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Can anyone suggest any books on all non trick books. I am NOT looking for things like card college etc, more on stagecraft, scripting etc etc.

I know there are some suggestions already on the boards, but they tend to come up in ones or twos in the middle of threads.

Thanks in advance

Magic and Showmanship's a worthwhile read.

The Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy contains effects and a good amount of theory as well. As the title suggests, the emphasis is on mentalism but the ideas would apply to magic as well.

i havent read these but Darwin Ortiz "Strong magic" gets good reviews as well as "Pure Effect" by Derren Brown

as i said im not 100% sure but i think that both books are more to do with the performance of effects rather than the effects themselves

Darrel: The most recent book you can read on stagecraft etc. is
1. Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber (£27) This covers most things you'll need to know in a practical, easy to read way. Magic Books By Post list it as Maximum.
2. Jerry Macgregor's book Real World Magic has 127 pages devoted to stagecraft followed by about 170 pages of routines.
Strong Magic is brilliant but possibly a lifetime study.
Showmanship For Magicians by Dariel Fitzkee is great background but i doubt if it will help you under modern conditions.
The old Showmanship & Presentation by Edward Maurice still contains very practical stagecraft but ignore the make up section as it is dated. 45 pages for £6.
The Henning Nelms book I find a bit involved for the average magician; you need to select from it.
Numbers 1 & 2. These will give you what you want.
Allen Tipton

Thanks all for your replies.

Alan, thankyou for your advice about the more up to date books aswell.

My son bought Magic and Showmanship last week, which I agree, it looks as if I need to check through.

On ho;s for a week, but intend looking through the advice from here and MB when I get back. I now have a decent list to start looking for the best ones.

Thanks again.