JOHN MULHOLLAND'S BOOK OF MAGIC

A professional illusionist of very high standing has provided a full bag of tricks for any potential practitioner as well as some introductory remarks on presence. Magic is ""like learning a second language""- you must have an ear for it; and you must also be agreeable, natural and assured"" as you practice to deceive. The tricks may take a little time to learn, or longer, involve little or no apparatus, or greater preparation, and proceed from cards and coins to ""exceptional"" magic- ""on the verge of the miraculous, or thought transference. There is one chapter on tricks of particular appeal for children, another on those most suitable for stage presentation. It is a more substantial book than the last reviewed here, Bruce Elliott's Professional Magic Made Easy (Harper- 1959) and Mr. Mulholland is also a more polished performer, in print as well.