Little has been written on the subject; and much of that is scattered throughout dozens of books and magazines. Because of this; it has been difficult for the student to obtain all the information necessary to his becoming a proficient coin worker. This deficiency in magical literature has long been recognized; but little has been done about it. In recent years there have appeared a few books devoted partly to coin magic but none has filled the necessary need adequately.Of course; not all the material in this book is new. It is not intended to be. The purpose; as mentioned in the beginning; is to cover the subject of sleight of hand coin magic in all its practical aspects. To do this it has been necessary to include many of the standard principles of the past. However; all out-of-date or otherwise impractical sleights have been eliminated. Only the best and most useful have been retained. To these basic principles have been added many new and revolutionary ideas; all of which should give the student a conception of coin magic hitherto unknown.The best coin tricks require skill; but there are few magicians today who are willing to spend the necessary time and practice obtaining that skill. Jean Hugard summarized his opinion on the subject well when he said; ldquo;There is an unfortunate trend among those who dabble in magic; and even those who rate themselves as magicians; to avoid anything that requires a little study and practice and to rely on tricks that work themselves; tricks lsquo;that can be done five minutes after you receive them;rsquo; as we see advertised so often.rdquo;Of all the branches of magic none is so practical as the manipulation of coins. Coins are always available. If a magician can do a few coin tricks he is always prepared to entertain.Learning the moves of tricks and sleights is not enough. They should be practiced over and over; dozens of times; so that you can do them automatically; without thinking. Only then will you be able to give your attention to presentation; patter; misdirection; and all those things that have so much to do with making a magician a success. The secret workings of a trick are only a means to an end.A well-presented trick is like a beautiful piece of musicmdash;audiences never tire of it. I have seen Blackstone perform the Dancing Handkerchief dozens of times but I always enjoy seeing it again. And Le Paul with his beautiful card magic. Who could tire of watching him! And so it is with all good entertainersmdash;they are masters of their art and people always welcome the opportunity of seeing them again and again. And if it be your desire to master this art; take heart; for lsquo;No man is his craftsrsquo; master the first day.rsquo;
#516658 in eBooks 2000-12-01 2009-06-30File Name: B0068SB926
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. good bookBy web shopping junkieThis is a good overview of straw bale construction and the extra considerations required to be successful in wet and cold climates. It did not get that last star because most of the visual aides for the solution to problems were dated photographs; where an illustration or architectural type drawing would be more useful for me to apply the concepts to my situation.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Short and simple - if you plan to do anything with straw bale - read this firstBy zvsimonExcellent book! I am glad I bought it.Title of book is really correct! This book is serious about building straw bale house - anyplace and from many construction approaches!The thing that I like about it is explained in this example...*other books that I read give you instruction just to build this that way and it will work...*Authors of Serious Straw Bale tell you that you may build this that way and that it will probbaly work... BUT in the same time they let you aware of MANY detailes that might make that not working... PLUS a few ideas of how else you can achieve this.Do you have questions about Straw bale buildings?Can pests live in a straw wall? Can I build it safe if I live in wet. windy and cold location? And how about earthquakes?... I found answers to them (from real buildings and experience of many ownes)Summed up;Topics explained are written from actual experience and thoroughly thought up. Authors also give more than one solution to same problem - each with its own strong and weak points. Writing is engeneerly systematic and detailed. but very easy to read and understand.I honestly reccomend it0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy KookaGirlsas described