Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic

One of the very best magic books, and at the prices of secondhand volumes, it is amazing value. Useful to the beginner and to more advanced magicians, looking to add to their performance skills and repertoire.

I have the 'pocket' smaller version. This has all of that book's contents, plus a lot more; plus the same but much larger illustrations. This is good for the beginner (as I am).

Whilst this book is written for an audience from a long time ago the material within is still incredibly relevant. Starting from complete basics skills are developed at a good speed. Okay the presentation may not be suitable for today's Dynamo generation, but the skills you'll learn here are still the same skills modern performers use.

A bit dAted, needs re-writing to provide a more modern feel to the tricks. Some of the stuff is a little bit pointless and I would consider them as fillers. However in all fairness it provides an excellent range of tricks across the different spectrums of mAgic and is well worth the time invested, but you will need to think of a more modern context for some of these tricks to make them 21st century appropriate in terms of the patter provided to link the tricks to some sort of modern context for the participant.

This is the best tenner I have ever spent on a book. There are DVD's out there by famous names which cost £30 - £40 and don't contain a tenth of the material this book has to offer. Incredibly well illustrated, even better clarity in the step by step instructions. If you want to have a repertoire of tricks this is well worth it.

Probably the best general overview of the art of prestiditation, very clear and covers most areas, coin, card, rope magic with a very clear explanation of cups and balls routines.

I've seen some wild prices for this book at other sites, and from other sellers on this site. For the £10 I paid for it it's been a great purchase, I have really been eased into the world of magic very gently, it's been a great guide for a beginner and exactly what I was looking for. This contains magic for beginners and escorts alike, giving plenty of advice from simple card tricks to stage performances.

A classical book on magic of all branches. Comes with some black & white images. Heavy book, even as a paperback edition. Very encouraging approach on introducing magic to the beginner and the basic rules. Could do with some updates and maybe some pictures in colours in the next edition. This book goes beyond beginners' magic, as it also features bits of show and big stage magic.