talkmagic.co.uk

Price:
£16.50 (post free) can only be obtained directly from: Ian Adair, Mystic House, 15 Oak Tree Drive, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, North Devon, EX32 0HE or Email: magicianadair@hotmail.co.uk

I say:

If, like me, you grew up pouring over the latest issue of the Magigram, and waiting for that parcel with the distinctive Supreme logo on it to arrive, and always wondered what happened to your last subscription and the company in general, then you will probably already have ordered this book!

There are so many happy associations for me with Supreme Magic Co, that this book was something of a nostalgia trip for me.

The first part of the book is a mini-autobiography of Ian Adair. He himself admits he is not used to writing anything other than instruction books - and if you want to be fussy, there are a number of typos and repetitions in the text - but for me that took nothing away from my enjoyment of the book.

Ian writes in a wonderfully honest and in some ways self-effacing way. I love the fact that he is not 'full of himself' or boastful but just tends to tell things as they are, often with the warts left in!

The second part of the book carries on with the story of Ian's involvement with Supreme. The company's rapid growth under him and Edwin, and then the various takeovers and rather sudden collapse of the firm.

In some ways this provided a good narrative of the general history, but still didn't really explain the actual triggers for the collapse - perhaps there are some hints (especially about non-magicians trying to run a magic company) - but perhaps we are meant to read between the lines and work it out.

At the end of the book are a number of 'Attachments' detailing various different topics - things like trick titles, information about catalogues, conferences etc. Some of these felt like they didn't really need a whole section - but again there was something charming about the way Ian just tells us how it was.

There's even a little section on how Ian comes up with all his ideas (the key ingredient, it seems to me, is Ian himself!) and a trick to illustrate.

All in all, I enjoyed the read - I zapped through it in a couple of sittings. Although I still feel a little as if my questions have not all been answered, I really loved the birds-eye view of the growth of the company. If you are of 'a certain age' then you must read this!

At the end of the book are a number of 'Attachments' detailing various different topics - things like trick titles, information about catalogues, conferences etc. Some of these felt like they didn't really need a whole section - but again there was something charming about the way Ian just tells us how it was.

Ive not got this book yet, but i intend to.
If you can lay your hands on the edwin books, most of the back ground stuff is there.. But, there was quite a bit of Nastyness behind the scenes at the end.. Being involved with the home counties comittee at the time, was interesting.
You have to remember that Supreme was, for a large number of years, the sponser for the Junior day .And towards the end, things got a little strained.