Magic Tricks

I picked up this book this past week and have been working my way through it.

The book is a combination of different theories of magic, along with some ways to practice what you've just learned. There are also a few lists of sleights and principles at the end.

While some (though not all) of the information is familiar to me (e.g., found in Darwin Ortiz's 'Strong Magic' or 'Designing Miracles'; or also in Juan Tamariz's 'The Magic Rainbow', etc.), Giobbi's theories are "punchier", that is, they are shorter and to the point, and then frequently contain a practical example.

For example, he differentiates between active and passive sleights. An active sleight for cards would be a false shuffle where what you are doing is in plain view, whereas a passive sleight would be something like the pass which is something you must conceal or misdirect. He then gives examples of how to turn a pass into something more active.

So, rather than talk about a specific trick or sleight (which many magic books do), Giobbi first talks about the theory and then how to apply it to the trick. There's a lot of principles in the book so obviously these don't go into that much detail. But, more detail can be found in other books such as the ones I mention above.

All in all, while this is an expensive book, in my view it's well worth it. I've learned a lot just in the short period of time I've been reading it.

I would add that this book is probably for an Intermediate level of skill and above. When you're starting out in magic, you just learn the sleights and the tricks. But once you advance, you learn to optimize and simplify what you already know, and that's what this book is about.