Magic: The Basics

The Basics

by Michael Bailey

Magic: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to magic in world history and contemporary societies. Presenting Magic as a global phenomenon which has manifested in all human cultures, this book takes a thematic approach which explores the historical, social and cultural aspects of magic.



Key features include:



attempts to define magic either in universal or more particular terms, and to contrast it with other broad and potentially fluid categories such as religion and science;



an examination of different forms of magical practice and the purposes for which magic has been used;



debates about magic's effectiveness, its reality, and its morality;



an exploration of magic's association with certain social factors, such as gender, ethnicity and education, among others.



Offering a global perspective of magic from antiquity through to the modern era and including a glossary of key terms, suggestions for further reading and case studies throughout, Magic: The Basics is essential reading for anyone seeking to learn more about the academic study of magic.

192 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2017

About the author

Michael Bailey is a recipient and ten-time nominee of the Bram Stoker Award, a five-time Shirley Jackson Award nominee, and a three-time recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Award, along with several independent publishing accolades. He has written, edited, and published many books of various genres. His latest is Righting Writing, a nonfiction narrative used as curriculum for aspiring writers, and Silent Nightmares: Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year, an anthology co-edited with Chuck Palahniuk to be published by Simon & Schuster in fall of 2026. He is also the screenwriter for Madness and Writers, a creative documentary series about writers, and a producer for numerous film projects. Find him online at nettirw.com, or on social media @nettirw. He is represented by Lane Heymont of the Tobias Literary Agency.

Reviews

[MalaChi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an academic viewpoint about magic from a humanities perspective. It’s just a basic overview from a historian, but it covers philosophy, psychology, sociology, as well as history. It also discusses magic in Asia, Africa, and South America in addition to the North American and European focus a lot of books take. My favorite part of the whole thing is the resources and further reading section. I can cross off what I’ve already read and stock up on some new stuff I’m not familiar with. I even learned there are academic journals about magic out there… how did I not know this 😂 It’s not my favorite book, but it does give a decent review of magic from various perspectives, which makes it a good book if you want something to give you a springboard into certain topics. I'm happy to have this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get a more academic discussion of what magic is and how it's been viewed throughout history.