Magic: A Beginner's Guide

Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)

by Robert Ralley

Tracing magic’s fascinating history back to its earliest beginnings, Robert Ralley reveals its influence on religion, science, and society. From charms and curses to rites and spells, spanning the black magic of demons to David Blaine’s endurance tests, Ralley illustrates the changing perceptions of magic, and the dangerous balance between illusion, fraud, and devilry that persists today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Magic

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting with the pre biblical references to Magi - as in the Wise men - and where the word Magic comes from. And right up to modern magicians like Penn & Teller, and David Blayne.

This is like reading a thesis, but it is super interesting to me.

3 stars

[robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend as a resource. And as a general read; it's not as dry as a purely informative book would be, though it does start to haze if you keep reading it straight through.

In terms of scholarship, I wouldn't be qualified to catch mistakes, but the sheer quantity of information and the businesslike way it's put together, as well as the easy flow from one topic to the next, is amazing.

Ralley starts with the magic of antiquity (Greek and Roman) and follows it all the way through to modern day. It's only 164 pages, so obviously it's not an in-depth analysis, but as a starter guide it's ideal. There are a few insets of curses or photos, which seem to have been chosen with care (you could lard a book on magic with picture after picture of occult or magic-show artifacts) and a 'further reading' section.

The tone throughout is completely non-judgmental. Like Joe Friday, Ralley is interested in just the facts, ma'am.

[Any Length · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything you always wanted to know about Magic and everything you didn't know belonged in the topic of Magic has been covered in this book. Very informative.