Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Street Magic

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
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The title of this book might be a bit off-putting to serious magicians. "Street magic" is busking, a centuries-old art: a charismatic street performer draws a crowd and does a show for as many people as will watch. Ogden is referring here to the "street magic" seen on television since David Blaine's first special in 1997. Young magicians find Blaine's "street magic" fascinating, because it's cooler than traditional stage performance. Old-timers don't consider TV-style "street magic" to be the real deal. However, Ogden is using the concept here to appeal directly to a 21st-century audience.

Ogden offers a first-rate introduction to the history and art of conjuring. The tricks here vary in difficulty from very simple sleight-free tricks to intermediate sleight-of-hand. They are carefully selected to have maximum punch. The presentations will truly amaze audiences. His partners in this venture include some of the biggest names in magic: Max Maven, Jeff McBride, Mac King, Michael Ammar, and many others.

This is one of the best introductory books on conjuring I have ever seen. Highly recommended.

Great selection of tricks and side bars
I really liked the layout of the book and all the side comments
Very interesting stuff - Tom Ogden always does a great job researching his info and making sure it is succint for the reader
Great read!

This is a very nice, detailed book, with good black and white photographic illustrations. I really like the "Flowers Direct" effect by Jeff McBride. If you are interested in close up magic with quick, direct illusions, this is a great instructional magic book.

The tricks presented are mostly pretty simple (don't let that fool you into thinking it is only for kids), with easy to follow directions but are quite impressive. The book gives you not only a good number of tricks, ranging from the standard card tricks, to the more out there tricks (the exploding eyeball is awesome). That said, what I love about it are the little details and history about the tricks or about magic itself.

Like the title says.

You won't be David Blaine after reading the book but it's a lot of fun to read and some really cool tricks are included. I wouldn't say this is the best book on magic because I do think their are other killer ones out there but it certainly shouldn't be looked over. Some books like Marc Wilson's, Joshua Jays Complete Course, Royal Road to Card Magic, anything by Karl Fulves and even some DVD's like Inside Magic and how to do street magic by Brad from Ellusionist are a little more "informative" but also gave a little higher caliber of effects in my personal opinion.

However if this is your very first step into magic and you are interested; pick it up. It's a good read and like I said has some good things in there from cards to all over the place. You could probably only beat the price/value with something like Royal Road to Card Magic.

I encourage anyone thinking about getting into street magic to buy this book!

Pros: Great writing, great tricks, great instruction, and great additional resources in the back of the book

Cons: I honestly can't find anything wrong with this book.

This book is for a beginner or novice but you should know that from the title.

I HIGHLY SUGGEST BUYING THIS BOOK. GREAT TRICKS AND GREAT INSTRUCTION

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Street Magic by TOM OGDEN has to be the best book ever written on the subject. Easy to understand instructions, great visuals (pictures) and even easier to pull off and mystify your friends. THIS BOOK IS A MUST if you want to fool your friends .... Or buy a copy and give it to everyone on your Christmas list. Your friends will NOT be disappointed. I have also discovered several other books by Tom Ogden, all good fun. You are NUMBER ONE Tom. Keep it UP!

Mark

I've had this book for two days, but I've already learned some astonishing effects that would give many magicians a run for there money! Some of the tricks I know already, but even these were presented in a fresh and edgy way. If you are even slightly interested in magic or are a fan of David Blaine or Criss Angel, buy this book! You will be glad you did! Have you ever wondered how Criss Angel or David Blaine "levitate" to the astonishment of viewers? Have you ever wanted to try magic but never worked up the nerve? This fun and informative book will give you the right persona, the confidence you need, and some great tricks to get you started!

I thought this book was really interesting, however, I would of liked to of seen more illustrations and more vivid illustrations because it was difficult for me to really grasp a lot of tricks. Nevertheless, I like the book and am pretty happy with it.

There are quite a few nifty tricks to be learned from this book, and some that are just filler. The only thing I wish they had done differently is to leave out all of the history lessons and put more tricks in. Overall, I'm happy with it.