Illusion Show by David Bamberg (AKA Fu Manchu)
Posted: Jun 5th, '09, 05:52
Since this isn't a book on tricks, I hope it's alright with everyone if I deviate from the standard Review template. To share the basic information, Illusion Show is roughly fifty dollars and is a fantastic read for magicians of all levels.
Illusion Show is mainly an autobiography by the most successful illusionist in South America during the previous century. The introduction and foreword to the book reveal that Bamberg wasn't entirely sure how he wanted to structure the book, and his writing doesn't have perfect grammar or syntax. It really doesn't matter; while reading the book, I was simply too engrossed to care for such minor things.
The first third or so of the book describes David's youth. Being the son of Okito, David was fortunate enough to meet and work with many of the greats of the early twentieth century. I'm jealous that at my age, he'd already made friends with the top names at the time. Bamberg's writing style is fun, so it's a delight to read about his spying on his father to learn about magic, working with Zancig at small theaters, and showing off his "connections" to his friends. He even steals a trick from under Houdini's nose at one point.
David's transformation from the kid behind the scenes to illusionist Fu Manchu feels very quick since he spent more than half of his life as said character. Due to the massive amounts of performances he gave, it feels like the show itself is secondary to his travels and experiences. Reading about Fu's struggles and successes is simply wonderful. Fu conveys the feelings of his experiences very clearly; the reader feels the brief terror or encountering foot long spiders and deadly millipedes, the comfort of exotic Brazil, and the awkward glory of being praised by intellectuals in Madrid. Bamberg creates a very vivid portrait of his life that is both inspiring and intimidating. To go through the hard work he did is insane, yet the ecstasy of his successes almost makes it seem justified.
Really, the book is just too good to summarize in a review. Get it. Read it. Love it.
10/10
As a side note, he described the David Abbott floating ball and how Okito went through many different balls to see which one fit him best. His final solution is quite interesting.