Darbyshire, Lydia (editor): The Magic Book; Master the Mysteries of Over 150 Magic Tricks ©1997 Quintet Publishing Limited, London. Published for the USA by Chartwell Books, Inc ISBN: 0-7858-0791-8 Hardcover, w/dj, large format, 224 pages

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Comments: Includes selections from Eve Devereux's The Ultimate Card Trick Book, Peter Eldin's Start a Craft Magic Tricks, and Ian Adair's 100 Magic Tricks. This is a beautiful color, large format book designed primarily for beginners but including quite a variety of magic and tons of clear photos. Was found for a relatively inexpensive price in a local Barnes & Noble or Borders Books type book store. Recommended.

Contents

6 Introduction: Essay on Successful Tricks, The Rules of Magic
8 Magic Through the Ages: Essay on Robert Houdin, Houdini, The British Scene, In Recent Times
10 Putting On a Performance: Essay includes Practice, Patter, Misdirection, Props and Equipment, You, Advertising and Publicity,

14 Chapter 1 Sleights: This section shows some common sleights with objects such as cards, coins, and balls. However, it is almost a "teaser" because there are no routines linked to the sleights, and there are not quite enough sleights shown to build into your own routine. For example, the coins section only shows two ways of producing either one or more coins.
15 Cards:
15 Straight Shuffle
16 Straight Shuffle Deceptions
17 Riffle Shuffle
17 Hindoo Shuffle
18: The Pass
20 Palming Cards
21 Producing Cards
24 Vanishing Half a Pack: using a fan of cards
25 Flying Cards: Card throwing
26 Flying Cards - A Variation: a boomerang card - cards are thrown but one returns to the magician and turns out to be the selection!
27 Flying Cards - A Further Variation: cards are thrown to the air but one returns and sticks to the magician's hand
27 Flying Card - 4: a pure skill version of the above
28 Thimbles: no routines, but this section includes a few productions and vanishes
28 Producing Thimbles: single, multiple
29 Vanishing Thimbles: two methods, showing the hands empty
31 Balls: again no routines, but introduces some sleights to use with billiard balls
31 Palming a Ball
32 Vanishing a Ball: take-away vanish; poke-in vanish, lift-up vanish
35 Cigarettes: Sleights with cigarettes; recommends using plastic sticks
35 Producing Cigarettes: single, multiple, from a hat, rising cigarette, stealing multiple from a matchbox
38 Vanishing Cigarettes: Poke-In Vanish, Take-Away Vanish
39 Coins: sleights with coins
39 Producing and Vanishing a Coin: using a back finger clip
40 Producing Several Coins: from a thumb grip

41 Chapter 2 Forcing Cards
42 Forcing A Card: Introduction and the Classic Force explained
43 The Riffle Force
43 The Bridge
44 Cut It Yourself
44 In the Palm of Your Hand
45 Shuffle-Stop
45 Deal It Yourself
46 Card Photography: a card location
47 The Hat Force
48 Criss-Cut Force
49 Undercover Card: under a handkerchief
50 On the Tip of the Tongue: using the above force to predict a card - the prediction appears on the tongue of the performer!
52 Clip It: the selection is made with a paper clip, yet the card is still forced

53 Chapter 3 Clever Card Tricks
54 Topsy Turvy Gamble: magician is able to guess the value of a card reversed in the deck
55 The White Rabbit's Card Trick: magician reveals a card through the use of the current time (can only be done at - or near, certain times of the day)
56 Card Control: selection is shuffled back in the deck, yet the magician can find the selected card (multiple approaches provided)
58 In the Dark: magician tells the name of a selection that is made in the dark
59 Cards That Spell: a spelling card trick, with variations
62 On Reflection: clever use of a butter knife to divine the value of a card
62 Fast Find Card Trick: using a pencil marking
63 Red Under the Bed: a sort of magician's choice
63 Clean Cut: selection is found by inserting a knife into the deck
64 The Vain Card: selection rises from the deck, or in the variation, ends up reversed in the deck
66 I'm It: two approaches to a simple ambitious card
68 Swap: Magician's selection ends up next to spectator's; with variation
70 Switcheroo: using a double facer
71 Printer's Dream: a blank deck becomes fully printed
72 Your Card Is: another spelling trick
72 Red and Black: magician tells which cards are red and which are black (using the crimp)
73 The Scurvy Knaves: a story trick in which the Jacks end up at the top of the deck; with variations
76 Triple Card: three cards are located using the one ahead principle
77 Hop From the Hat: selection pops out of a hat
78 Hop From the Deck: another rising card
79 Hopscotch From the Deck: three cards rise from the deck
80 Joker's Delight: a Joker helps find the Lady and vanishes in the process (using a cleverly gimmicked card)
81 The Rising Cards: selection rises while deck is in a glass
82 Elimination: selection is found by process of elimination
83 Oddly Even: magician predicts odd or even outcome
83 Not in the Club: cards that are not "clubs" can be easily found

84 Chapter 4 More Amazing Cards
85 Shotgun Marriage: story trick involving a Jack, a King, and a Queen...
86 Mystic Five: reversed card specifies location of selection
87 Quick Study: a stacked deck revelation
88 Card Through a Handkerchief: selected card penetrates the handkerchief
90 Jacks Wild: Four Jacks are placed on table in order Red Black Red Black, yet spectator cannot select them in order
91 Poker Champ: self working poker hand
92 Find Your Own Card: a use for the Glide
93 Full Frontal: spectator cuts the cards but magician still finds selection (uses key card)
94 Simon Says: a you do as I do card effect
95 Unfair Deal: magician picks selection out of a fan of cards
96 Unexpected Thief: One card passes from spectator to spectator (uses palm)
97 Boxing Back: selection appears face up in the middle of a face down deck in the card box
98 Short Shrift: use of a short card
99 Tearing a Lady In Half: a simple version of a torn and restored card
100 Twisting a Card: a card is selected and the deck (with a hole through it) is hung on a ribbon. The selection suddenly appears reversed in the deck even though the deck is trapped.
102 Conformist Jack: a card reverses itself as it is pushed through the pack
104 Unreliable Jumbo: a Jumbo card reverses itself after some simple folding
106 Kings On Top: Kings end up on top of four piles
107 Kings On Queens On Top: as above, but Queens AND Kings end up on top
108 Aces: Magician and spectator each end up with Aces, and the rest of the cards of the opposite color
109 Cheating: Magician is able to tell the selection card truly by feel
110 Fleeing Red: Selection appears in magician's jacket pocket, which he had laid aside previously (tapered deck)

112 Chapter 5: Classic Conjuring
113 20th Century Silks: Yellow silk vanishes and appears tied between two purple silks that were previously placed in a glass
114 The Multiplying Billiard Balls: Three balls and shell. Productions and Vanishes explained.
116 The Amazing Card Box: Explained and 20 effects using the card box
118 The Inexhaustible Box: how to build a production box (a rabbit production shown here)
119 Cups and Balls: Teaches the Gallop Move, the Place-In Move, Productions, A Penetration, and a Tip-Off Loading Move
125 Chinese Linking Ring: Standard 8 ring set. Teaches Counting the Rings, and linking the rings. Basic approach, not a lengthy routine.
128 Cut and Restored Rope: a simple approach
130 The Classic Egg Bag: traditional bag (not Malini). Basic routine.
132 Unequal Ropes:  three ropes of unequal length are stretched to the same length; then back
134 The Wonderful Changing Bag: explained and 20 ideas for use
136 Sun and Moon: using the change bag, circles in the center of two silks are cut out, and then restored, but the wrong color is on the wrong silk. Then all is restored properly.
138 A Capital Prediction: a prediction effect using a change bag
140 In Between Silk: a variation of 20th Century Silks using a modified change bag
142 Rabbit From a Hat: a stage effect

144 Chapter 6 The Amazing Thumb Tip
145 Using the Thumb Tip: introduction
147 Passing the Salt: salt transposes from one hand to the other
148 Producing a Handkerchief: with tips (pun intended)
150 Vanishing a Lighted Cigarette: using TT and handkerchief
152 Burned and Restored Handkerchief: using TT
154 The Penetrating Thumb: your TT must match your thumb pretty well for this one...

155 Chapter 7 Magic In Close-Up
156 A Date With A Magician: Okito box routine. Not only does the coin penetrate the box and the hand, but the magician determines the date on the coin
157 Stiff'N Rope: a short piece of rope becomes rigid between the fingertips
158 Spent Matches: four matches are seen in a matchbox. One is struck and when the box is opened, all the matches have been burnt
159 Match-Ic: a match is burnt and ends up back in the matchbook
160 Odds or Evens: spectator predicts odd or even number of matches in a match box and is always correct
161 One In the Middle: spectator tries to clip the right card in this optical illusion
162 Spotless: a blank large die and a white piece of paper are covered. When uncovered, the paper has holes cut in it and the blank die is now spotted
164 Domino Card: a mentalism routine with cards and a domino
165 Key-Riffic: a key is removed from a keyring and is vanished in a handkerchief, only to be found back on the keyring

166 Chapter 8 Miscellaneous Magic
167 Fan-Tastic: a fan is switched off and on the blades are three cards that match the selections
168 Ring Off Rope: finger ring is removed from a ribbon or shoestring, whose ends are held by a spectator
170 Ring on a Pencil: a borrowed finger ring vanishes and appears on the center of a pencil (or wand)
172 Bad Aim: a mentalist routine with the aid of an assistant
173 Currency Cut: a dollar is placed in a paper tube, clearly cut through, and yet is unharmed
174 Coin in a Ball of Yarn: a coin vanishes and is found in the center of a ball of yarn
176 The Coin Fold: explained and applied for a vanish
178 Dye-A-Bolical: using an Okito tumbler to produce a handkerchief
179 Can Can: the Passe-Passe Bottle and Glass using common materials
180 Baffling Beaker: a gimmicked plastic cup and 20 ideas for its use
182 Drink from Nowhere: a full glass of wine produced from behind a handkerchief
184 Solid Through Solid: a silk penetrates another silk
186 Hitting the Headlines: Headline is torn from a newspaper and all is restored
188 Bank Night: The magician chooses the envelope with the money while the spectators don't
190 Baffling Balloons: Red and Green balloons transpose inside two paper sacks

191 Chapter 9 Mental Mysteries
192 Suits Me: four cards of different suits are selected; magician deals remainder of pack and determines 4 cards selected
193 Doubleback:  selection is found to have a different back from the rest of the deck. The other deck is shown, and it too, has a different color backed card, that matches the selection
194 Perplexing Pens: three identical pens are shown with the only difference being the color of ink they write with. Magician is always able to tell the color of the ink chosen.
195 Doublecross: two spectators choose the same card
196 Duplicated Divination: the ESP symbol on a block is determined by the magician even though the block is inside a closed cube
198 How Many? Magician tells how many matches are in a box chosen while he's out of the room
199 Counting Cards: self working trick with a few variations
202 Baffling Book Test: last word and page number of a borrowed book are memorized by spectator. Magician is able to determine both.
203 Clementine's Card Trick: mathematical card trick
204 Reciting the Deck: Magician determines entire deck values in two methods: first using a stacked deck, 2nd using a specially prepared card
206 Mutus Nomen Cocis Dedit: Magician deals cards several times, each time asking spectator to indicate a row or column that contains a selected pair. Magician determines the selections
208 Fifty-Two Thoughts: magician is able to discern the value of the entire deck
209 Match That: a trick with a deck of card pairs
209 X-Ray Fingers: magician identifies five cards from their backs
210 Fill the Gap: magician determines the suit and value of a card
210 The Sheep from the Goats: magician predicts you will have two more red cards than black

211 Chapter 10 Illusions
212  Sensational Sack Escape: from a cloth sack
213 Rod Through Body: a rod penetrates the spectator's body without harm
214 Two Tubes Illusion: a black art principle effect
216 See-Through Production: items are produced from a seemingly empty "box"
218 Folding Screen Production: assistant appears from behind two screens that were shown empty

220 Glossary
221 Further Reading (England based recommendations)
222 Clubs and Societies
223 Index