Now in paperback comes Jim Steinmeyer's astonishing chronicle of half a century of illusionary innovation, backstage chicanery, and keen competition within the world of magicians. Lauded by today's finest magicians and critics, Hiding the Elephant is a cultural history of the efforts among legendary conjurers to make things materialize, levitate, and disappear. Steinmeyer unveils the secrets and life stories of the fascinating personalities behind optical marvels such as floating ghosts interacting with live actors, disembodied heads, and vanishing ladies. He demystifies Pepper's Ghost, Harry...
Now in paperback comes Jim Steinmeyer's astonishing chronicle of half a century of illusionary innovation, backstage chicanery, and keen competition w...
In a biography woven from equal parts enchantment and mystery, master illusion designer and today's foremost magic historian, Jim Steinmeyer, unveils the astonishing secrets behind the enigmatic performer Chung Ling Soo, the "Marvelous Chinese Conjurer" a magician whose life of intrigue and daring remains unparalleled to this day. He learned his art during a revolutionary era in show business, just as minstrel, circus, and variety saloons were being stirred together and distilled into a heady new concoction: vaudeville. Soo's infamous death in 1918 astonished the world: he was killed during a...
In a biography woven from equal parts enchantment and mystery, master illusion designer and today's foremost magic historian, Jim Steinmeyer, unveils ...
From the author of "Hiding the Elephant" and "The Glorious Deception" comes a collection of five essays that shows how the great stage illusions were integrally products of their time, based on the traditions and fashions of the people, and the offspring of the incredible, inventive personalities who brought them to the stage. Like no other author, Jim Steinmeyer gives us insight into the timeless appeal of magic. His human subjects include such characters as Steele MacKaye, Maskelyne, David Devant, P.T. Selbit, Horace Goldin, and Charles Morritt. Illusions he discusses include: The Mascot...
From the author of "Hiding the Elephant" and "The Glorious Deception" comes a collection of five essays that shows how the great stage illusions were ...
Now in paperback, the acclaimed biography of the magician's magician, Howard Thurston.
"There is no greater expert on the history of stage magicians than Jim Steinmeyer. His deep knowledge of the subject, combined with a remarkable mastery of magical know-how, makes this book a smart, fantastic read. I can't recommend it enough "
--Neil Patrick Harris
"Steinmeyer produces an engaging full-length biography of the man Orson Welles called 'the master'...Steinmeyer recovers, from the shadows of his greatest rival, a figure whose grandiose productions...
Now in paperback, the acclaimed biography of the magician's magician, Howard Thurston.
The acclaimed author of The Last Greatest Magician in the World sleuths out literature's iconic vampire, uncovering the source material from folklore and history, to personas including Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman behind Bram Stoker's lord of the undead. Praise for Who Was Dracula? A fantastic, well-documented story. Library Journal (starred review) A] well-researched and entertaining take on Dracula s origin story. Publishers Weekly Who Was Dracula? chronicles the misadventures of Bram Stoker and his numerous friends and...
The acclaimed author of The Last Greatest Magician in the World sleuths out literature's iconic vampire, uncovering the source material from...
