talkmagic.co.uk

Mark Wilson - Complete course in magic
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0762414553/qid=1114903590/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_0_4/702-1128810-1956821
$29.95 CDN

Difficulty: Varies

They say:
Three hundred magic tricks are divided into the sections "Effect," "Secret & Preparation," "Method," and "Comments & Suggestions"; and more than two thousand photographs demonstrate how to master sleight-of-hand

I say:
wow...what a deal, although i must admit im ticked that i payed 30 when i coulda payed 20 but still...wow what a book...covers all topics of magic from cards to money magic, rope, impromptu close up, silk and handkercheif, mental magic, betchas (i bet you i can make it disappear),sponge ball, make at home magic, billiard ball, cups and balls, magical illusions and reputation makers. that brefily was the table of contents but wow those sections are amazing. well illustrated with easy to understand descriptions and methods. This book is a venture into type book...by that i mean if your already a perfect card-ician then you probably already know everything in this book. But if you are beginner or beginner in one aspect like in rope magic then this book will get you started. i have to say what a great book. its heavy and big too so you really get your moneys worth (around 500 A4 size pages). Defnitely recomended...order it right now


Overall:
This book will introduce you into everything...especially cards (biggest section)...its a defenite buy, even if you just use it as a reference book..amazing

Rating: 11 outa 10...what more can i say

The old review can be found here http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=587

I agree zigzag. A very good book for the beginner or intermediate. A lot of useful stuff in that book.

However - although there is a "Contents" list, there's no index! I've read a lot of it but if I need to refer back to it to find an effect etc., I have to look more carefully than simply look in the index for "Forces", "Double Lifts" or "Vanishes" (for instance). I can't be absolutely sure that the effect is in this book or one of the others that I have. An index would make it much easier to retrieve information!

This book has already been reviewed here and, although its good to have several opinions, this should go after the original review... My thoughts anyways. no offence. just check the review index...

But I must agree on the great value of this book which can be found in the uk for about a tenner.

However - although there is a "Contents" list, there's no index! I've read a lot of it but if I need to refer back to it to find an effect etc., I have to look more carefully than simply look in the index for "Forces", "Double Lifts" or "Vanishes" (for instance). I can't be absolutely sure that the effect is in this book or one of the others that I have. An index would make it much easier to retrieve information!

yeah i agree very strongly towards that too...that was one of the first things i looked for and didn't find ...none the less its still of amazing value...

Nairolf i understand theres already been a review and was aware of that before i wrote my review but the reason i still wrote it is to "bring it back" in a sense. People read almost every single review posted on here as this is one of the most active parts of the forum, but by re-posting a review one can bring back opinions about something that hasn't been spoken about for a while...this time new members of the forum would read this post and maybe this is something theyve never considered...in a sense, re-writing a review is like spreading the love all over again...(or could be hate for a really bad review )

Revisiting and reassessing an existing review is not only a good idea but warmly encouraged. Adding it to an existing review would have been a wee bit better as it would have brought all the previous views into focus as well.

Just to add my four penn'orth, I borrowed this book from the local library a while ago and was similarly peeved to find the lack of a contents section - a very strange omission!

Edited my original post and have added link to first review...

just for reference peeps:-

ISBN 0-7624-1455-3 £14.99 uk suggested retail price.