talkmagic.co.uk

I didn't find the book wonderful overall. There wear a couple of good portions that are indispensible (hindu shuffle, fake cut, etc...). The biggest problem with the book is that it is stuuffed with tricks that are not very entertainig. It is a good book to have if you want to learn the basics of card magic , but, other than that is not very usefull.
Overall Rating: for a beginner 8/10
for amagician with experience in card magic 2/10

The biggest problem with the book is that it is stuuffed with tricks that are not very entertainig.

To my way of thinking, that is a very interesting statement. I can't imagine that any trick is entertaining or dull, in and of itself. A "trick" is inanimate and, for the most part, an intangible. It is not capable of being anything other than what it is - that is to say, it can neither be entertaining nor dull; it just "is."

In the hands of an adequate magician, any trick can be entertaining. But the trick doesn't bring about the entertainment, the magician/performer does that.

In the hands of a good magician, that trick can be taken past just entertaining and it can become a magic experience (that is also entertaining). But, again, it isn't the trick that brings this about.

I have several Bob Longe books. One thing that I've found about all of them is that they aren't very in depth in explanations. They tend to be more encyclopedic than anything else. I think that Mr. Longe always expected his readers to really supply the nuts and bolts of making any given trick that he covered entertaining.

Bob was a prolific author of magic books. I have no idea how many of them he has out there, but it's quite a lot. And, it's rather funny, because when I first met Bob, I didn't realize that he was who he was...I always pronounced his name "Lonj," so when I was introduced to Bob "Long" it just didn't click.

Bob gave me a massive stack of old Phoenix issues (circa mid '40s) - he was making room for other stuff, he said. Just up and gave them to me and this was the very first time that I met the guy - he didn't know me from Adam. He had a trunk full of stuff that he gave away that day to a bunch of other guys, too. He opened the trunk (the "boot" for you UK guys and gals) and said, "Grab what you want."

I knew him for nearly a year before he died on May 17, 2004. I didn't find out who he was until after his death...He simply didn't brag about it, ever. It was at the funeral when I learned exactly who he was. Just a very giving and modest man - not many of those in our ranks.

Bob's books are almost all very inexpensive. If you buy one of his books and you take away one trick, and one trick only, then you have more than paid for the book. I have one coin trick that I do, in particular, that fries magicians. That trick was gleaned out of a Bob Longe book. There is real gold to be found in Bob's books, if you honestly look for it.

Mike.

Reviews a bit harsh. It may not be the greatest book, but it isn't one out of ten. Its a cheap book and there are a number of tricks worth doing. The problems with them being simple isn't really a good reason for disliking a trick. Several of the red black tricks in it are very simple but give an excellent effect. Its all about the delivery. I particularly like those as they work well for young children with no understanding of cards as its just colour. The book also states on the back of the book that Bob Longe had tried to remove all sleights of hands where possible, so if thats what you were after not really a great choice.

Bob Lounge books are are good for all types of performers, but somehow Bob Lounge books are not treated as professional magic books.

totalmagic wrote:
Note: I am still hot off the press so please help me a bit. Are self working tricks good to performe once in a while?

Since 70% of what Tamariz performs, could be described as semi self working, id say yes.

When I saw the low rating on this review I quickly checked my library; I thought I had this book. However, mine is Giant Book of Card Tricks by Bob Lange. I remember reading the book and finding several effects that were worthwhile learning. Bob is a great teacher.

I suspect that this is a case of the expection being misplaced. My own philosophy is that the easier the trick is to perform, the more attention I can give to performance.

As my tagline says, I try to entertain, and when I perform a trick about a haunted house, a murder and a who dunnit with a pack of cards I am guaranteed a positive reaction.

I can do the ubiquitous "Pick a card .. oooh, here it is!" using several different sleights/forces -- but (hopefully) my friends never see the sleights/forces--so as far as they are concerned I am just repeating myself. However, I can take the same trick, performed the same way, and change the patter and interaction, and they see this one trick as several different ones.