talkmagic.co.uk

Cost: I paid £12 second hand for the first edition. Had a quick look and it doesn't appear to be reprinted so not on Amazon and at the time of writing nobody is selling a copy on eBay.

This book is an autobiography and contains no tricks!

The Amazing World Of John Scarne is Scarne's account of his life. The story begins with him as a child and winds through his days as an ethusiast, entertainer, gambling consultant, world-class magician and gambling authority and finally as inventor.

I finished this book in under a week, which is very quick for me as I can't normally find anytime to sit still and read. The stories Scarne tells of how he used to hang around with and learn from (and eventually bamboozle) gamblers are fascinating. As are his accounts of his friendship with many great magicians and gamblers, including Houdini, Nate Leipzig, Nick The Greek and Conrad Hilton!

Each chapter deals with a portion of Scarne's life: e.g. how it all started, learning about carnival scams, efforts to reduce scams during the war, exposure of 'psychics' and 'hypnotist', his time in show business, and more. I really wasn't aware of Scarne's huge wartime impact on preventing card/dice scams amongst servicemen.

At times it does feel as if Scarne is trying to 'sell' you his achievements (particularly the final chapter in which he explains a couple of games he has invented). Cynics might say he name drops a lot, and the writing style is at times a little too rhetorical, but truly this is still a gripping read.

I am fascinated by the history of magic and effects and sleights within magic. This book provides a wonderful glimpse into magic and gambling over the past fifty years or so. There were several "oh I see!" moments as new bits of information filled gaps in my knowledge.

It has left me with a renewed interest in gambling, so much so that I have been working religously on my Three Card Monte and now C.U.P.S. is kicking in and I want to get Scarne's booklet on Monte.

Do yourself a favour and find a copy.