Customer Reviews

Hiding the Elephant

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

 

 

Seriously, do you really want to know how magic tricks are done? Ponder that for a moment. If you wanted to make an elephant disappear, how would you do it? Would you hide the elephant behind something? Maybe you just want to make the elephant appear to be present, i.e. the magic part is what happens before "abracadabra".
Well, if you really want to know and have it explained to you as a story encompassing the development of magic in the 19th and 20th centuries then you must read this book. I do wish the book had a few more diagrams and maybe even photographs of magic equipment but perhaps that would be giving away too much information.
I'm not a magician, not even an amateur one, but I can do a few tricks (pick a card, any card) and I know what a Svengali deck is. If you are on the same level then I think you will like this book. But if always feel let down when the mechanics of a trick are revealed, that's probably what you will feel at the end of this book.
But I liked it a lot.

Discovered this remarkable book in "Shakespeare & Co." the legendary bookshop in Paris. The title and cover art grabbed me and I jumped right in to the delightful stories, wonderfully recounted by (to my amazement) my old friend Jim Steinmeyer. He is the ingenious mind behind some of modern magic's grandest moments--the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty and many more. My traveling partner, MaxPaul, and I spent the balance of our European trip taking turns reading, and loving, "Elephants."

Jim Steinmeyer is a highly-respected and noted illusion designer, magic historian, and, best of all, a enthusiast for all things magic and magical.

Jim and I worked together at Walt Disney Imagineering and he is the real thing. He often introduced us to new and thrilling ways to make our "Disney magic" even more magical--in theme parks, resort night clubs, and Disney's Broadway productions.

Make "HIDING THE ELEPHANT" a visible presence in your library. I have mine on the living room coffee table for easy access--and to share with every visitor. As an unexpected bonus, the book also contains several deft illustrations of legendary magicians created by a living legend (also one-time Imagineer) William (my friend "Bill") Stout.

(WIlliam Stout's books on there own are as magical as anything in print!)