Abbott's Encyclopedia of Rope Tricks for Magicians (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Legendary encyclopedia for magicians contains over 150 tricks: Loop the Loop, Jamison’s Severed Rope, The Tarbell Rope Mystery, The Encore Rope Trick, Eddie Clever’s Triple Cut Routine, Bachelor’s Needle and many more. Step-by-step instructions and over 500 illustrations show you how to master these dazzling feats.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (October 1, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486232069
• ISBN-13: 978-0486232065
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #442,689 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible of Rope Magic, April 18, 1999

By	Diamond Jim Tyler (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This book is a classic of magic. Anyone interested in doing magic with ropes must have this book. It's nearly 400 pages are packed full with just about everything a magician can do with a rope; penetrations, restorations, false knots, you name it. It's a small price to pay for this wealth of knowledge. -Diamond Jim Tyler

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Incredible Book for any magician, October 29, 2002

By	"thelunchbun" (Coon Rapids, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This is an excellent book for anyone involved in magic; amateur or professional. It contains an incredible number of tricks, many of which are professional quality. For example, the first trick in the book is very simple, repeatable (yes, repeatable), can be viewed from any direction, and I have used it to fool professionals on several occasions. The tricks are broken into neat categories and cover enough ground so almost anyone can find something they like. The book often has several ways to do the same effect giving the reader a choice.

Why only 4 stars? The illustrations are frequently not very good - an all-to-common problem with books on magic. The directions often leave something to be desired also. While I only found 1 trick I could not figure out (I have gone through over 1/2 of the book) it often took longer than was necessary because of imprecise directions. My example above took over half an hour to figure out, but is teachable from person to person in about 2 minutes. Also, many of the tricks are modifications of the same thing. Lastly, the fact that only a narrow area of magic is covered (and redundantly) may put off some readers.

Please note that most of the detractions above are, in my opinion, not as significant as the overall quality. If I could, I would rate this 4 and 1/2 stars - not quite perfect but very good.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Inexpensive Resource for Rope Magic, June 8, 2007

By	T. JORGENSON "Pamphleteer" (Loose Angles, Ca USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are looking for a source of rope magic effects to peruse, looking to add some interesting minutes to your act, this is one of the first books you should buy...and at these prices, you can't go wrong. If you are a newbie-beginner in magic looking for easy tricks, this will start you off...and includes intermediate and advanced magic and methods for you to study. Even seasoned can find great stuff here.