Linking Rings

Travel back through time to meet FDR's magician. for a magical road trip with his direct ancestor, a real-life magician and politician. His book is one part magic history, one part American history and one part family history. Here we meet presidents, candidates, conjurers and Civil War soldiers. His account of the first convention of the international Brotherhood of Magicians provides an accurate glimpse of people who loved magic and made it their livelihood. There is much to learn from this book, but perhaps the most important message is to cherish our history and celebrate our own unique family stories. David Copperfield magician, was a major figure in Ohio politics during the first half of the twentieth century, serving as the powerful head of the Ohio Democratic Party and as a senior official in the U.S. Treasury under Franklin D. Roosevelt. Durbin's story is that of a political maverick who knew how to manipulate behind-the-scenes activities, especially in Ohio's political arena. He was instrumental in William Kennings Bryan's near-defeat of William McKinley in Ohio, and two decades later he helped Woodrow Wilson reach the White House. nation's premier magicians who performed on stage as The Past Master of the Black Art, the was the first elected president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, a professional organization that has grown since its first convention in Kenton, Ohio in 1926 to number more than 15,000 members today. biography narrated by James D. Robenalt, Durbin's great-grandson, who places himself with Durbin in a long car ride back to Ohio from Washington, D.C., in February 1937. Rings an engrossing read.

Eli's trip to London with his uncle Harry quickly turns homicidal when the older magician finds himself accused of murder. A second slaying does little to take the spotlight off Harry. Instead it's clear someone is knocking off Harry's elderly peers in bizarrely effective ways. But who? The odd gets odder when the prime suspect appears to be a bitter performer with a grudge...who committed suicide over thirty years before. While Eli struggles to prove his uncle's innocence--and keep them both alive--he finds himself embroiled in a battle of his own: a favorite magic routine of his has been ripped off by another hugely popular magician. What began as a whirlwind vacation to London with girlfriend Megan turns into a fatal and larcenous trip into the dark heart of magic within the city's oldest magic society, The Magic Circle. No one does intriguing magic and page-turning humor like John Gaspard. Pick it up and see if you can be the first to figure out the trick!

Magic is everywhere, from the big spectacle celebrity of David Copperfield and Siegfried and Roy to the quirky Penn and Teller to the spooky David Blaine and Criss Angel to the endless material on YouTube. But until now, learning it has never been easy—that's all about to change with Magic, a book that does for close-up magic what How to Grill does for barbecue. Written by charismatic young magician Joshua Jay, Magic combines expertise, photographs, and step-by-step directions showing how to perform 100 tricks. Joshua Jay took home the top prize at the World Magic Seminar (the Olympics of magic) when he was just 16 years old. Now he continues to perform magic, write about magic, eat, sleep, and breathe magic. Here, he brings all his passion and knowledge to teaching magic. Each trick is broken down into the Effect, the Secret, the Set-up, and, most important, the Performance, with lessons on what to say, how to direct the audience's attention, where to keep your hands, and so on. (In other words, how to be smart about the things your audience is surprisingly clueless about.) Here are the Ten Greatest Card Tricks; tricks to dazzle a dinner date; tricks to perform for the boss (poke a hole through his shirt, then magically mend it); tricks especially for kids; and even tricks for an audience in another state—with "Australian Self-Help," you can find a participant's chosen card over the phone. It's the Aha! book for a subject whose time has come.

This book charts the history of modern magic across India, China and Japan, analyzing representations in the cultural imagination of the West.

In this classic manual, a successful stage magician reveals the secrets of a host of mystifying tricks including "The Lemon and Note Trick," "The Miser's Dream," and "The Watch in the Loaf of Bread"-plus swallowing a watch, transforming a cigarette into a silk handkerchief, producing bouquets of real flowers from a borrowed hat and distributing them to the spectators, pulling a live rabbit (or guinea pig) out of a hat, and much more. Clear, comprehensive and enhanced with 240 detailed diagrams and illustrations, this indispensable resource belongs in the library of every would-be magician or magic lover. 240 black-and-white illus. Introduction. Index.

One thing magicians like to hear even more than oohs and ahhs is laugher. They know laughter means a happy, satisfied audience, which means more bookings and higher fees. If youd like to add new laughs to your act but have despaired of finding suitable material take heart. Here is the resource countless magicians have been waiting for: Carroll Lisbys Presto! Laughter: More Than 2,800 New Laugh-Lines for Your Favorite Magic Tricks. Not a batch of old, recycled jokes, Presto! Laughter is instead a goldmine of magic-themed laugh-lines that you can drop in at appropriate times during a performance.