by magicofthemind » Apr 22nd, '10, 11:44
Name: Bill Severn’s Complete Book of Magic
Author:Bill Severn
Price: £6.71 (inc postage!) from Amazon Marketplace
Publisher: Galahad
Date: 1995
Pages: 507 (hardback, with dust jacket)
Difficulty: 3
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
Out of 10: 10
Contents:
This is a compilation of three books:
Magic in Mind (1974)
26 effects plus an introductory chapter on presentation. Includes chapters on telepathy, mind control, clairvoyance and predictions.
Magic Money (1977)
21 effects, plus an introductory chapter and a chapter on basic coin sleights.
Magic with Rope, Ribbon and String (1982)
30 effects and full routines, plus an introductory chapter on the materials to use and how to prepare them.
Comments:
I can keep my comments short, as I have really only four things to say about this book.
1. Buy it.
2. At the price this has to be one of magic’s greatest bargains.
3. The word that sprang to mind when I first opened the book was “meticulous”. The descriptions, and accompanying diagrams, are very, very detailed, leaving none of the “what?” reactions I’ve had on reading certain other highly-regarded magic textbooks.
4. Finally, a brief word on the content. I could write pages on this, but as you’re going to buy it anyway it’s probably not necessary. The book is aimed at beginners, but it’s not the sort of thing you’ll find in the usual beginners’ books. This is high quality material, most of which I haven’t read elsewhere. I believe the only “standard stuff” is in the rope section, the longest, including a very detailed description of the effect usually known as “Professor’s Nightmare”, but there’s plenty of new material too, especially for stage use, and two full knot tying routines. You’ll learn how to produce or vanish a rope and how to make it jump. Highlights from the mental section include a simple but effective no-force triple prediction, newspaper and chair tests and a drawing duplication. The money section includes a number of effects with gimmicked bills, one or two of which will only work with US dollars, a brilliant home-made gimmicked coin (took me about two minutes) and some cunning vanishes among other things.