Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon [Paperback]

George Beahm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2004

One of the most popular companions to the Harry Potter Phenomenon just got even better! Muggles and Magic, which Publishers Weekly calls "sophisticated enough to interest adults and lively enough to keep younger fans engaged," has just come out in a new edition. This new edition is the only companion to cover the sixth Rowling book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, as well as the fourth movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. With color photos and illustrations by five-time Hugo award-winning artist Tim Kirk, fans won’t want to miss this treasure trove of information and trivia about all things Harry.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gushing with enthusiasm and admiration, Beahm's compendium of Harry Potter trivia and essays should help tide over fans impatiently waiting for book six to come out. Chapters like "The Real World of J.K. Rowling" (by contributor Stephen McGinty) and "The Magic of Words: A Storyteller's World" vividly recount the history behind the Harry Potter novels and their renowned author. "Although in later years Rowling would have cause to regret her portrayal as 'poverty-stricken single mum makes good,' those stories gave her a profile most first-time authors could only dream about," McGinty wisely observes, but the rest of the book is less even-handed. Beahm is clearly an unalloyed fan, and his chapters on the books and their screen interpretations contain little by way of a critique. This may be just as well for Potter fans, who will appreciate Beahm's cataloging of Potter Web sites and merchandise. The book also includes a 72-page glossary of Potter terms and characters, like "Acid Pops" and "Mortlake," as well as an unofficial guide to Potter-related locations in Britain, such as Rowling's childhood home in Winterbourne and the reptile house at the London Zoo, "where Harry speaks Parseltongue to a snake." Throughout, Beahm pitches the prose right; it's both sophisticated enough to interest adults and lively enough to keep younger fans engaged.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up - Beahm offers a plethora of information, opinions, and facts that revolve around "Harry Potter" and the life of J. K. Rowling. This general-interest guidebook includes sections on two movie adaptations, five books, merchandise and collectibles, and "Harry Potter" Web sites. It also includes more than 200 trivia questions about the series and its creator, and a collection of reviews, essays, and prominent quotes. The alphabetical listing of important people, places, and things introduced in the titles will more than likely be the most sought-after material. Sidebars of related tidbits and facts are scattered throughout. Though interesting, they are distracting and interrupt the narrative flow. A 16-page centerfold of full-color photos as well as black-and-white photographs and illustrations throughout enliven the well-written, interesting text. - Christine McGinty, Newark Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Company (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571744126
• ISBN-13: 978-1571744128
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,594,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a full-time writer specializing in non-fiction, mostly pop culture topics. On the side, I run a small company that handles producing art prints and also handle the sales of collectibles online through eBay. I live in southeast Virginia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An incomplete and lop-sided guide to the world of Harry Potter, December 7, 2005

By 

fellicity (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon (Paperback)

As an adult fan of the Harry Potter series, I am fascinated by Ms. Rowling and her talent as a writer which brought this magical world to life. When I purchased 'Muggles and Magic,' I looked forward to reading more about the author and the pop culture surrounding this phenomenon.

After reading Beahm's publication, I have to say that I'm disappointed. Essentially, this book is a collection of articles highlighting Harry Potter/J.K. Rowling facts that have been featured elsewhere. (I.e. newspapers, magazines, online, etc.) While some of the articles have good information about Rowling, there were times where reading them made me feel uncomfortable. I wondered how Ms. Rowling, a famously private person who is not afraid to speak up to defend her character, would feel about the clippings that delve into her painful past. She makes a point to dissuade such stories on her personal Web page, and reading them in this "fan" book seemed more like reading gossip than fact.

Other articles in the book simply have fraudulent and outdated information that Beahm hasn't bothered to research and update, such as that Dan Radcliffe has bowed out of all of the films after 'Goblet of Fire' (he hasn't, and is telling the press he's signed on for 'Order of the Phoenix'), and that J.K. Rowling's Web site doesn't feature a F.A.Q. (it does, here: http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/faq.cfm).

Another problem I had with this book was the higgledy-piggledy way it seems to have been put together. There's no real rhyme or reason to the selections, and the collection doesn't flow but rather jerks, such as from an article about owning owls as pets to another about Joanne's involvement in a cancer charity.

Beahm is clearly a fan and I can tell he had fun putting this little book of Potter/Rowling odds and ends together. Had a little more research been done and a bit more time spent on fashioning the information together, this would be a fleshed-out companion worthy of the world of Harry Potter.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, July 16, 2005

By 

Harry-isawiz (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon (Paperback)

I found this book to be a bit outdated, but nonetheless helpful. Written in 2004, the book does not touch upon any of the new concepts such as HBP Book 6, but this guide is a nice review to the first books in the series.

I personally consider Breahm and author Daniel Lawrence of the new ULTIMATE UNOFFICIAL HALF-BLOOD PRINCE BOOK 6 TRIVIA BOOK to be the top sources of HP info for fans. I would suggest reading this guide and then immediately reading the best-selling ULTIMATE BOOK 6 TRIVIA BOOK by Daniel Lawrence to gain even more insights and knowledge on the series and Movie 4 GOF.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not quite up to snuff, January 1, 2005

By 

Shawn Farrell "I am the one who lives in The ... (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon (Paperback)

While the author does a decent job summarizing someone else's work, the look and content of this title is a clear attempt to cash in on the popularity of the books and films. Within its pages, you'll find reproductions of "Teen Beat" style magazine covers featuring the movies' stars, and quickly see that the material covered is far from comprehensive. A much better choice for a book of this nature is Fionna Boyle's "A Muggle's Guide to the Wizarding World," also available through amazon.com.