In the 1960 George Pal film "The Time Machine" the leading character, H. Geroge Wells, played by Rod Taylor, returns to January 5, 1900 to tell his friends of his time traveling adventures. George's friends scoff at his story and leave; only Filby (his best friend) believes him. George leaves again in the time machine. Filby and George's housekeeper notice three books are missing from George's library which he apparently took with him. They, and the viewer, are left to speculate which three books were removed.

If you had to take three books to teach someone how to do sleight-of-hand magic - which three books would you take (or use) to teach with?

It is a "given" that the person has natural ability and is an entertainer.

Just name the three books that you'd use to train or teach them.

Is there a prize for the best list? hee hee

Sorry, but no.

This is a question I have asked people from all walks of life. Film Directors, Composers, Artists, Engineers, Clowns, Clergymen and women, Bakers, Writers, Teachers, etc.

And yes I have asked a few pretty successful magicians.

It is always interesting to see what books each person holds dear in their chosen field.

Many times one or more of the books is not about the subject matter they are a specialist in.

Learn Magic by Henry Hay. Expert Card Technique, by Hugard/Braue, Dai Vernon Book of Magic, by Ganson.

"The Time Machine" was originally a novel written by H. G. Wells. Today, when people say they are a fan of "The Lord of the Rings," they usually mean the movies, not the books. We are fast entering that world of H. G. Wells where books no longer exist. My three books would be "The Dai Vernon Book of Magic," Roth's "Expert Coin Magic," and "Expert Card Technique."

Gary Ouellet's Close Up Illusions
Dai Vernon Book of Magic
Royal Road to Card Magic

My three books would be: Respect for acting, magic and showmanship and hugard's magic manual

Were I to travel in time, or be the new Professor of Illusions at Hogwarts, the three references I would take would be:

The Amateur Magician's Handbook (Henry Hay)
Encyclopedia of Stage Illusions (Burling Hull; Ormond McGill)
Magical Renaissance, Volume I: A Timeline of Magic (Malaki Dracwin)

Amateur Magician's Handbook is the first book that I recommend that my apprentices purchase - a great collection of prestidigitation.
Encyclopedia of Stage Illusions is a book that had copyright issues, but is still a treasure trove of illusionary information.
Admittedly, the last is by me, but I would not want to be without the decade + of research of over 52,000 years of magic.

The three books I would take are:
1. The Amateur Magicians Handbook by Henry Hays
2. Dai Vernon Book of Magic
3. The New Modern Coin Magic by J. B. Bobo
With these books one will learn sleight-of-hand, routining, timing, and how to be a good entertainer/magician.

I would take:-
The Book Of Secrets by John Carney
Conjuring by Jim Steinmeyer
Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz

The three that come to mind are:
Amateur Magicians Hand Book - Hay
Classic secrets of Magic - Elliot
Routined Manipulation - Ganson

Should cover all the basics along with routines to use the sleight of hand learned.

The Amateur Magicians Handbook/ Hay
The Dai Vernon Book of Magic/ Ganson
Classic Secrets of Magic/ Elliot

The book(s) of Wonder
Scripting magic
Carneycopia

Possibly a bit of a cheat as 2 of my choices have 2 volumes

My first choice is easy: Routined Manipulations 1 and 2 by Lewis Ganson, the best starter for manipulative magic.

Secondly: The Amateur Magicians Handbook by Hay, this is a vastly better book than the title might suggest.

Finally: Basic Card Technique by Anthony Norman, for sleights and techniques it's far better than the over hyped Royal Road. The A.N. top change is almost worth the price of admission alone!

Books I would recommend are:

Royal Road to Card Magic
Bobo's Modern Coin Magic
Mark Wilson Complete Course of Magic..

mG

Expert at the Card Table
Bobo's Modern Coin Magic
Now You See It, Now You Don't by Bill Tarr (I say this because I feel it would be cheating to say "bring the collected edition of Tarbell's course")