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The mysterious art of magic has been a source of wonderment since before the time of Christ. Ranging from the supernatural practices of "black" magic to demonstrations of dazzling illusion, magic has been called on to conjure the evil eye, burn villages to the ground, and slice women in half.
From the astrology of the three wise men to David Blaine’s "stunts," Robert Ralley delves into this magical underworld and illuminates the dangerous balance between illusion, fraud, and wickedness that still exists today.
From the astrology of the three wise men to David Blaine’s "stunts," Robert Ralley delves into this magical underworld and illuminates the dangerous balance between illusion, fraud, and wickedness that still exists today.
- GenresNonfictionMagic
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First published June 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 13, 2022
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
This is like reading a thesis, but it is super interesting to me.
3 stars
March 1, 2018
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.
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.
October 4, 2012
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.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews