Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic (Paperback)

by David Blaine (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
He was buried alive for a week in Times Square, encased in ice for three days, also in Times Square, and stood atop an 83-foot pillar in Manhattan's Bryant Park for 36 hours-and received national TV coverage for all these feats. Often touted as the new Houdini, Blaine is a consummate magician as well as endurance artist and an important force in the field for his advocacy of "street magic." In this spirited book, his first, Blaine offers readers a magical extravaganza on paper, a mix of autobiography, history of magic, how-to (do magic), interactive magic tricks and self-help advice. Blaine begins with intimations of stage magic's power, with an account of legendary 19th-century magician Robert-Houdin traveling to Algeria on orders of the French government to quell an uprising by showing that his magic was greater than that of the rebels. He ends with a knuckle-whitening account of his pillar stunt, a "dream manifesto" ("Read. Observe.... Our minds have no limits") and suggested resources including books of general interest (at the top: The Brothers Karamazov). This is a very personal volume, with Blaine's passionate, playful, opinionated, determined personality evident on nearly every page. Magic buffs will find much here that's familiar, like the recaps of magicians past and present, but even serious hobbyists will pick up tips from the tricks and explanations scattered throughout, and the final chapters, devoted to Blaine's endurance challenges, are pure gold. Copious illustrations enliven the already brisk text. Though doubling as major promo for Blaine, this is one of the most thorough and enjoyable introductions to magic in years. Two-color throughout; four-color photo inserts.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
The Michael Jordan of magic. The hip-hop Houdini. These are some of Blaine's promotional tags. Even if you didn't join the 15.88 million viewers who watched this escape artist's "Frozen in Time" special, you might like to know that Robert DeNiro has optioned his life story.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Villard (October 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812969774
• ISBN-13: 978-0812969771
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #99,157 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars David Blaine's Mysterious Stranger - A review, November 22, 2002

By	William Henry (Arcata, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic (Hardcover)

David Blaine's aptly titled book, Mysterious Stranger, reveals few, if any of the young magician's most guarded secrets. People expecting to read it and come away knowing how to a) Levitate or b) Be buried alive for a week, will be disappointed. Those who are simply curious about the rising star's life, his philosophy of magic, and who would like to learn a few tricks along the way, will get all they paid for, and more.

I realize that I've said pretty much nothing about the book, but that's only because it's surprisingly hard to classify. It reads like a continuous blend of history, biography, magic tricks, and personal memoirs. Oh, yeah. There's also a hidden puzzle named "Blaine's Challenge" contained in the text that, when correctly solved, reveals the secret location of $100,000 stashed safely away somewhere in the United States. This is a legitimate contest - not a scam or publicity stunt, which, if nothing else, leaves the reader with something to ponder and dream about.

All of this though, would be unimportant if this weren't a good book, which it is. The first thing I noticed was the great overall look of the book. The hardcover edition weighs in at 214 pages, and is packed full of great, full-page photographs, pictures, and illustrations throughout.
The first couple of chapters deal mainly with the history of magicians and magic, and are fairly comprehensive. But this isn't a history book, and Blaine knows it. He keeps the chapters short, sweet, and even slips in some fun tricks that have nothing to with history to amuse and entertain your friends.

The core of the book is not about magic in general, but about Blaine himself. As a reader, I learned a lot about him and about magicians in general. His story is told in a mostly linear style, revealing how he got from working as a restaurant magician who drove a beat-up Honda, to getting his own million-dollar special on ABC. Along the way, we hear about him meeting Jack Nicholson, and get an interesting story about his travels to South America, where he met members of the Yanomamo civilization, a people who "had a penchant for attacking outsiders with darts".

If there's one recurring theme surrounding Blaine, it's his impressive ability to use magic as "the great equalizer", as he calls it. He gets along with everyone, it seems. Homeless people in New York, people on the street in gangland Compton, the Dallas Cowboys...the list goes on.

The book ends with three chapters about Blaine's most famous stunts: Buried Alive, Frozen in Time, and Vertigo. Readers will get an inside look at the preparation Blaine went through, as well as what he was thinking throughout the duration of all three, the shortest of which, Vertigo, went on for thirty-five hours. Blaine ends by saying he knows this is only the beginning. Personally, I find comfort in that.

The book is targeted at a wide audience, and finds its mark. Anyone who's ever thought about being a magician should read it. Anyone who has seen the TV specials and wants to know more about the man himself, should read it too. And anyone who could use an extra $100,000 and wants to take a crack at "Blaine's Challenge", should read it very carefully.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "If this is magic, let it be an art", February 2, 2004

By	mwreview "mwreview" (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic (Hardcover)

David Blaine's Mysterious Stranger is a very interesting and creative book. I was drawn to the mystifying cover and after thumbing through the book and seeing all the intriguing photographs and clever style and format, I knew I had to check this book out even though I was not aware of Blaine's work save for headlines for his sensational stunts.

Blaine is a true expert in his craft. He is an historian of magic and this book includes stories about many of the important figures in the art of illusions and escapology: Dedi who performed for Cheops in Ancient Egypt, the stone eaters, Robert-Houdin, Max Malini, Alexander Herrmann, Titanic Thompson--a con-man who even outwitted Al Capone, the fascinating Stylites who lived atop high pillars to escape the evilness of earthly life, and, of course, Harry Houdini. Blaine puts his heart and soul into his magic. He includes stories of his childhood, how he became interested in magic (seeing a photo of Houdini who was clinging to a railing with his chin), and his devotion to his late mother. Accompany this history are guides to basic card tricks and illusions, so be sure you have a deck handy when reading this book.

He also, of course, describes experiences that made him famous: filming his television show Street Magic, attending a voodoo ceremony in Haiti, braving the Venezuelan rainforest to meet the Yanomano Indians, and his daredevil stunts of being buried alive, standing in ice, and standing on a pillar. He describes his grueling regime of preparation which included learning to sleep while standing up while preparing for his ice demonstration. Blaine shows a deep appreciation for the tradition behind his stunts and illusions. His claim that magic brings all people together because people of different ethnicity, religions, and social status all come to see his stunts seems a bit much. One can say such things about many different spectacles, but when they are over, people go their separate ways. Still, the book is fascinating and some of the illustrations will stay with me for a long time. Anyone interested in the unusual will enjoy Mysterious Stranger.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn more about David Blaine and history of magic., October 30, 2004

By	James McDonald (Lancaster, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic (Hardcover)

Perhaps you have seen Illusionist, David Blaine on his ABC Network specials. "Street Magic" were he levitated off the sidewalk and did up-close street magic, "Frozen In Time", "David Blaine's Vertigo", the ABC 2000 Extravaganza, Larry King Live, or news reports of his endurance in the plexiglass box over London for 44 days days in 2003.
In this book, David Blaine will tell you about how magic was important to him as a child and some personal details about his life. You will also learn about "magic", its history and about magicians, Robert-Houdin, Rajah Raboid (Ray Boyd), Dedi, Blaise de Manfre, Evatima Thardo, Ivan Ivanitz Chabert, Francois Battalia, Matthew Buchinger, Max Malini, Alexander Herrmann, Marquis d'Orighuala de Gago, Ehrich Weiss (Houdini) and Orson Welles. David Blaine will give you a detailed behind-the-scenes account of his first event, "The Premature Burial"--being buried alive, six feet underground, with a container of water above, for seven days, April 5-12, 1999. He will also give you personal details about his other feats of endurance that were televised on the ABC Network, "Frozen In Time", November 29, 2000, trapped in ice for 3 days outside in New York Times Square, "David Blaine's Vertigo", May 22, 2002--standing on an 83-foot tall pillar that was only 22 inches wide to stand on for 35 hours in Bryant Park. These feats had no trick involved. They were very real and David risked his own life to survive in these events.
Each ABC Network special in its entirety can all be seen in the DVD, "David Blaine--Fearless".
This book also contains many magic tricks you may try yourself and many puzzles to solve. The puzzles, enigmas, phtographs and conundrums ("clues") are all part of "Blaine's Challenge". $100,000.00 would be given to whomever could understand and solve the puzzles, enigmas and conundrums that direct you to the location of a "Treasure Map" somewhere in the United States. From there you follow the instructions and call the phone number that was with the "Treasure".
"Blaine's Challenge" began with this book when it was first available, October 29, 2002. The solving and searching was on. On November 5, 2003, David Blaine appeared on "Larry King Live" (CNN) and revealed one clue. On March 20, 2004, someone had found the secret location (an address in Southern California, Laurel Canyon Blvd in a private community) of a bridge and then a hollow stone that contained the gold orb. As scheduled thereafter, David Blaine handed the winner $1000,000.00. If no one had found the treasure by December 31,2004, the money would have gone to charity.
Incidentally, the DVD, "David Blaine--Fearless" begins with a black & white film that contained a very important clue (the address numbers) and subliminal images were given to you on the DVD. Where David Blaine filmed this film was the location of the "Treasure" that lead to the ultimate $1000,000.00. I started thinking hard myself when I saw the "Visiting ...with Huell Howser" program about the private neighborhood on Laurel Canyon Blvd.
The winner, in fact,did not have a copy of this book nor the DVD, but did watch "Larry King Live" when David gave a clue. With six weeks of the searcher's own time, the searcher boarded a plane, made it to the location, and found the "treasure".
There are around 90 photographs of David Blaine in this book and some had clues in them. Poster Art of Houdini and David Blaine included.

David Blaine has also tried his hand in acting.
Celebrity (1998) as a Spectator
Mister Lonely (2002) as Priest 2

David Blaine continues to mystify people with his tests of endurance, live on television.
David Blaine: Frozen In Time (November 29, 2000)
David Blaine: Vertigo (May 22, 2002)

David Blaine: Drowned Alive (May 8, 2006) He almost drowned in the sphere. Later that year, he did another event chained in a gyro hanging in mid-air for a children's charity and Target stores.

Oprah Winfrey Show: (April 30, 2008). David Blaine does the underwater sphere trick again and succeeds.

David Blaine: Dive of Death (September 24, 2008).
We all like David Blaine and we enjoy his Street Magic and tests of endurance.