Skill Level: Intermediate
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Magic of Michael Ammar, The
SYNOPSIS: The Magic of Michael Ammar is a broad collection of Michael Ammar’s professional close-up and stand-up material from the 1980s, bringing together routines, techniques, essays, and practical advice that had previously appeared in sources such as the Command Performance series, Encore I, Encore II, and The Manual of Magic Psychology. Ammar’s goal is not simply to teach tricks, but to…
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Secrets of Brother John Hamman, The
SYNOPSIS: The Secrets of Brother John Hamman is Richard Kaufman’s comprehensive record of Brother John Hamman’s card magic, collecting the sleights, packet tricks, full-deck routines, transpositions, gambling demonstrations, visual changes, and original principles that made Hamman one of the most influential card magicians of the twentieth century. The book contains more than 140 indexed entries across…
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Second Wind
SYNOPSIS: Second Wind: A Book of Old Magic Made New is Asi Wind’s compact collection of seven card routines built around a clever premise: return to the simple, often sleight-free tricks found in beginner magic books and rebuild them using the stronger methods, subtleties, psychology, and technical tools of an experienced magician. Wind deliberately gives the book the…
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Rim Shots
SYNOPSIS: Rim Shots is Harry Lorayne’s collection of original card routines, sleights, controls, palms, false cuts, and utility techniques intended for practical close-up performance. The title refers to the drummer’s “rim shot” used to punctuate strong material; Lorayne’s implication was that each item in the book deserved that response. The first chapter emphasizes cuts, forces, reversals,…
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Rice’s Encyclopedia of Silk Magic Volumes 1-3
SYNOPSIS: Rice’s Encyclopedia of Silk Magic is the landmark reference work devoted to magic with silks and handkerchiefs. Harold R. Rice’s original three volumes gather an enormous range of techniques, gimmicks, apparatus, routines, historical information, and practical advice from Rice and many other prominent magicians. The material progresses from basic preparation and handling to elaborate parlor…
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Reputation Makers
SYNOPSIS: Reputation Makers is a compact collection of Harry Lorayne’s strongest performance pieces, selected for one main reason: they are designed to create a big impression on lay audiences. Rather than functioning as a broad beginner’s course, the book focuses on polished, practical routines that can help a magician establish a strong reputation quickly. The material…
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Redemption
SYNOPSIS: Redemption is a compact collection of six card routines by French magician Red Nist. The material is built around his pursuit of “pure” magic: direct effects, economical handling, justified actions, and psychological subtleties that alter how spectators interpret what they see. Alongside the methods, Nist discusses the stories, development, and creative thinking behind the routines.…
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Phoenix Series
SYNOPSIS: The Phoenix: Issues 1–300 is the complete run of the influential biweekly magic periodical published from January 1942 through February 1954. Walter B. Gibson helped establish and initially edit the magazine with Bruce Elliott, who became its principal editor during the run. Conceived as a successor in spirit to Theodore Annemann’s The Jinx, each compact four-page…
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Pet Secrets
SYNOPSIS: Al Baker’s Pet Secrets collects a wide-ranging selection of Al Baker’s professional routines, utility techniques, and practical methods for close-up, parlor, and platform magic. The book is organized by branches of magic rather than as a progressive beginner’s course, beginning with Baker’s influential work using hair and thread for secret animation, levitation, rising-card effects, and…
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Temporarily out of Order
SYNOPSIS: Temporarily Out of Order is Patrick G. Redford’s foundational study of memorized-deck magic and the first volume in his Out of Order series. The book introduces the Redford Stack, a memorized order designed not merely to remain fixed, but to transform efficiently into other useful arrangements during performance. These include Si Stebbins, parallel and mirror or stay-stack configurations,…
