A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

A comprehensive illustrated reference guide with more than 400 entries on the subjects of magic and alchemy.

The first accessible reader on magic’s generative relationship with contemporary art practice. From the hexing of presidents to a renewed interest in herbalism and atavistic forms of self-care, magic has furnished the contemporary imagination with mysterious and often disorienting bodies of arcane thought and practice. This volume brings together writings by artists, magicians, historians, and theorists that illuminate the vibrant correspondences animating contemporary art’s varied encounters with magical culture, inspiring a reconsideration of the relationship between the symbolic and the pragmatic. Dispensing with simple narratives of reenchantment, Magic illustrates the intricate ways in which we have to some extent always been captivated by the allure of the numinous. It demonstrates how magical culture’s tendencies toward secrecy, occlusion, and encryption might provide contemporary artists with strategies of remedial communality, a renewed faith in the invocational power of personal testimony, and a poetics of practice that could boldly question our political circumstances, from the crisis of climate collapse to the strictures of socially sanctioned techniques of medical and psychiatric care. Tracing its various emergences through the shadows of modernity, the circuitries of ritual media, and declarations of psychic self-defence, Magic deciphers the evolution of a “magical-critical” thinking that productively complicates, contradicts and expands the boundaries of our increasingly weird present.

Performing Magic on the Western Stage examines magic as a performing art and as a meaningful social practice, linking magic to cultural arenas such as religion, finance, gender, and nationality and profiling magicians from Robert-Houdin to Pen& Teller.

With a little practice and this beginner’s guide, you will quickly be amazing your friends and family with your new sleight-of-hand craft. Being an accomplished magician definitely takes practice, but it starts with the right instruction. Amazing Magic Tricks for Beginners offers just the right level of foundational guidance in easy-to-follow, illustrated, step-by-step instruction. Whether it’s cards, coins, or magic boxes and hats, even the most inexperienced magic enthusiasts will be able to access the insider magic tips and performance advice taught in this book. Professional magician Bryan Miles from the world-renowned School of Magic presents: A guide to all the tools you will need to do everything from a simple card trick to tricks that use multiple props to execute The practical elements for executing a wide array of tricks, starting with the basics and including fresh takes on traditional tricks Performance skills such as distraction, sleight of hand, storytelling, and pace, which are the key to executing a convincing magic trick Amazing Magic Tricks for Beginners will give you the inspiration you need to create a magic show around every trick you perform. No matter which end of the spectrum your magic aspirations fall in, you will succeed in performing your tricks of choice with panache and leave your audience wondering how you did it. Always wanted to pull a coin out from behind an ear or pull the queen of hearts from a shuffled deck of 52 cards? This book will teach you what you need to know to be the magician you’ve always wanted to be!