Customer Reviews

Now You See It, Now You Don't!: Lessons in Sleight of Hand

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book looks very helpful for those just starting to learn sleights, and appears to cover the major areas (coins, cards, balls, and cigarettes). However, it's directions are slightly confusing and its illustrations are not as clear as they could have or should have been. It's also lacking in teaching presentation and performance. It is not completely bad, however it is also not the first book that I would recommend to people wishing to become sleight of hand artists. If you were purchasing several books on sleight of hand this would be appropriate to include, but otherwise stick to the Dover series on magic (Modern Coin Magic by JB Bobo, The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks and Advanced Card Manipulations by Huegard, The Art of Magic by JB Bobo, and generally any book published by Dover Publishing Inc).

I recently purchased this book thinking that I would be getting some new tips in sleight of hand, which I did, but with much aggrevation. If you are a beginner I would not recommend this book. It's books like this that will make people turn away from magic. The concepts are good in this book, but the drawings are difficult to match with the instructions. The drawings and the explanations can cause a great deal of frustration and make one want to pass on tricks all together. Most of the stuff in this book is covered in Mark Wilson's book (which has 10 times better pics and explainations), so if you want just a few more tricks then get it, but altogether I wish that I hadn't bought it.
The only real good thing about this book is that it has some good cigarette vanishes and a good routine, but it may take you 10 hours o decipher what you are actually looking at. For beginners...not really...if you are a beginner...go to Mark Wilson. Cheers

This is THE sleight of hand book! A step-by-step guide to almost every sleight created! Bill Tarr explains how to do the sleights in an easy and understandable way and the illustrations are so good that you could learn the sleights alone from them! If you only buy one magic book ever, DEFINITLY make it this one!

There are basically two types of magicians -- gadgeteers and finger-flingers. Please note, this is not meant to insult either group. A gadgeteer tends toward self-working magic -- things that are set up, and effectively work by themselves. This frees the magician to focus on presentation and entertainment, and not as much on the mechanics of the trick or illusion. Finger-flingers, on the other hand, tend toward actual sleight of hand, relying on their own skill to perform the seemingly impossible. This takes longer to master, but gives greater confidence, as well as the ability to perform anywhere, with whatever is at hand. This book is for those who want to be finger-flingers, or who want to look at that side of the aisle. Bill Tarr has created a wonderful resource. It's incredibly well-illustrated, showing both the magician's & the audience's view, for each trick or sleight. He also grades the individual tricks based on its' difficulty. And he covers a great many sleights of hand, as well as several complete routines -- you get a lot of "bang for your buck" here. He also is honest and up-front. He tells you straight away that this will require practise. For those seeking instant gratification, seek elsewhere. But if you're willing to practice (not of the sleights of hand are difficult, but they do require time and effort -- like learning anything else worth learning).

I had already bought a book by Tarr, and got this. This is the best book on sleight of hand i have seen so far. it gives good illustrations for the tricks. It also gives billiard ball tricks, many used by Raymond Crow, as well as many other tricks used by Lance Burton, and all of the tricks will make you the star at the dinner table.

Ever wanted to fool around with those clever card tricks at a poker table, or make that coin disappear to your niece or nephew, but just never had time to learn the ropes? Then this is the book for you. Tarr focuses on "sleight-of-hand" as shown in the title, which is to differentiate the practices depicted in this book from the more gear-intensive stuff you'll run into at magic shows. The advantage is obviously that it's low-tech and more skill-dependent, so you don't need too much equipment to wow friends and family. Techniques are taught pictorially so there's a minimum of sifting thru jargon and material that's tough to visualize. Best of all, you don't need any background in the field, making this the perfect beginner's item. A good way to nourish that magic-fancy you've always had.

Good book for learning fundamental sleight moves. As I've said in other reviews, you usually don't appreciate the moves shown in magic books until you see the moves in action from a professional.

This book has clear instructions for manipulating balls, cards, etc. and has a lot of illustrations. The tricks in this book won't necessarily make anyone's eyes bulge out in amazement, but you will need to know these fundamental sleights if you want to eventually do more amazing sleight of hand tricks. I would recommend adding books like this and Mark Wilson's Course in Magic to your bookshelf.

This book is very detailed in its wording and illustrations. It has views from the audience and from you. The book contains illustrations almost every step of the way. You will become more advanced and more confident after reading and doing lessons from the book. Prepare to mystify your friends when you by this great book!

This is a great book for any beginner magicians! What the book focus on is SLIGHT OF HAND! Such as using your hand to vanish coins, hide cards, fanning cards,... and so on. The book is very easy to understand because every slight of hand is presented with pictures and the pictures are easy to follow! One disappointment about this book is that it only goes over the basic of slight of hand. An example would be there are 20 ways to shuffle a deck of cards, but this book only lists 4! Another fault I find in this book is that the way the "Pass" (a name of a slight of hand) was presented was not very clear. Beginner might have trouble understand what Bill was trying to convey. Overall, this is one of the better magic book out there!

If you are looking for a easy to follow, step by step magic book, this is it. Tricks with cards, coins,balls,cigarettes and more. If you are new to magic then this book is a MUST !!