all performers and I can't wait to read it myself.

Introduction to card magic by Giobbi, but still not as great as mark wilson's complete course.

I'm relatively new to magic, approx 18 months. I found Royal road, mark wilsons complete course and card college the most useful out of what I have read.

Have you ever try to watch some great magic lecture? It might help you go along with some English magic book.

I support Tarbell!

I started with card college 7 months ago and I am really happy with my choice. It's so well structured and techniques are extremely precisely laid out and explained. additionally, I use Giobbi's CC 1&2 DVD which helps me to visualize the words and language used in the books.

I have Wilson and Tarbell as part of a fairly decent book collection but looking back over 40 years ago the books that I remember enjoying as a kid might not resonate much with anyone else. I wouldn't say that I highly recommend them but for a very new beginner I thought they were very useful.

One was Henry Hay's Learn Magic (kind of a poor man's "Amateur Magician's Handbook"). http://magicref.tripod.com/books/hayhenrylearnmagic.htm

I take back what I said earlier, I would highly recommend it.

Another was David Robbin's Practical Magic http://magicref.tripod.com/booksjr/robbi......agic.htm

In the back of the book it had lessons on coin/card manipulations and even venting. I learned to front and back palm a coin and Hindu Shuffle from it, so I have happy memories of the book.

Another book that I found interesting was George Anderson's Magic Digest. http://magicref.tripod.com/books/anderso......gest.htm

I recall being kind of disappointed in it at first and somewhat ignoring it but I kept going back to it. It had interesting stories of magicians which I think is valuable towards building a sense of belonging to a new fraternity by knowing some of its history. It was a good all round introduction to magic

Are there any books about performing magic for YouTube?

13 Steps to Mentalism by Corinda
Ultimate Secrets of Card Magic by Dai Vernon
The Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue

I have found the Royal Road to Card Magic to be a wonderful intro. Some of it I need a minute to wrap my hands around, like what the objectives are but I'm working on it.