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The Secret History of Magic: The True Story of the Deceptive Art
Pull back the curtain on the real history of magic - and discover why magic really matters
If you read a standard history of magic, you learn that it begins in ancient Egypt, with the resurrection of a goose in front of the Pharaoh. You discover how magicians were tortured and killed during the age of witchcraft. You are told how conjuring tricks were used to quell rebellious colonial natives. The history of magic is full of such stories, which turn out not to be true. Behind the smoke and mirrors, however, lies the real story of magic.
It is a history of people from humble roots, who made and lost fortunes, and who deceived kings and queens. In order to survive, they concealed many secrets, yet they revealed some and they stole others. They engaged in deception, exposure, and betrayal, in a quest to make the impossible happen. They managed to survive in a world in which a series of technological wonders appeared, which previous generations would have considered magical. Even today, when we now take the most sophisticated technology for granted, we can still be astonished by tricks that were performed hundreds of years ago.
The Secret History of Magic reveals how this was done. It is about why magic matters in a world that no longer seems to have a place for it, but which desperately needs a sense of wonder.
If you read a standard history of magic, you learn that it begins in ancient Egypt, with the resurrection of a goose in front of the Pharaoh. You discover how magicians were tortured and killed during the age of witchcraft. You are told how conjuring tricks were used to quell rebellious colonial natives. The history of magic is full of such stories, which turn out not to be true. Behind the smoke and mirrors, however, lies the real story of magic.
It is a history of people from humble roots, who made and lost fortunes, and who deceived kings and queens. In order to survive, they concealed many secrets, yet they revealed some and they stole others. They engaged in deception, exposure, and betrayal, in a quest to make the impossible happen. They managed to survive in a world in which a series of technological wonders appeared, which previous generations would have considered magical. Even today, when we now take the most sophisticated technology for granted, we can still be astonished by tricks that were performed hundreds of years ago.
The Secret History of Magic reveals how this was done. It is about why magic matters in a world that no longer seems to have a place for it, but which desperately needs a sense of wonder.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published July 17, 2018
63 people are currently reading
807 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 1, 2018
I'm giving this 3 stars but barely. Barely. The topic interests me, the blurb sounded great, and both authors have published before. (My edition says authors are Peter Lamont and Jim Steinmeyer--the first of whom had a NYTimes book of the year about this topic). But boy was this executed poorly. The first half is really dreadful. So bad I actually kept reading in disbelief. It says nothing, and yet says it over and over again. Here's an example:
This is the purpose of magic: to astonish us. We think we know what is going on. We think
we know what is possible. But the magician shows us that we do not really know what is
going on and that the impossible is possible. We know, of course, that it is an illusion, but
that is not the point. The point is that as we watch a magic trick, we experience the
impossible happening. We know that the event is not real, but in that moment, the
experience is real. In one sense magic is not real, but in another sense, it is. It provides
a real experience of astonishment by showing us something that we know is an illusion
and still seems genuinely impossible. Magic has survived, since ancient times, by
providing this experience.
Anyone else feel like they just read a very poorly researched students' paper that is struggling to hit a word minimum? And what is worse, the immediately preceding paragraph had ALREADY said this. And the whole first half of the book is filled with this repetitive and wholly uninformative nonsense.
Once the book begins to go into some depth (starting with Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin) it become readable and interesting. The last chapter was clearly written by our poor word-limit intern and reverts to sounding like a college paper finished at 6 a.m. Honestly, skip the last chapter.
And if you want a SPOILER: the last sentence of the above quoted para? That's the secret, according to these authors. So you should read this book only if you want a half decent summary of some key players in the development of magic (from a largely Euro/American perspective) from the mid 1800s to the present. It's interesting, but you need to wade through a lot to get there.
This is the purpose of magic: to astonish us. We think we know what is going on. We think
we know what is possible. But the magician shows us that we do not really know what is
going on and that the impossible is possible. We know, of course, that it is an illusion, but
that is not the point. The point is that as we watch a magic trick, we experience the
impossible happening. We know that the event is not real, but in that moment, the
experience is real. In one sense magic is not real, but in another sense, it is. It provides
a real experience of astonishment by showing us something that we know is an illusion
and still seems genuinely impossible. Magic has survived, since ancient times, by
providing this experience.
Anyone else feel like they just read a very poorly researched students' paper that is struggling to hit a word minimum? And what is worse, the immediately preceding paragraph had ALREADY said this. And the whole first half of the book is filled with this repetitive and wholly uninformative nonsense.
Once the book begins to go into some depth (starting with Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin) it become readable and interesting. The last chapter was clearly written by our poor word-limit intern and reverts to sounding like a college paper finished at 6 a.m. Honestly, skip the last chapter.
And if you want a SPOILER: the last sentence of the above quoted para? That's the secret, according to these authors. So you should read this book only if you want a half decent summary of some key players in the development of magic (from a largely Euro/American perspective) from the mid 1800s to the present. It's interesting, but you need to wade through a lot to get there.
February 1, 2020
"They completely miss the point of magic, because magic is not a puzzle. Puzzles are supposed to be figured out. That is the purpose of puzzles. The purpose of magic is the seemingly impossible."
I can't pretend that magic tricks play an important role in my life, yet I'm curious about them. They're magic, after all! Inexplicable, fascinating and seemingly impossible. When I saw this book lurking next to one I was about to pick up from the library, I was too curious to resist not taking it home with me.
The Secret History of Magic is what it claims to be: an retold history of how magic tricks came about, covering everything from origin myths to famous magicians like Robert-Houdini and Harry Houdini. And did you know, that hocus-pocus derives from the stage name of one of the first practicing magicians who used just that as a name?
"The ideas about what is possible and what is not have changed. And yet, as they have changed over the centuries and we have become harder to impress, magicians have continued to astonish us with magic tricks. The story of magic is a story of how, no matter what we take for granted, we can always be astonished."
I literally know nothing about magic tricks, who practices them and where they come from, which means this book did teach me a lot of new things. I can imagine that if you're already fairly knowledgable in this field, you will just read stories you're already familiar with in here.
While interesting, it's never quite gripping. I enjoyed and was curious about the book, but at no point it got me truly excited or glued to its pages. Partly it's the writings fault, which is weirdly repetitive and occasionally distractingly simple. I believe that the authors are passionate about their subject, yet it unfortunately doesn't really come across that way in their writing.
"We know, of course, that this is an illusion, but that is not the point. The point is that as we watch a magic trick, we experience the impossible happening. We know that the event is not real, but in that moment, the experience is real."
I'm not sure if I would recommend this to anyone, unless you're sort of curious about the development of magic tricks across the centuries. The book isn't really for you if you already know about the subject or don't really get magic tricks and would like to understand what's so fascinating about them, because passion is something that isn't part of the package here.
I can't pretend that magic tricks play an important role in my life, yet I'm curious about them. They're magic, after all! Inexplicable, fascinating and seemingly impossible. When I saw this book lurking next to one I was about to pick up from the library, I was too curious to resist not taking it home with me.
The Secret History of Magic is what it claims to be: an retold history of how magic tricks came about, covering everything from origin myths to famous magicians like Robert-Houdini and Harry Houdini. And did you know, that hocus-pocus derives from the stage name of one of the first practicing magicians who used just that as a name?
"The ideas about what is possible and what is not have changed. And yet, as they have changed over the centuries and we have become harder to impress, magicians have continued to astonish us with magic tricks. The story of magic is a story of how, no matter what we take for granted, we can always be astonished."
I literally know nothing about magic tricks, who practices them and where they come from, which means this book did teach me a lot of new things. I can imagine that if you're already fairly knowledgable in this field, you will just read stories you're already familiar with in here.
While interesting, it's never quite gripping. I enjoyed and was curious about the book, but at no point it got me truly excited or glued to its pages. Partly it's the writings fault, which is weirdly repetitive and occasionally distractingly simple. I believe that the authors are passionate about their subject, yet it unfortunately doesn't really come across that way in their writing.
"We know, of course, that this is an illusion, but that is not the point. The point is that as we watch a magic trick, we experience the impossible happening. We know that the event is not real, but in that moment, the experience is real."
I'm not sure if I would recommend this to anyone, unless you're sort of curious about the development of magic tricks across the centuries. The book isn't really for you if you already know about the subject or don't really get magic tricks and would like to understand what's so fascinating about them, because passion is something that isn't part of the package here.
July 12, 2018
Got a free copy from a giveaway. Sadly, the book was not as interesting or entertaining as I thought it was going to be. I spent a large portion of the beginning of the book thinking that the author seemed like a student who had to write a paper for a subject that they didn't enjoy/choose to take and didn't work very hard on and just repeated the same stuff over and over in different ways just to reach the professor's required length.
July 23, 2018
As a writer and scholar of magic, I am blown away by what Jim Steinmeyer and Peter Lamont have done in this book. Few new books illuminate what we think of as "settled" history in our field. This book blows up the settled history of magic, and our craft will be all the better for it. To evolve and learn, the past has to be excavated anew. The authors have excavated, and the rest of us will learn and magic will evolve. Bravo.
November 1, 2018
Love secrets? History? Magic? Then 'The Secret History of Magic' should indicate a slam dunk, right?
Classic misdirection.
If you are new to the origin stories of magic, this does not seem like the intro text. Interesting stuff like the first 'sawed in half' acts, the surprisingly recent 'rabbit from hat' meme, are included here. But the presentation feels more like a treasure hunt, to be searched for.
Classic misdirection.
If you are new to the origin stories of magic, this does not seem like the intro text. Interesting stuff like the first 'sawed in half' acts, the surprisingly recent 'rabbit from hat' meme, are included here. But the presentation feels more like a treasure hunt, to be searched for.
August 7, 2018
Ok. Not as good as the NY Times led me to believe.
October 18, 2018
atrocious writing, which is a surprise because Steinmeyer is a decent writer. Lots of verbiage saying nothing.
July 15, 2022
A decent editor would have made this a better read, as it contains some interesting history and information without revealing any specific methods.
May 1, 2020
— 4.5 ✨
August 30, 2025
A fascinating look at the general history of magic. Very cool.
July 25, 2022
The joy of reading history is that we repeatedly see our current struggles and ourselves in the past and can get glimpses of how things were resolved or exacerbated. There is a reason why the saying goes if we fail to learn from history that we are doomed to repeat it. Initially, I was not sure The Secret History of Magic would be as relevant as it appeared very focused. I was glad to be proven wrong.
The book takes you on a journey of the evolving role of magic in through the last few hundred years. As psychology and science developed, so did the audiences understanding of magic and so did the magicians understanding of the audience. So, as science and psychology defined the scope of what was possible and how the mind works, magic adapted to continue to exploit these boundaries. All of that is covered as magicians of their own times – Victorian, Golden Age, Television Age, etc. – adapt and continue to find ways to earn a living with their art. The authors leave no doubt of the supported argument that magic is a performance art. For magic, like all art, perception is key. With magic, the difference is that deception is also necessary.
The exploration of the history of deception is where the historical lessons of the book become most relevant to the modern struggle to understand the delineation between what is seen and what is to be believed. Lamont and Steinmeyer remind us, “We tend to believe what we are told and to see what we expect to see. We notice things that confirm our beliefs and interpret new information in line with our existing theories. As a result, we sometimes believe in things that are not really there.” Yep, that exactly relates to our daily bafflement of the internet, cable news, politicians, and media outlets.
I think what they want us to walk away with, is that in magic, we get that we are being deceived. We know that they will attempt to deceive us, and when the good magician succeeds, we are happily surprised, even if we have multiple thoughts of how the trick could have been achieved. With the world knocking at our screens and our brains for attention, we are being asked to trust. We find out we are being deceived only if we can step back enough to broaden our vision beyond our narrow daily vision, our confirmation bias, and our personal experiences. And that is hard. And it takes time. We should learn from the history of magic that our brains and our eyes are going to need to be questioned not when we are being entertained by magicians, but when we are dealing with the real tricksters out there. Enjoy the talented art of magic where you can be safely deceived to everyone’s enjoyment. Beware of how your mind and eyes may be deceiving you elsewhere. Those other folks, like a good magician, know how to narrow your focus, divert your attention, and make an elephant disappear right in front of you.
The book takes you on a journey of the evolving role of magic in through the last few hundred years. As psychology and science developed, so did the audiences understanding of magic and so did the magicians understanding of the audience. So, as science and psychology defined the scope of what was possible and how the mind works, magic adapted to continue to exploit these boundaries. All of that is covered as magicians of their own times – Victorian, Golden Age, Television Age, etc. – adapt and continue to find ways to earn a living with their art. The authors leave no doubt of the supported argument that magic is a performance art. For magic, like all art, perception is key. With magic, the difference is that deception is also necessary.
The exploration of the history of deception is where the historical lessons of the book become most relevant to the modern struggle to understand the delineation between what is seen and what is to be believed. Lamont and Steinmeyer remind us, “We tend to believe what we are told and to see what we expect to see. We notice things that confirm our beliefs and interpret new information in line with our existing theories. As a result, we sometimes believe in things that are not really there.” Yep, that exactly relates to our daily bafflement of the internet, cable news, politicians, and media outlets.
I think what they want us to walk away with, is that in magic, we get that we are being deceived. We know that they will attempt to deceive us, and when the good magician succeeds, we are happily surprised, even if we have multiple thoughts of how the trick could have been achieved. With the world knocking at our screens and our brains for attention, we are being asked to trust. We find out we are being deceived only if we can step back enough to broaden our vision beyond our narrow daily vision, our confirmation bias, and our personal experiences. And that is hard. And it takes time. We should learn from the history of magic that our brains and our eyes are going to need to be questioned not when we are being entertained by magicians, but when we are dealing with the real tricksters out there. Enjoy the talented art of magic where you can be safely deceived to everyone’s enjoyment. Beware of how your mind and eyes may be deceiving you elsewhere. Those other folks, like a good magician, know how to narrow your focus, divert your attention, and make an elephant disappear right in front of you.
July 16, 2025
The Secret History of Magic: The True Story of the Deceptive Art by Peter Lamont and Jim Steinmeyer was one of those unexpected Amazon finds that ended up feeling like pulling a rabbit out of a hat—only, the rabbit was made of secrets, smoke, and a staggering amount of historical insight. I bought it out of casual curiosity, but what I got was a thoroughly engaging, smartly narrated dive into the world of illusion, misdirection, and theatrical deception.
First off, this isn’t your typical pop-history fluff. It’s rich, but never heavy. Scholarly, but slick. The authors—both experts in the world of magic, both insiders—take us on a timeline tour from ancient sleight-of-hand in Egyptian temples to Houdini’s handcuffs, through Renaissance conjuring, to Las Vegas stages. They stitch together anecdotes, biographies, and cultural shifts with flair that any illusionist would envy. But here’s the kicker—they don’t just tell you what happened. They tell you why it matters.
What I adored most was how they position magic as a mirror to society—how each era’s brand of deception reflects what people wanted to believe. Whether it was the mystical Orientalism of the 19th century, the rise of scientific rationalism in the 20th, or the postmodern self-aware illusions of today, the book shows that magic is never just about tricks—it’s about trust, curiosity, and how easily we all want to be fooled.
There’s something deliciously meta about reading this book. It’s a history of deception that itself plays with layers of truth and performance. You’ll come out of it knowing who invented the rabbit-from-hat gag, why magicians wore tuxedos, how spiritualism and stage magic collided and collapsed—and, perhaps, why the best illusions are often about revealing just enough, but never too much.
By the end, I was thoroughly charmed, slightly more skeptical, and full of admiration—for the performers and for Lamont and Steinmeyer’s deep, deft storytelling.
If you’ve ever wondered why magic entrances us even when we know it’s not "real"—this book has answers.
And like any good magic trick, it leaves you grinning, a little dazzled, and wanting more.
First off, this isn’t your typical pop-history fluff. It’s rich, but never heavy. Scholarly, but slick. The authors—both experts in the world of magic, both insiders—take us on a timeline tour from ancient sleight-of-hand in Egyptian temples to Houdini’s handcuffs, through Renaissance conjuring, to Las Vegas stages. They stitch together anecdotes, biographies, and cultural shifts with flair that any illusionist would envy. But here’s the kicker—they don’t just tell you what happened. They tell you why it matters.
What I adored most was how they position magic as a mirror to society—how each era’s brand of deception reflects what people wanted to believe. Whether it was the mystical Orientalism of the 19th century, the rise of scientific rationalism in the 20th, or the postmodern self-aware illusions of today, the book shows that magic is never just about tricks—it’s about trust, curiosity, and how easily we all want to be fooled.
There’s something deliciously meta about reading this book. It’s a history of deception that itself plays with layers of truth and performance. You’ll come out of it knowing who invented the rabbit-from-hat gag, why magicians wore tuxedos, how spiritualism and stage magic collided and collapsed—and, perhaps, why the best illusions are often about revealing just enough, but never too much.
By the end, I was thoroughly charmed, slightly more skeptical, and full of admiration—for the performers and for Lamont and Steinmeyer’s deep, deft storytelling.
If you’ve ever wondered why magic entrances us even when we know it’s not "real"—this book has answers.
And like any good magic trick, it leaves you grinning, a little dazzled, and wanting more.
November 29, 2022
The history and the myths of magic - but not the secrets - are told in this entertaining book. From the ancients to David Blaine, this is a pretty comprehensive look and what magic was and is. And what it is is people deceiving people who know they're being deceived.
Interesting enough, what it WASN'T was confusing to antiquity. They did believe in miracles and, later, witchcraft, but they also knew what entertainment was, and they appreciated magicians for their craft. Tales of magicians being run out of town or executed as devil worshipers are just that - tales.
The author says the common notion of simpletons fearing magicians was conjured - sorry - in the late 1800s, around the time of Freud and Darwin, when people were certain they were smarter than ever, certainly smarter than THOSE dumb people who didn't know a trick when they saw one.
A very good survey of the personalities that made the art.
Interesting enough, what it WASN'T was confusing to antiquity. They did believe in miracles and, later, witchcraft, but they also knew what entertainment was, and they appreciated magicians for their craft. Tales of magicians being run out of town or executed as devil worshipers are just that - tales.
The author says the common notion of simpletons fearing magicians was conjured - sorry - in the late 1800s, around the time of Freud and Darwin, when people were certain they were smarter than ever, certainly smarter than THOSE dumb people who didn't know a trick when they saw one.
A very good survey of the personalities that made the art.
August 1, 2019
A good general introduction to the subject.
Although occasionally infected with Cultural Marxism (critical theory meets postmodernism with a view to Identitarianism) this does not overwhelm it.
Not a history of Wicca but of various forms of stage magic.
One quibble would be is that it does not spend near enough time on Ancient Magic and how it grew out of primal culture needs to control their environment.
Still, a solid introduction to the history of magic.
Worth a read.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Although occasionally infected with Cultural Marxism (critical theory meets postmodernism with a view to Identitarianism) this does not overwhelm it.
Not a history of Wicca but of various forms of stage magic.
One quibble would be is that it does not spend near enough time on Ancient Magic and how it grew out of primal culture needs to control their environment.
Still, a solid introduction to the history of magic.
Worth a read.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
September 3, 2020
An exhaustive (and sometimes exhausting) history of conjurors, illusionists, mindreaders, escape artists, and anyone in show business that calls themselves a magician. While much of the book feels like it could have been more concise, especially the first and last chapter, which seems to gratuitously repeat the main thesis of the book to the point of almost writing in circles, there are some fun factoids and magic trivia that makes it a decent read for the curious (such as myself) and a must-read for aspiring magicians.
December 5, 2022
A better title would be, "Some Stuff About Magic". And I get it, it's a huge topic and it would be impossible to really thoroughly cover every nuance. But it felt disjointed, and while I did glean a few interesting thoughts I will come back to, overall I just didn't love this as much as I expected to.
February 6, 2025
In parts, desperately badly written, repetitive and suggestive of the need to generate enough words to meet a requirement. Not at all what I expect from Jim Steinmeyer, whose erudition and insight have produced some excellent entertaining works in the past. I suspect there is a rather dichotomous standard between the two authors. Very disappointed.
November 3, 2025
The information contained within this book will not change your life. You may consider it a form of historical entertainment of sorts.
It is a book on the history of magic as an art, not as an occult practice.
There are definitely many interesting tidbits of information, but I cannot imagine many scenarios in life where they may come in useful.
It is a book on the history of magic as an art, not as an occult practice.
There are definitely many interesting tidbits of information, but I cannot imagine many scenarios in life where they may come in useful.
September 16, 2018
Decently diverting, but not much new information if you know anything about magic history (not so secret) and too much new information if you know nothing about magic history (incohesive to the point of incoherent.) Both authors are great magic historians but just....read their other books instead.
April 20, 2022
The Secret History of Magic... focused on the major players in the field of magic, their various titles/ names throughout the ages, and the tricks of deception that keep audiences intrigued. I thought there may be more secrets of tricks revealed instead of illustrating just the memory of the men and women in the magic industry. Great for trivia and history lovers.
July 30, 2018
great book and interesting insights
October 5, 2018
Well researched revisionist history of magicians. Mostly of interest to magicians who have read all the classic histories of magic.
November 1, 2018
Lots of information
There was a lot of info in this book. Some was interesting, some was dry but for the most part it was good.
There was a lot of info in this book. Some was interesting, some was dry but for the most part it was good.
April 9, 2019
Step aside! This is the true history. And it will contain data about unwritten sources based on the testimony of deceptive persons. True indeed. Or just a failed novel with way too many characters.
October 30, 2022
Didn’t get 50 pages in before I realized I’m not as interested in magic as I thought I was.
November 2, 2024
more informative than interesting
June 22, 2025
At times extremely dry, at other times fascinating. Definitely informative, but not great as a leisure read.
December 30, 2025
An in-depth history lesson on magic tricks and the philosophy of what it means to be a magician. Even what you think you know is a trick and there is always more than what meets the eye.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews