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Serez-vous vous sortir de la toile inextricable de ces énigmes ? Harry Houdini est le plus célèbre magicien et roi de l'évasion de tous les temps. Au tournant du XXe siècle, il laissait des dizaines de milliers de spectateurs abasourdis devant son incroyable répertoire de tours : se dégager de chaînes et de cadenas, sortir d'une tombe après avoir été enterré vivant, se libérer d'une camisole de force en étant suspendu à une grue... 100 énigmes illustrées, inspirées des exploits légendaires d'Harry Houdini. Des casse-tête en chaîne ! Une mauvaise réponse pourrait bien vous entraîner dans un cercle vicieux... Vos neurones seront vos seuls atouts dans ces situations inextricables !

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. [editor summary]

Born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary, Harry Houdini (1874–1926) was a rabbi’s son who became one of the 20th century’s most famous performers. His gripping theatrical presentations and heart-stopping outdoor spectacles attracted unprecedented crowds, and his talent for self-promotion and provocation captured headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. This essays on the artist’s life and work documenting Houdini’s evolution and influence from the late 19th century to the present.[editor summary]

Charles Bertram was the quintessential British Society Entertainer of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. This 360 page saga of the magician who performed for royalty is a fascinating one. The full history from the early years after his birth in 1853 to his death in 1907 provide great insight into what it takes to be a renowned performer. As well as being a wonderful biography, reprinted in their entirety are the works of Bertram in the Modern Conjurer in 1902 as well as numerous magazine articles that most magicians would never see if it weren't for this great work. [editor summary]

Mike Caveney's Carter the Great may be the most detailed biography of a magician ever written. The book -- 375 oversized pages -- is beautifully produced, clearly written, and contains a wealth of material on Carter, his seven world tours, his illusions, his ownership of Martinka's, and the men and women who made up the world of magic from 1900 to 1936 or so. There are scores of photographs and illustrations, including 24 full color lithographs -- every Carter poster known to exist -- plus black and white illustrations of four posters that have vanished. [editor summary]

Edward Victor was one of the greatest magicians who ever lived, who affected the work of almost every close-up magician working today. Dai Vernon and Ed Marlo, among many others, owed a major debt to the work of Edward Victor. His creations include the famous Eleven-Card Trick, which inspired Vernon's Spellbound and Coins and Champagne Glass. Victor's sleights inspired Tilt, Convincing Control and many others.

Edward Victor's story and magic are fascinating. This enormous book brings together a fascinating collection of magic and biography. It contains most of Edward Victor's many tricks that he contributed to periodicals and other books, his marketed items as well as unpublished routines from his private notebooks. It traces the story of his life with many unique photographs and other bits of memorabilia that recall the glory of a golden age. There is even a chapter on his Shadowgraphy.

This magic volume series was originally designed as a correspondence course for budding magicians. Once they were collected and bound, the series has become an unparalleled reference standard for magicians. In its impact on the magic world, it is second perhaps in its influence on the art of magic only to Hoffman's Modern Magic, and many professional magicians have based their careers on the Tarbell Course.

The entire collection comprises more than one-hundred lessons in every aspect of magic including micromagic/close-up magic, escapology, mentalism and stage illusions. It is the most comprehensive literary work in magic history. The original five volumes contained sixty correspondence lessons with more than 3,000 illustrations.

In addition to teaching specific tricks, The Tarbell Course also teaches patter, marketing, the history of magic, ethics, advertising, routining, presentation, diction and elocution, magic theory, performance theory, acting, misdirection, timing and showmanship.

Volume 7 of the series was written by Harry Lorayne and compiled from contributions by other magicians; it is valued largely for its comprehensive index, subdivided by title, contributor, and properties, to the first seven volumes.

Volume 8 of the series was compiled and edited by Richard J. Kaufman and Steve Burton. It collected Harlan Tarbell's widely scattered and previously uncollected writings on magic, which Kaufman then fashioned into something resembling the first six volumes of the course. Since most of the book was written and illustrated by Tarbell, it is linked more closely to the rest of the course than Volume 7.

Set off on a magical history tour with Milbourne Christopher's classic Illustrated History of Magic. Follow the fascinating stories of the world's greatest conjurers, from sorcerer-priests in ancient Egypt, The Great Herrmann, Harry Kellar, Chung Ling Soo, Houdini, to modern miracle workers like David Copperfield, Siegfried and Roy, and David Blaine.

Filled with fantastic illustrations—poster art, photographs, illusion diagrams—this book is a feast for anyone interested in the conjuring arts. [editor summary]

Slydini was a genius of misdirection. Every movement and every word is deliberately chosen to direct the attention of spectators as well as to produce a graceful and engaging brand of close-up magic. Tony Slydini's influence among magicians was so strong that some of the best performers today, such as Tamariz, started out to imitate and copy every detail of Slydini's persona.

In this book you will find detailed descriptions of all effects which have become intimately associated with Slydini: Paper Balls over the Head; Knotted Silks; Helicopter Card; Coins through the Table; Cigarette Fantasy; and more.