I have just picked up a copy of RRTCM; I have the first four volumes of Card College. I would have to say Card College provides 'the' most detailed explanations for each sleight. I guess that's why it took Giobbi four volumes to cover the content he wanted to include. The complete set is expensive, but works for a beginner - I was a beginner when I bought the first volume, and still consider myself a begninner. Just Volume one and two have enough content to create a number of worthwhile routines, and cover all the required sleights for most packet tricks.

I have read this message string for some time before posting. If you want to learn cards - Card College has the to the first choice. I constantly refer to the series now that I have a few DVDs and want better explanations of the moves/sleights mentioned with any given routine.

By the way I don't have CCIM yet. It will either be that or Strong Magic as my next purchase.

I would also recommend "Magic and Showmanship" by Henning Nelms. It deals with the most important and oft neglected part of the art - presentation.

For Spanish beginners I Suggest "Cartomagia Fundamental" by Vicente Canuto. It s a great book for card magic.

Add to that "strong Magic" and "Designing Miracles" by Darwin Ortiz. Both should be considered required reading for all magicians.

Here's a list and ways to get the books:

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Books-Worth-......-4691033

:magicrabbit:

Are there different editions of CCIM - Mark Wilson?

Fortunately, L&L Publishing now publishes the book so a new copy could be obtained. BTW, the card section is excellent----especially for beginners.

"Classic Secrets of Magic" by Bruce Elliot
"Magic Tricks & Card Tricks" by Wilfrid Jonson
"The Tarbell Course in Magic" by Harlan Tarbell (& others)

Those are the books that got me started.

There have been so many great books listed here and so I'm not going to go over them again. I would like to say on the subject of acting, which every magician really is, or should be, that two books worth having are Magic & Showmanship by Nelms and On The Technique Of Acting by Michael Chekov. These books will give you not only the tools to create your characters, but will also teach you how to move in a natural way. To be honest so few magicians deal with this important element of the art, that if you read and study these, you will be ahead of many other magicians, who simply view our art as showing tricks and puzzles, or of getting one over on the public. Just my thoughts on the subject.
Cheers Phil

I find well made videos the best tool since you can see actual events of the actions I`m satisfied with the magic makers "modern coin magic 4DVD set. I gained a lot from that set ,and still trying new tricks from them.
The format Mark Wilson uses in his book "A complete course in magic" is easy to follow with the detailed photos of the moves from the spectators,and magicians views right in the verses on the pages.
That is the best setup I`v ever seen in a how to book. they used the format from instruction sheets that comes with a assemble it yourself furniture or little red wagons.
The great publishers like that keep up the excellent work.
Having reading material easy to comprehend is essential to getting you information across to the reader.

My cents are 1. Tarbell Course in Magic
2. Mark Wilson Course in Magic
3. BoBos Coin Magic
4. Royal Road To Card Magic
5. Counts, Cuts and Sublities (not sure of title)
6. Fitzkees SP Triolagy Magic by Misderiction, Showmanship for Magicians and The trick Brain
All to get the Basic Principals so very much needed in todays market as most now tend to take the easy ways.

A lot of beginners are young and thus their money is limited. I found out about a site thru the Café call http://www.abebooks.com

It list a lot of books and many are used. I got an excellent copy of Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic for $1.76 plus about $5 shipping. Check them out.

I agree that Mark Wilson's Complete Course is the best for a beginner. Gave me a great start.

If there's any swedes out there I recommend the book "Trolleri som hobby".
Available at many swedish libraries.

The Ron Bauer Privates Studies may not seem like an initial set of beginners books, but if we're gonna teach newbies about presentation, we should start 'em out right!

I'm a big fan of the RBPS series because of the presentation material that consistently plays well for an audience.

If you're short of money it really helps to check out libraries near your home and school. Check the REFERENCE section as well as 793.8 (Dewey System number for magic books, 780 for children's section). The REFERENCE section contains books not available for check-out but stay in the library so you can read them on premises. Often, larger or expensive magic books will be in this area.




"All things being Equal, I'm having a Splenda day."

Here are my recommendations:

FOR COMPLETE BEGINNERS

Books:

• David Pogue, Magic for Dummies
  
• Tom Ogden, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Magic
  See the discussion here.

Videos:

• Michael Ammar, Exciting World of Magic
  
• Jay Sankey, Amazing Magic & Mentalism Anyone Can Do, (Vol. 1 & 2)
  See the discussion here and here.

FOR BEGINNERS READY FOR THE NEXT STEP

On technique and tricks:

• Mark Wilson, Complete Course In Magic
  Easily the best all-round resource. See the discussion here.

On performance and presentation:

• Darwin Ortiz, Strong Magic
  See the discussion here.

On cards only:

• Jean Hugard, Royal Road to Card Magic (tricks with sleights)
  
• John Scarne, Scarne on Card Tricks (tricks that are self-working)
  Alternative choices for self-working card tricks:
  
• Frank Garcia & George Schindler, Magic With Cards
  
• Karl Fulves, Self Working Card Tricks series
  For self-working card tricks, see the resources listed here.

On coins only:

• J. Bobo, Modern Coin Magic

Mark Wilson's book is a fantastic complete course, but is best suited for someone wanting to take the next step in magic, and already knows something about the basic principles of performing magic. It could be supplemented with Darwin Ortiz' book about presentation at a later stage. Genuine newcomers to magic would be better advised to begin with the Magic for Dummies or Idiot's Guide to Magic books, in order to get a more comprehensive introduction to all the facets of magic at a beginner level, and then later progress to Wilson's book or to more specialized books on their area of interest.

A final word of advice: Read the wise words posted by Andy the Cardician and the subsequent discussion here. Andy uses an excellent analogy to point out how many beginners can fall into the trap of buying all kinds of tricks and gimmicks, books and videos. Buying all kinds of expensive musical devices and knowing how musical instruments work doesn't make you a musician; In the same way, buying magic props and knowing how tricks work doesn't make you a magician. The real secret to magic isn't about spending money, it's about spending time. Along with the books recommended above, spend the time practicing to perfect the performance of just a few effects, and do them well.

Under the section on "Alternative choices for self-working card tricks" in my post above, I should have included the following title:

• Giobbi, Card College Light

Giobbi's book contains seven routines of three self-working effects each (i.e. 21 total), but its strength is that he doesn't just teach how they are done, but teaches the showmanship and presentation necessary to make them true miracles, even for beginners.

See the discussion here for more information on Card College Light (sorry for including the wrong link in the previous post).

Being still slightly new to serious magic, the books I that have been of immense help
to me are The Royal Road to Card Magic, Bobo's Modern Coin Magic, Expert at the Card Table and I'm planning to get Darwin Ortiz's Strong Magic.

So far they have been a well of magical knowledge to me and as I've progressed, I've found that going back to the effects they teach seem new everytime as I slowly get my own performing style.