Magic for Dummies [Paperback]

David Pogue (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 1998

You don’t need a white tiger, expensive props, or hours of preparation to do magic. With a little practice, some clever misdirection (which lays at the heart of all magic tricks), and showmanship, you can surprise family, friends, and coworkers using a few everyday items!

If you’re looking to saw a beautiful women in half or make buildings disappear, we’re sorry, but this book isn’t you. But if you want to act out little miracles that you can perform on the spur of the moment with items that are usually within reach, then Magic For Dummies can show you how.

Magic For Dummies features more than 90 easy-to-perform deceptions, illusions, and sleights of hand for any event or occasion. You’ll discover how to perform entertaining card tricks, coin tricks, disappearing acts, as well as the always-popular mind reading trick. You’ll even see how easy it is to make money disappear as well as melt a saltshaker! Chock-full of show-stopping tricks, Magic For Dummies will:

• Get you started with easy-to-learn magic tricks
• Let you turn a restaurant into a your stage with tricks that include utensils, mugs, and even food
• Show you how to use a deck of cards to perform endless magic tricks
• Make you the life of the party with tricks such as “Call This Number,” “The Strength Test,” and “The Phantom Photo”
• Get you out of tough situations by giving you ten things to say when things go wrong

Filled with photos, patter, and presentation tips for every trick in the book, Magic For Dummies offers a great opportunity to become familiar with some of the coolest magic tricks ever performed. With the help of author David Pogue and the stunning tricks contributed by thirty-five of America’s top professional magicians, you’ll be leaving your friends, family, and coworkers spellbound at your mastery of the mystical arts.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"A book that all magicians of any age and level of experience will cherish and refer to for years to come!" — Lance Burton, World-Renowned Magician "A wonderful introduction, not only to ‘how it's done,’ but also to ‘how and why You can do it’!" — Tobias Beckwith, Magic Producer and Manager

350 Step-by-Step Photos Featured!

Perform Magic at the Drop of a Hat You don't need a white tiger, expensive props, or hours of preparation to do magic. With a little practice and showmanship, you can bewitch family, friends, and coworkers using a few everyday items! Make money disappear, melt a salt shaker, and even read someone's mind! The trick to spicing up your next party, presentation, or evening out is easy — just pick up Magic For Dummies^®! Chock-Full of Show-Stopping Tricks:

• The Ninja Key Catch
• The Torn and Restored Toilet Paper
• Straw through the Jaw
• Beans through Orifices

Plus stunning tricks contributed by 35 of America's top professional magicians, including Lance Burton, Johnny Thompson, Jeff McBride, and Paul Harris!

About the Author

About David Pogue David Pogue is a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and has performed magic at parties, special events, on TV, and even over the radio for 25 years. He created and taught the beginning magic programs at the New School for Social Research and the Learning Annex. He has been known to mesmerize audiences with his magic tricks while on tour promoting his many bestselling books, including Macs?? For Dummies??, 5th Edition, Opera For Dummies??, and Classical Music For Dummies??. Contributor Mark Levy, magic consultant, has levitated and read spectators' minds for nearly 30 years. His writings have appeared in some of magic's most revered literary sources, including Richard Kaufman's CardMagic, Apocalypse magazine, and Magic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (July 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764551019
• ISBN-13: 978-0764551017
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #463,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Pogue is the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times. Each week, he contributes a print column, an online column and an online video. His daily blog, "Pogue's Posts," is the Times's most popular blog. David is also an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News and a frequent guest on NPR's "Morning Edition." His trademark comic tech videos appear each Thursday morning on CNBC. With over 3 million books in print, David is one of the world's bestselling how-to authors. He launched his own series of complete, funny computer books called the Missing Manual series, which now includes 60 titles. David graduated summa cum laude from Yale in 1985, with distinction in Music, and he spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York. He's been profiled on both "48 Hours" and "60 Minutes."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference for a Teacher, November 11, 2001

By 

The Magic of Christopher (Winnipeg, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic for Dummies (Paperback)

I am a professional magician. I have used this book on many occasions to teach a magic workshop. The tricks are very well explained and most are very easy to perform. Lots of pictures make this process quick. If you are a beginner in magic, a professional or even a teacher, I highly recommend making this purchase!

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to get over stage fright and still keep your integrity, August 19, 2000

By 

tropic_of_criticism - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic for Dummies (Paperback)

This book is more than a simple collection of tricks. It's a full introduction to the world of magic. Not only do you discover the secrets behind tricks that you can reproduce without much special equipment, you also get a foundation in the whole art of magic.

Most of the book is, of course, consumed with telling you how to do stuff. The tricks are organized by the venue in which they could best be performed. There are tricks for the office, tricks for restaurants, tricks for parties, and tricks for wherever you carry a pack of cards. The instructions for all the tricks are clear and even humorous. Mr. Pogue is an excellent teacher, able to convey in writing what many couldn't do through speech.

But the book is more than just these tricks. It's also a guide to the performance art of magic itself. Nothing, according to Mr. Pogue, is as important as the panache you can exhibit. And of course he's right. Pogue teaches you that the projection of confidence is, more than anything you do with your hands, responsible for the creation of illusion.

He also gives you a real sense of the history and tradition of magic. There's an introduction to famous magicians and a listing of resources to help you continue your exploration of the craft. I was also impressed to discover that there's an attempt at a "trickography"-something like a bibliography attempting to credit, where possible, the inventors of the included tricks. This trickography goes into some detail about the responsibility that magicians have towards each other, even though there's nothing in the magician's trade which can be copyrighted.

All in all, it's a fine work, well worth your money. Still, it's worth mentioning that the style of trick included here isn't necessarily everyone's idea of "magic". This is simple, sleight-of-hand stuff. It's not, for the most part, stage magic. There are no rabbits drawn from hats nor beautiful assistants sawn in half, here. Of course, to many readers this will be considered a virtue: these tricks can be done anywhere with minimal investment. But if you're hoping to make a career-or at least a paying hobby--of magic, this book is probably just a baby step along the way.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Secrets Behind Every Magic Effect Ever Made..., October 30, 2004

By 

Felice (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic for Dummies (Paperback)

Read the title again. Yes, that's right... Magic for Dummies, a book targeted towards interested laymen, holds the greatest secret behind all magic, whether or not you're Lance Burton or David Copperfield up on a stage or a teenage magician strolling the streets.

The secret behind all magic: showsmanship, patter, personality, and intrigue. The effects in this book, simple as they are, are the building blocks of all magic. Beginners will learn the integrity behind the magic, the showsmanship necessary to perform, and some great but simple effects. Intermediates will find the importance of showsmanship and patter... reemphasized tenfold - and, maybe, some new effects will be learnt. Advanced magicians? I can not speak for them... but sometimes, a magician needs to take himself down a few notches in practicing advanced, knuckle-breaking sleights and, instead, concentrate on the magic behind the magic - the presentation.

Behind Magic for Dummies exists a magic for professionals. There's a brief history of magic, a compilation of great magicians in history, a list of things to say when you make a mistake, and hilarious magic cartoons. For those who don't know much behind magic, this book holds everything from the old static pencil on hand to a simplified restaurant zombie effect.

I recommend Magic for Dummies for young and old alike, whether you be layman or magician... it will make a magician out of a layman and a wizard out of a magician.

I'll leave it at that.