Prepare to Be Amazed: The Geniuses of Modern Magic

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

This slim volume, in addition to providing a history of magic from
ancient times to the present, is a “who’s who” of the brightest
and best purveyors of this art.

Beginning with Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin (1805–1871), the first of
the “modern” magicians (as opposed to the sorcerer-street magicians
prior to this time), and arranged chronologically, the famous and
lesser-known are all profiled: Adelaide Hermann, Chung Ling Soo (who
appeared to catch bullets fired at him in midair), The Great Lafayette,
Harry Houdini (named after his idol, Robert-Houdin, and renowned for his
daring and dangerous escapes), P.C. Sorcar, Harry Blackstone,
Winnipeg-born Doug Henning, Siegfried and Roy (known for their white
tigers), and finally David Copperfield, who, with his use of technology,
has taken illusions to new heights.

A chapter is devoted to each “genius.” Each is liberally
illustrated with line drawings, photographs, and reproductions of
posters and newspaper clippings. At the end of each mini-biography are
detailed instructions for performing a trick in the style of that
magician. For example, one of Doug Henning’s trademarks was levitating
people; thus his chapter provides instructions for a trick in which a
small amount of water rolled up in a $5.00 bill appears to defy the laws
of gravity.

Well researched, the book is fully indexed and includes a comprehensive
list of resources. Readers in junior and intermediate grades, especially
budding young magicians, will find this book with its interactive format
both entertaining and informative. Highly recommended.