talkmagic.co.uk

I reckon this is going on the Christmas list & would welcome any feedback from people who have it before then. Here's a bit of the blurb;

Filled with history, stories, and, most of all, magic, Best of All Worlds pays tribute to one of the greatest card tricks of all time: Paul Curry's classic card effect Out of This World.

It's not just a book about a 'Magic Trick". It is an extensive, in-depth look at what Dai Vernon called "the card trick of the century.

It is a unique collection of over thirty routines -- some old, some new, some never before seen in print -- submitted by the world's leading magicians. In addition to their personal performances, the contributors have given insight into and musings about how this classic effect has influenced their magic.

Out of This World has influenced some of the world's greatest magicians. It temporarily put a World War on hold. The odds of it actually happening are staggering.

Contributions from: Aaron Fisher, Aldo Colombini, Alex Elmsley, Allan Ackerman, Allen Zingg, Arthur Benjamin, Audley Walsh, Barrie Richardson, Darwin Ortiz, Daryl, David Regal, Doc Dixon, Doc Eason, Doug Conn, Ed Marlo, Eugene Burger, Francis Carlyle, Gary Ouellet, Gregory Wilson, Harry Lorayne, Helder Guimarães, Herb Zarrow, Howard Hamburg, J.C. Wagner J.K. Hartman, Jack Parker, James Swain, Jason England, Jay Sankey, Jim Steinmeyer, John Carney, John Scarne, Jon Allen, Jon Armstrong, Joshua Jay, Juan Tamariz, Karl Fulves, Kenton Knepper, Larry Becker, Lee Asher, Luke Jermay, Mark Wilson, Martin Gardner, Martin Nash, Micah Cover, Michael Ammar, Mike Sibbernsen, Norman Beck, Norman Gilbreath, Paul Curry, Paul Green, Peter Duffie, R. Paul Wilson, Rafael Benatar, Richard Busch, Richard Kaufman, Richard Osterlind, Roberto Giobbi, Ron Bauer, Ron Wilson, Roy Walton, Simon Lovell, Stephen Minch, Steve Draun, Steve Spill, Steve Valentine, T.C. Tahoe, Tom Ogden, Tomas Blomberg, Tony Clark, Tony Giorgio, Tony Picasso, U.F. Grant, and Whit Haydn.

Written and compiled by Brent Arthur James Geris, Bob Postelnik and Duppy Demetrius.

400 pages, Hardbound

I didn't bring it with me to my dorm, but I can say the book can be worth the money if you're planning on obsessing over OOTW. When I start working on a new magic trick, I tend to research it a ton (I did so for CTT, Pulse Stop, billet reading) to pick and choose favorite ideas. BOAW will let you do this with OOTW. Personally, I found some of the essays and thoughts about the routines more interesting than the personal methods of many of the performers.