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aLittleMentalist Regular user Skagway, Alaska 111 Posts |
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On Nov 16, 2021, dclxvinyc wrote: I had never heard of clocking before reading it in the book. What a fun technique and a nice brain exercise!
aLittleMentalist
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magic.99 Regular user 181 Posts |
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On Oct 29, 2021, dirtyfoucault wrote: Richard Kaufman's office says that they will 'one day' reprint Mastering The Art of Magic...I wouldn't hold my breathe! |
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magic.99 Regular user 181 Posts |
My copy is still at my local magic shop awaiting a visit for pick-up....busy days.
In the meantime, can anyone share what 'Influence' is about? I am curious about ordering the special deck, but at $40 for the deck, I want to make sure I'm going to use it. Thank you. |
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DrIlluminatus New user 76 Posts |
@magic.99 wait till you get the book..... Most people cannot do influence as well as Eugene could .....
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Sashac Inner circle 1041 Posts |
REVIEW:
This is a beautiful book about a master magician, and master teacher. I wept (conversations section). It is revealing. It is honest. It really is beautiful. I believe You should know two things before buying it, however. One: I don't believe the magic (tricks) found in this book are great. Eugene talks about eliminating mud, yet some of the pieces are full of it (I'm thinking of Thought Sender, or even TTTCBE). There are great, worthwhile contributions (Influence, Destiny has a name, Two unrecorded gems) but most of the magic is only so-so- because better, more updated or "cleaner" presentations, frames or methods can be found elsewhere- including in some of Eugene's Books (The Experience of Magic, the Performance of Close Up Magic or the excellent Mastering the Art of Magic). Even Eugene's work on Equivoque, or TTTCBE is not revolutionary, when placed into context of Dobson, Maven, Giobbi or more. So there is better Magic (tricks) elsewhere. Many agree that the GOLD is in the essays- and there is a LOT of gold. 2) The book also suffers the love its author (understandably) has for Eugene. That feeling- that beautiful, respectful love- comes across- and is touching- because it says so much about the man and his student(s). The trick part, is that the book feels like it was written for friends of Eugene- not for future generations of magicians- and this creates an... indulgent reading/writing experience. Singularly, who would most benefit from aforementioned books. Overall, a beautiful gift From Beyond, and an incredible, honourable effort from Mr Hass. Thank You, Eugene. |
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magicfish Inner circle 7004 Posts |
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On Nov 30, 2021, Sashac wrote: You are entitled to your opinion, but my goodness what absolute nonsense. You obviously never saw Eugene perform these effects in real life. They were/are miraculous. |
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Seth speaks Inner circle New Mexico 1249 Posts |
So to sum up, Sashac--you feel, despite the author's "honourable effort," that: 1) the tricks in the book just aren't very good, 2) the essays are beautiful, and 3) it won't be useful to magicians because there is far too much love shown for Eugene.
Hmm. Fascinating opinion! Quote:
On Nov 30, 2021, Sashac wrote: |
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BAGWIZ Loyal user San Francisco Bay Area 234 Posts |
I’m on my second read through of this book and I have to say that after 55 years in magic, this is the very first time I’ve felt truly validated in some of my own long-held beliefs and feelings about our art. I wish I’d taken the opportunities I’ve no doubt had over the years, to meet and talk to Eugene Burger. His perspectives on the importance of establishing relationships, creating value and making our performances seem truly magical, really resonate with me. I especially appreciate and identify with his views that complex sleight of hand, simply for the sake of proving knuckle-busting ability, is not necessarily entertaining magic.
I wish I’d had Eugene to talk me in off the ledge years ago when I got into a heated (and very nasty) email exchange with the late, great Ricky Jay. I’d attended a live performance of his show “Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants” and afterward I received an email asking for feedback on the show. I said I loved Ricky’s work but felt that, as a magic performance, it missed the mark. To my great surprise, Ricky Jay himself responded and demanded to know how I could say such an awful thing. Naturally I was a bit taken aback, but I told him that after watching him spend an hour demonstrating his mastery at shuffle controls, dealing from anywhere in the deck, controlling chosen cards, etc., it seemed perfectly plausible that he could physically do ANYTHING with a deck of cards and as a result, his attempts at presenting a card effect as “magic” seemed totally ridiculous. In effect, Jay’s intentional exposure of his prowess with cards, completely negated any illusion of magic. Smart as I’m sure Ricky Jay was, he just couldn’t seem to grasp this concept and ultimately justified himself by trying to denigrate me. Had Eugene Burger been part of the conversation, he might have helped Ricky see his show through the eyes of a spectator who was extremely impressed with his skills as a card manipulator but less than excited about his skills as a magical entertainer/performer. In short, I think Eugene’s two final books are treasures and “must reads”whether one performs any of his material or not. These books are not about the tricks. They are about what makes a magician. There is much to be learned from them and in my opinion, they are now arguably the two most important books in my fairly extensive library. |
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Sanderr Regular user Netherlands 198 Posts |
As someone new to Eugene Burger books, and as someone interested in close-up/card magic but with fairly limited technical skills (still working on getting a good DL), would this be the best Burger book to get first? Or would Mastering the Art of Magic be a better buy?
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Joshua J Inner circle 1014 Posts |
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On Jul 27, 2023, Sanderr wrote: Please don't take this the wrong way but maybe buy some material to develop those technical skills rather than this. Modern coin magic, Royal road for cards or Annemann and Corinda for mentalism. What are you interested in performing if you want more specific advice? I think Strange ceremonies is a good start for Eugene's material on the bizarre but others may suggest others. |
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Sanderr Regular user Netherlands 198 Posts |
I do have a bunch of those books/DVDs, and you're right, I should spend more time developing technical skills rather than reading books. As for Burger, I am mostly interested in close-up card stuff (I know this is not the card magic part of the forum, but since this topic is about one of the books I was considering, I decided to post here). I saw some videos of him doing some "no-fluff" beautiful card work, and that is where I got interested in his books. Final Secrets seems to have a lot of card magic, but I also see Mastering the Art of Magic being recommended often (of course it is more general than just card magic).
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Chris.k New user 51 Posts |
The book offer some great effects that can be done with ordinary and gaffed deck.Some of them like TTCBE need practice and rehearsal but when you done that you will have a gem in your hand
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