Dexter, Will: This Is Magic Secrets of the Conjurer's Craft ©1958 Arco Publications Ltd, USA Hardcover, 204 pages Also published by the Citadel Press

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Citadel Press Edition Image courtesy eBay seller Slacks!

Comments: This good book by Will Dexter covers many of the classics of magic, including levitations, cups and balls, and Houdini. It is not a book of tricks, but a book about tricks. Some general revelation is provided, but it is certainly not an exposure book. Interesting reading! It appears to be an expanded version of Dexter's Secrets of the Conjurer's Craft, as it has four additional chapters (Chapters 7, 12, 13, and 14).

Contents:

1 Chapter One - The Secret from the Tomb: Dedi, the Pharaoh's magician
5 Chapter Two - The Cups and Balls: history, a bit of how to, the 3 shell game, and other one in three mysteries
11 Chapter Three - Oracles and Robots: a look at "automation" illusions
33 Chapter Four - It's All Done With Mirrors: Pepper's Ghost and other stage illusions
53 Chapter Five - The Lady Vanishes: Stage vanishes
71 Chapter Six - The Trick That Never Was: On the Indian Rope Trick
89 Chapter Seven - Up in the Middle of the Air: Levitations
101 Chapter Eight - Sawing a Woman in Half
111 Chapter Nine - The Legend of Houdini
131 Chapter Ten - Marked Cards
142 Chapter Eleven - The Four Aces of Card Magic: Hofzinser, Charlier, Hull, and Hugard
161 Chapter Twelve - Think of a Number: Mathematical magic
176 Chapter Thirteen - The Sealed Mystery: mental prodigies who can calculate in their heads
187 Chapter Fourteen - Is It Second Sight?: On mentalism