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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.

Twenty-three routines cards, coins, cups and balls devised by David Williamson, fully explained and with line drawings. Williamson's Wonders is the only book ever published on the magic of award-winning magician David Williamson (written by Richard Kaufman) and includes many tricks that have since been featured on national television by David Blaine. This book has many wonderful effects using coins, cards, cups and balls, silks, and a table knife.

The staggering amount of strong material in this thin but dense volume makes it a perennial favorite. Why? Because Williamson has a rare gift for plot innovations. Take the Card to Pocket plot. His “Fifty-one Cards to Pocket” is a modern twist, in which you cause every card EXCEPT a selected one to jump into your pocket. It’s simple yet ingenious. His Cups and Balls (using only two cups) is hilarious and deceptive. David’s “Three Card Trick” is also a modern classic and a fine effect where magic happens DESPITE your best efforts. [editor summary]