Author: David Copperfield
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982112913
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
In this personal journey through a unique performing art, David Copperfield profiles some of the world's most groundbreaking magicians. From the sixteenth-century magistrate who wrote an early book on conjuring, to the roaring twenties and the man who fooled Houdini, to the woman who levitated, vanished, and caught bullets in her bare hands, David Copperfield's History of Magic takes you on a wild journey through the remarkable feats of some of the greatest magicians in history. The result is a sweeping tale that reveals how these astonishing performers were outsiders who used magic to escape class, challenge conventions, transform popular culture, explore the innermost workings of the human mind, and inspire scientific discovery. Their incredible stories are complemented by more than 100 never-before-seen photographs of artifacts from Copperfield's exclusive Museum of Magic, including a sixteenth-century manual on sleight-of-hand; Houdini's straitjackets, handcuffs, and water torture chamber; Dante's famous sawing-in-half apparatus; Alexander's high-tech turban that allowed him to read people's minds; and even some coins that may have magically passed through the hands of Abraham Lincoln. By the end of the book, you'll be sure to share Copperfield's passion for the power of magic. --
Author: Jim Steinmeyer
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101486341
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 375
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Book Description
Here is the seminal biography of the magician's magician, Howard Thurston, a man who surpassed Houdini in the eyes of showmen and fans and set the standard fro how stage magic is performed today. Everyone knows Houdini-but who was Thurston? In this rich, vivid biography of the "greatest magician in the world," celebrated historian of stage magic Jim Steinmeyer captures the career and controversies of the wonder-worker extraordinaire, Howard Thurston. The public's fickleness over magicians has left Thurston all but forgotten today. Yet Steinmeyer shows how his story is one of the most remarkable in show business. During his life, from 1869 to 1936, Thurston successfully navigated the most dramatic changes in entertainment-from street performances to sideshows to wagon tours through America's still-wild West to stage magic amid the glitter of grand theaters. Thurston became one of America's most renowned vaudeville stars, boldly performing an act with just a handful of playing cards, and then had the foresight to leave vaudeville, expanding his show into an extravaganza with more than forty tons of apparatusand costumes. His touring production was an American institution for nearly thirty years, and Thurston earned a brand name equal to Ziegfeld or Ringling Brothers. Steinmeyer explores the stage and psychological rivalry between Thurston and Houdini during the first decades of the twentieth century- a contest that Thurston won. He won with a bigger show, a more successful reputation, and the title of America's greatest magician. In The Last Greatest Magician in the World, Thurston's magic show is revealed as the one that animates our collective memories.
Author: Sam Fury
Publisher: SF Nonfiction Books
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 123
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Book Description
Discover The Most Legendary Magicians in History! In this mind opening book, you will learn about the origins of magic, the best magicians in history, and their most amazing tricks. From the unforgettable Harry Houdini to the death-defying David Blane. Dive deep into the most important moments in magical history, see what these magicians did, and how they influence our world today. Immerse yourself in this brief history of magic, because it has impacted your life more than you know. Get it now. Limited Time Only... Get your copy of ‘Famous Magicians in History’ today and you will also receive: * Free SF Nonfiction Books new releases * Exclusive discount offers * Downloadable sample chapters * Bonus content … and more! Relive your sense of childhood wonder, because magic has come a long way from where it all started. Get it now.
Author: Walter Brown Gibson
Publisher: Carol Publishing Corporation
ISBN: 9780806509211
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 262
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Book Description
Author: Milbourne Christopher
Publisher: Running PressBook Pub
ISBN: 9780786716883
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514
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Book Description
Follow the fascinating stories of the world's greatest necromancers, from sorcerer-priests in ancient Egypt to such modern miracle workers as Houdini and David Copperfield.
Author: Professor Hoffman
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1716011450
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 584
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Book Description
Modern Magic by Professor Hoffmann was one of the first books published in English on the art of conjuring during the Victorian era. Hoffmann was considered to be one of the greatest authorities on the theory and practice of magic at that time. This hardcover edition is a facsimile of the 1876 edition and whist some parts of the text are faded, it perfectly readable and makes a beautiful addition to any magician or historian's library.
Author: Anne Lawrence-Mathers
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 030018929X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 271
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Book Description
A medieval historian examines what we really know about the man who was “Merlin the Magician” and his impact on Britain. Merlin has remained an enthralling and curious individual since he was first introduced in the twelfth century in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae. But although the Merlin of literature and Arthurian myth is well known, his “historical” figure and his relation to medieval magic are less familiar. In this book Anne Lawrence-Mathers explores just who he was and what he has meant to Britain. The historical Merlin was no rough magician: he was a learned figure from the cutting edge of medieval science and adept in astrology, cosmology, prophecy, and natural magic, as well as being a seer and a proto-alchemist. His powers were convincingly real—and useful, for they helped to add credibility to the “long-lost” history of Britain which first revealed them to a European public. Merlin’s prophecies reassuringly foretold Britain’s path, establishing an ancient ancestral line and linking biblical prophecy with more recent times. Merlin helped to put British history into world history. Lawrence-Mathers also explores the meaning of Merlin’s magic across the centuries, arguing that he embodied ancient Christian and pagan magical traditions, recreated for a medieval court and shaped to fit a new moral framework. Linking Merlin’s reality and power with the culture of the Middle Ages, this remarkable book reveals the true impact of the most famous magician of all time. “The story of how the image of Merlin as political prophet, magician and half-demon evolved in the Middle Ages is as fascinating as any romance.”—Euan Cameron
Author: Steve Cohen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781737703709
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Author: David Price
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 574
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Book Description
Author: Peter Lamont
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1524704458
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 370
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Book Description
Pull back the curtain on the real history of magic – and discover why magic really matters If you read a standard history of magic, you learn that it begins in ancient Egypt, with the resurrection of a goose in front of the Pharaoh. You discover how magicians were tortured and killed during the age of witchcraft. You are told how conjuring tricks were used to quell rebellious colonial natives. The history of magic is full of such stories, which turn out not to be true. Behind the smoke and mirrors, however, lies the real story of magic. It is a history of people from humble roots, who made and lost fortunes, and who deceived kings and queens. In order to survive, they concealed many secrets, yet they revealed some and they stole others. They engaged in deception, exposure, and betrayal, in a quest to make the impossible happen. They managed to survive in a world in which a series of technological wonders appeared, which previous generations would have considered magical. Even today, when we now take the most sophisticated technology for granted, we can still be astonished by tricks that were performed hundreds of years ago. The Secret History of Magic reveals how this was done. It is about why magic matters in a world that no longer seems to have a place for it, but which desperately needs a sense of wonder.
