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For two generations, and alongside a parallel career as "the world's foremost memory-training specialist, the name Harry Lorayne has been synonymous with excellence in card magic instruction. If there are child prodigies, whose vast abilities far surpass their few years, there are also elder prodigies, whose productivity and creative output later in life outstrip what men half their age are able to do.

In my 2007 review of Best of Friends, Vol 3, I referred to him as “the ‘indefatigable’ Harry Lorayne” for collating together that fine book after a 22-year hiatus. Well, I need to learn some more adjectives. How best to describe a man in his mid-80s who keeps on producing high quality magic material with no end in sight? If the past is any predictor of the future, he is not a horse to bet against. The Psalmist could easily have had him in mind when he wrote, “They still bring forth fruit in old age, they are ever full of sap and green” (Ps. 92:14).

His latest book, The Classic Collection: Volume 3, puts a bow on a remarkable trilogy of “Additions, Revisions, Decisions, Upgradings” that bring together the golden material of his many books on magic. Vol 3 features effects, moves, and practical ideas from Quantum Leaps, Trend Setters, and Dingle’s Deceptions. And, in line with his usual m.o., he throws in tons of extras and bon mots along the way, including one of my personal favorites, the stunning little miracle called “Numero Uno.”

Classic Collection, Vol 3 is not really suitable for the rank beginner, although Mr. Lorayne regularly breaks his narrative flow for the sake of those who may need a quickie remedial. One “move” of his (although it doesn’t look like a move at all) to which he devotes a lot of pages, is his Halo Cut. If you’re familiar with the move from previous books or his Best Ever DVD series, you know its worth. In Vol. 3, Lorayne unspools many different possibilities inherent in Halo Aces. Not only tricks that incorporate the move, but he sheds light on a path he expects you to take alone, armed with the premise. The conclusion is up to you.

If you want a manual that combines theory and practice, one that retools your toolbox, this is an inexpensive “must have.”

Yes, inexpensive. If you take a sober look at the number of thirty dollar gimmicks that gather dust in your drawer, and compare all of them (combined) to any single book by Harry Lorayne, the difference between price and value become clear. For me, starting with his The Magic Book, a Harry Lorayne purchase has consistently delivered far, far more than my money’s worth.

Okay, enough digression. Classic Collection Vol 3 revisits some of his lesser known material, along with things such as his terrific upgrade of Dingle’s Deceptions. I have never performed “Color Triumphant” or “Open Sesame” without eliciting involuntary gasps. You’ll also have a chance to give the cards a rest with some of the late Mr. Dingle’s coin gems as well. I already own the original 1971 booklet, but I’m grateful for this new Loraynification, finesses of which reflect 30 years of subsequent writing experience.

A word about his teaching style. Anyone who’s tried to write down even a relatively simple move like a DL, a double cut or a Hindu shuffle knows that it’s harder than it looks. There are many good magic writers out there, but Harry Lorayne has an uncanny knack for simplifying what appears at first to be complex. Just when you think he’s packing on a smidgen too much detail, he breaks narrative and makes sure you’re still with him. It’s downright Zen the way his directions seem to bring him into the room with you, recommending this switch, advising that move, emphasizing this or that principle. His crisp, often whimsical prose is a study in clarity and in long professional experience.

His collaborative and editing work (start the list with Apocalypse magazine, the Best of Friends series, David Regal and Ken Krenzel) is always top notch, but there’s something special about this last of three volumes, which are drawn solely from his own fertile mind. In addition to the Dingle pets above, some Vol. 3 standouts for me are:

Miracle of Thirteen: A magical revelation of every club in the deck, one by one, starting with the Ace up to a surprising three-fer jack-queen-king reveal at the end. The way I play it is, I appear to be as surprised as the audience that the clubs are appearing suddenly, inexplicably, from unlikely places of the deck -- and in proper order. Sweeter than honey.

Pop Up Pyramid: This is Harry’s extension and twist of a Jay Sankey idea. A borrowed deck of cards and two small rubber bands, and you’re good to go. Harry Lorayne + Jay Sankey = high impact impromptu magic.

Non Faro Faro: ‘fraid of the faro? Try this adaptation on for size.

An Amazing Revelation Display: Mr. Lorayne’s regular readers know about his penchant for four ace displays, and for royal flush revelations. He outdoes himself in both regards here, in which all four aces and all four kings are displayed hanging in a seemingly impossible way -- in one hand. (You can catch him performing this offbeat blockbuster on youtube, I believe.)

The Great Divide: If you’ve seen the Best Ever DVD series, you already appreciate the whack to the side of the head effected by this trick, at the end of which a shuffled deck is spread to show an instant separation of blacks from reds. In Vol 3, though, the explanation of how to get this done quickly and invisibly has been upgraded. (This trick is also the best way to set up for his dazzling “Out Of This Universe,” from Classic Collection, Vol 1.)

I’m tempted to go on -- there are over 120 items in the book. Will you use, or even learn, every single item in Vol 3? Doubtful. But with the requisite hard work, you’ll treasure the ones you do master for literally decades to come. It’s no overstatement to call Harry Lorayne the Frank Sinatra of the magic world: an American original, timeless and timely, iconic and innovative. The two differences are, first, Harry Lorayne is still with us, thank God; and second, it’s hard to imagine the Chairman of the Board showing up on online forums to offer help and encouragement to others. Yet the Chairman of the Pasteboards does just that. All the time.

The problem with labeling Classic Collection Vol 3 “the cap of a remarkable career,” is that, about 12 years ago, one of the teaching subtitles in one of his Best Ever videos referred to his “next, and last, big book” (which was to be Personal Collection). Well, since then the living legend has cranked out four remarkable tomes: Classic Collection, Vols 1 and 2; Best of Friends, Vol 3; and now Classic Collection, Vol 3.

Ad multos annos, Harry Lorayne. For more information or to place an order, email him at harrylorayne@earthlink.net. Yes, he’ll reply.