Conjure Times: The History of Black Magicians in America [Library Binding]

Jim Haskins (Author), Kathleen Benson (Author), James Haskins (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-A lively, interesting, carefully researched look at a unique aspect of African-American history and culture that introduces the lives of black magicians, beginning with Richard Potter, "America's First Negro Magician," son of a plantation owner and a slave. Using black-and-white reproductions of playbills, advertisements, woodcuts, and period photographs, the history of the minstrel show and vaudeville is discussed as part of the development of theatrical magic shows. Slavery, racial discrimination, and segregation are discussed as part of the social history surrounding the lives of the performers profiled. The authors note that personal information on many performers was difficult to find, and the gaps help readers understand how much African-American history has been lost. Descriptions of popular trademark tricks are highlighted in boxes in each chapter. Budding magicians will find this book appealing, and it will be a great addition to African-American history collections.
Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-12. The evolution of theatrical magic owes much to African American performers, beginning with Richard Potter, the earliest known American-born magician and the son of a plantation owner and his household slave. As the authors explain, information about Potter and many of the other black magicians was difficult to come by; records and personal stories had to be culled from entertainment fliers and other obscure sources, leaving gaps in the accounts. But instead of being distracting, the occasional gaps give readers a sense of how much of the history has been lost, and how fortunate we are to have this as a resource. Each chapter highlights either a specific magician or performers who made their names in a specific kind of entertainment--the minstrel show, vaudeville, etc. Woodcuts, photographs, and posters add background and context, and descriptions of trademark tricks never give away how the magic is done. Roger Leslie
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 160 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802787630
• ISBN-13: 978-0802787637
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,234,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very, very poor effort, January 14, 2008

By 

Rory Coker (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conjure Times: The History of Black Magicians in America (Hardcover)

Slogging through this slim volume, I tried to imagine the readership being aimed at. The senior author, Haskins, is mainly known for children's books, but there is no indication anywhere on dust jacket or inside that this particular book was written with a young audience in mind. Yet the narrative style is exceedingly, wearingly simplistic, nearly at the level of Dick and Jane.

I found two crippling problems with the book. (1), The authors seem to have done little or no independent research, relying mainly on two earlier works by Jim Magus and Milbourne Christopher. (2), The authors seem to know almost nothing about their supposed topic, performing stage magic. Much of what they say about the magical feats presented by the magicians they discuss is comically nonsensical.

Anyway, the topic of the book is "black magicians in America," beginning with Richard Potter, the first native-born American magician of any race, and ending with David Blaine. You'll get very slender accounts of the careers of Potter, Henry "Box" Brown, "Boomsky," Alonzo Moore, William Carl, the Armstrongs, Jovedah de Rajah, Marcelliee, Chandu Hunter, Black Herman, the great Fetaque Sanders, Frank Brents, Odis Price, and contemporary performers such as Goldfinger and Dove, Lemont Haskins, Charles Green III, and of course David Blaine.

Alas, the narratives of the careers of these gentlemen are so under-researched and sketchily written as to be continually frustrating. Magicians will appreciate how profoundly ignorant the level of discussion generally is by a single, typical quote, from p. 128: "A classic magic illusion is the 'Broomstick Suspension,' which is just what the title suggests. A magician causes a broomstick to be suspended in mid-air." The reference is of course actually to the Broom Suspension, which goes back at least to mid-19th Century French conjurer Robert-Houdin, and involves using a broom standing on end on stage, inserted under the armpit of an assistant, to apparently suspend the assistant in midair. Presenting the manuscript to almost any magician in America, to be read and corrected before publication, would have eliminated essentially every one of these blunders... such as the breathless assertion that "The Pass" is a card trick!

Pioneering black magicians performed under conditions that would have discouraged almost anyone, and often had tragically short careers, dying in their 40s or 50s, after laboring in almost total obscurity. Maybe someday they'll be the subject of a well-researched, well-informed book. We'll have to wait...