Magic with Everyday Objects: Over 150 Tricks Anyone Can Do at the Dinner Table

Great book when asked to show a trick you can use household items.

This was *the* book I got when I was seven years old (I'm forty-something now), that got me -- a nerdy kid with headgear and glasses -- into a lifelong love of magic. Doug Henning was the guy on TV, and George Schindler was the guy in my bookbag. I carried this book and read it every chance I got. I'm glad to see it's still in print. I've bought a couple in the past year to give out to kids -- my own, and their friends. I hope it inspires them as much as this book inspired me.

THIS IS A GREAT LITTLE BOOK, FUN TO DO AND LOTS OF MAGIC EASILY LEARNED. EVERYONE NEEDS MAGIC IN THEIR LIVES AND IF YOU CAN HELP OTHERS ACHIEVE THAT IT MAKES EVERYONE FEEL GOOD.

There's much to appreciate in this book. Hence, a positive rating; I think anyone with an instinct for entertainment will find a lot to enjoy herein. There's enough humor to keep the reading on an entertaining level. There's also valuable "personal advice" on presentation and misdirection, topics missing from other less entertaining and less valuable collections of various illusions. A few significant shortcomings. 1. The Introduction states "...entertaining miracles that require no special skills or lengthy practice sessions." Yet many of the illusions include instructions such as "drop the salt shaker into your lap while nobody is looking," "drop the wineglass from under the napkin into your lap while using your fingers to maintain the outline of the glass under the napkin," "slide the silverware up your sleeve while misdirecting the attention of your audience with your eyes on the salt shaker." (These are all paraphrases...not direct quotes...but accurate summaries of similar instructions repeated numerous times for various tricks.) All of these actions require hand or hand / eye coordination and repeated practice...these are not self-working illusions appropriate for youngsters or those of us with a casual interest in entertaining friends. If I attempt to drop a wineglass from under a napkin onto my lap, while maintaining the outline of the glass under the napkin by using my fingers, I'd be greeted by laughter and comments of "You've got to be kidding." Not to mention broken glass under the table. Eliminating those tricks that require significant physical manipulations, and those that simply don't seem feasible to "pull off" by an amateur magician, reduces the number of illusions available in this book significantly. There's still a lot to enjoy, but the volume just became slimmer. 2. A few of the tricks simply do not work, at least in my hands and in my understanding of the instructions. For example, the instructions to "Bottoms Up" (p, 106), if followed precisely, do not yield the result stated. Either a major typo here, or the instructions are misleading enough that i and two other friends who I asked for help cannot decipher them. 3. There are no card tricks, a staple of magic on a personal, close, or intimate setting. Given the number or seemingly astounding illusions available with self-working card tricks and card tricks that depend on very simple manipulations, this exclusion is a significant weakness. There are, of course, many other books that address these tricks. Bottomline: some serious editing would result in a slimmer volume of higher quality illusions.

I bought this hardcover used copy from dealer "DELHI BOOK STORE" for 772 Rupees. Had left it on my wishlist and had been checking it from time to time for a used copy cheap. I wanted it as a companion for "Magic with Cards: 113 easy-to-perform miracles with an ordinary deck" (Frank Garcia & George Schindler and Ed Tricomi). It was always above 1500 or 2000. So when I saw it under 800, grabbed it. For a used book, it is in pristine condition. The previous owner was obviously someone who cared about preserving books even if he was not about collecting them as bought. Whoever it was had bought it used (stickers on the back cover from previous sales) and they wrapped it in transparent covering over the dust jacket and cello taped it. I have glanced through the book and it contains the tricks you will find in any beginner magic book. The writing and book style may not appeal to young magicians under 15-16 years old. It will work very well for the more matured person looking to learn some easy to do tricks that does not need you to spend money. The author has tried to keep the tricks within things you can find around the house or at a restaurant. It is for the person who wants to learn a few tricks and be done. It also contains tricks using coins, handkerchiefs, matches, bottles, glasses etc. NO CARD TRICKS. There is also a mentalism section that includes a few tricks with numbers besides the usual mentalism tricks. Although all the tricks seem good, here are three good ones to start out with: Transformation Page 23 Vanishing Salt Shaker Page 36 Clinging Breadstick Page 65 (Can be done with pens, rulers)

Good book. My niece is loving this book. She's becoming a good magician.

Excellent. Well written and at the right price.

Thumbs up

Just what I needed.