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The Magic Cafe Forum Index :: New to magic? :: Recommended books for beginners (78 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

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EndersGame
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Quote:
On Aug 20, 2019, EndersGame wrote:
For beginners wanting to learn card magic, it is hard to do better than Roberto Giobbi's Introduction to Card Magic.

This 150 page book was created in 2012 as a course for people starting card magic, and has just gone through a revision in 2019. Normally selling for €9.95, for a limited time Mr Giobbi is making the updated version available for free as a digital download in PDF format. The book has lots of illustrations, and links to youtube videos that show the moves that are taught. It also includes half a dozen card tricks. Much of the material is based on Giobbi's best-selling book Card College 1.

To learn more about it, check out a detailed review of this book elsewhere on The Magic Café here.

Update: This book was only free for a limited time, and the revised 2019 version is now selling for €6.95. That is still very cheap, considering the excellent content, and that the 2012 version was selling for €9.95.

Even for €6.95, I highly recommend it, especially for people looking to start out with card magic, develop their card handling skills, and get going with some self-working card tricks.

Where to get it: https://www.robertogiobbi.com/site/produ......rd-magic
Stumpy82
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I feel like I’m not really adding a great deal to the discussion by saying that my favourite first go-to books that I’m still working through are Royal Road to Card Magic and Mark Wilson’s Complete Course in Magic. I managed to pick up a copy of the latter on Amazon’s book store for only £1! I found that by using both of these books in conjunction with each other, along with a handful of relatively inexpensive beginner gimmick tricks, gave me a good starting repertoire. I made sure I performed the tricks from each chapter over and over so that I was confident of being able to perform on demand, and am now at the stage where I’m being asked for “more” by friends and colleagues on a regular basis.
Topper2
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Quote:
On Mar 7, 2020, Stumpy82 wrote:
I managed to pick up a copy of Mark Wilson’s Complete Course in Magic on Amazon’s book store for only £1!

An outrageous bargain! But you can do even better, I've noticed that Amazon market place are offering a copy of The Pocket Book of Magic (Kingfisher pocket books) by Peter Eldin for a ludicrous £0.01. Make no mistake, this book is well worth picking up despite its diminutive size, it contains some excellent material including 'Out of This World' by Paul Curry and 'Equally Unequal Ropes' together with much else besides.
avensis
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One of the questions most frequently asked by beginners is: "What are the books to start in magic?"

The simplest answer would be "There is none!" Magic is lived, it is gradually revealed through practice. By opening your mind and heart, using meditation, you learn much more than in any book.
Some works, however, still deserve our attention.
EndersGame
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Quote:
On Jul 6, 2020, avensis wrote:
Some works, however, still deserve our attention.

And that is what this thread is about. It would be nice to hear your suggestions about which ones.

PS: What's with the strange links at the end of your post? Are those trust-worthy sites, and what do they have to do with magic?
1031ent
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Quote:
On Jul 5, 2020, avensis wrote:
One of the questions most frequently asked by beginners is: "What are the books to start in magic?"

The simplest answer would be "There is none!" Magic is lived, it is gradually revealed through practice. By opening your mind and heart, using meditation, you learn much more than in any book.
Some works, however, still deserve our attention.


Not true there are clearly books that are not for beginners, like "By Forces Unseen"
Aintnothingbutachickenwing
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My go to books where the royal road and the entire card college series, I also really enjoyed principia and the four treasures
Roberto Juan
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I've skimmed this thread and not read every word - unsure if Tales of Enchantment by Walt Anthony has been mentioned. https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/5214

I plan to purchase this. It's highly rated, appears to be unique - maybe fine for a beginner?

Any thoughts on this one?
Merodach
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Quote:
On Jun 5, 2021, Roberto Juan wrote:
I've skimmed this thread and not read every word - unsure if Tales of Enchantment by Walt Anthony has been mentioned. https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/5214

I plan to purchase this. It's highly rated, appears to be unique - maybe fine for a beginner?

Any thoughts on this one?


Hi Roberto, you might find this review helpful: https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view......orum=110
Fromentum
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Card college series!

The absolute ultimate starting point if you are interested in cards. All other books are just additions.
jsereb
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For elementary school aged children I suggest what was my first magic book (and a source of material for my first magic show): The Golden Book of Magic by Clayton. Rawson...you can find used copies on the internet. Another one that I enjoyed in my pre-teens was Hokus Pokus by Ib Perman. Both of these books have a wealth of good material eventhough geared for younger magicians.

For someone older a good start for general magic is Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic. This should give someone a very good start and a way to see where your interest lie (i.e. close-up vs stage magic vs mentalism, etc.).
abassi
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For me I suggest:

1. Maximum Entertainment by Ken Webber
2. Easy to Master Card Miracle by Michael Ammar (DVD)
3. 13 step to mentalism
4. JB Bobo Coin Magic
5. David Roth Expert Coin Technique
6. Book Of Wonders (2 Vol)
Alexander2701
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I liked the third and fifth books, I read the rest, somehow not very much Smile
dawnzubair
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- Card College series, and the videos accompanying it.
- Self working Karl Fulves books
- 13 steps to mentalism (though a bit dry read)
TheGizmoDuck
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Wow, all you guys getting Mark Wilson's Course in Magic for 1 euro, 1 dollar, etc.
And I thought it was a steal when I found my copy for 12 dollars.
After reading through it, though, even full retail feels like such a good deal for everything it contains.
EndersGame
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Quote:
On Nov 25, 2017, Oscar.Abraham wrote:
I think that most modern magicians, myself included, have forgotten the basics of magic; therefore, I'm more inclined for the books that started it all for many of my heroes in magic -- yes I'm talking about "The Royal Road to Card Magic", by Jean Hugard, Frederick Braue. I haven't finished reading it, but the material in it, and the way it's described (the effect, methodology, concepts) really makes this book a great way to start a raw beginner.

The Royal Road to Card Magic (RRTCM) is of course a classic, and was the gateway into card magic for many of us here. It's a very useful book, and it's also good value considering how cheaply you can buy a copy today. And it has some terrific card tricks.

However, I do believe it is quite dated at this point, since it's over 70 years old. Some of the methods it teaches are obsolete. And other aspects that are essential for modern magicians aren't covered at all.

I recently spent several months working through RRTCM systematically, along with some of the companion resources that can be used with it (annotated versions and videos). I wrote up a thorough review of it, identifying some of its strengths and weaknesses. I also suggested contemporary resources that are good alternatives for beginning a journey into card magic. Here's the result:

Part 1: Starting with Hugard and Braue's The Royal Road to Card Magic
https://playingcarddecks.com/blogs/all-i......rd-magic

Part 2: Moving beyond Hugard and Braue's The Royal Road to Card Magic
https://playingcarddecks.com/blogs/all-i......rd-magic

Especially the second article may be useful, in light of some of the alternative resources I've suggested for beginners, and for people wanting to begin a serious journey into learning card magic.

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RobertApodaca
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Mark Wilson's Complete Course
The Art of Astonishment
Strong Magic
Geoff Weber
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Mark Wilson's Complete Course in magic is the textbook I use when I have taught magic lessons or classes. It has already been mentioned in this thread a hundred times, so I thought I'd add a bit more about WHY this is such a great book:


  • It is readily available in most public libraries and bookstores (and is relatively inexpensive)
  • The card section is more focused on foundational techniques such as hindu/overhand shuffles, glides, double lifts, with fairly basic trick applications. It is commendable in that it assumes no prior knowledge and starts from square one with definitions of all sorts of terminology employed in the description of card magic.
  • ... that being said it still has some great card magic. The first trick, the automatic card discovery is one that I often like to start my students with. I have even used this in a pinch during my show when I realized I had mistakenly packed a normal deck in place of the gimmicked invisible deck.
  • I have even seen someone successfully market the card case escape as a stand-alone magic purchase.
  • it has an excellent classic sponge ball routine
  • it has an excellent classic cups and balls routine
  • it has inexpensive stage illusions such as victory cartons and the magical mummy
  • misc business advice
  • all sorts of hidden gems
daisy7
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Self-working Karl Fulves books are really good , try'em
JDobbs
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I would recommend any book that has a compilation video available to help with visual learners. Example is the 13 Steps to Mentalism, this book is a classic and must for any Mentalism to read. In addition to getting the book, I recommend picking up Corinda 13 Steps to Mentalism video volume featuring Richard Osterlind. JB Bobo Modern Coin Magic and the later videos series by same name. Just a recommendation for anyone who find it hard to start by trying to understand what the written description is saying