Customer Reviews

Abracadabra!: Secret Methods Magicians & Others Use to Deceive Their Audience

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Mr. Schiffman writes an interesting book but has a tendency to get a little side-tracked. His observations on brainwashing, advertising, marketing, and the camouflaging of the Lockheed plant during WW2 were interesting, but not why I bought the book. If he would have not strayed as far from the title, I would have enjoyed it more. The author also has a minor tendency to go into great detail where it is not required and to glance over other really interesting subjects. The book contains a detailed bibliography and glossary that make a good reference.

This book was created by gathering a number of random thoughts available from the Internet with very little effort made to verify sources. Go to the WEB yourself and search on "Magic": the results will be as insightful. Waste of money !!! Books by Mark Wison, Bill Tarr or from the Dover collection are highly recommended over the collection of... STUPID and INCOHERENT thoughts.

The premise of this book is that magicians are bad people who are trying to -- gasp -- fool you, and you should be prepared to stop them from doing this by knowing their secrets. The author fails to understand that performance magic is intended to entertain us by mystifying us. Although magic is more than its secrets, without its secrets it can't perform its basic function.

If you start with this book to learn magic, only in that way will you be disapointed. But if you have at least some years experience in magic will you appreciate this very interesting book and valuable thoughts.

I like this book. If you are curious about how magic is performed, how to become a magician, and various other aspects of magic, this one won't disappoint.

I find this book by Nathaniel Schiffman to be a realtreat. The reader will really be able to get behind the scenes. Goodjob. Herbert L. Becker

Random thoughts. Lightly organized. Pseudo intelectualism. Pedantic. All that effort wasted to explain card tricks and look smart at parties.

Nathaniel really knows what hes talking about basically every bodys a magician including the Gover ment he tells it in a way that i have never seen before i have tons of illusions books with drawings but this book is the iceing on the Cake! wow! unbelieve cool! the lear jet secret in the book was amazing! it all made scents theres one part i had right its the very loud music to cover the movment of the plane thats really cleaver! i was on the right track! who knew amazing! if you want to know how everything is done then this is the book!