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The Book: Geoffrey Durham Professional Secrets - A Life in Magic by, of course, Geoffrey Durham himself

Cost: Currently £25 plus P&P but after Feb 25th it goes up to £27.00 plus P&P

From: http://www.geoffreydurham.com - you'll need to answer a question to get into the right part of the site but it's well worth the effort!

Review: I wouldn't normally burst into print on a book until I'd read it through a couple of times but in view of the price offer I thought it best to tip you the wink as early as possible so here it is: .

The book starts with a great Foreword by Wayne Dobson and he sums up Geoffrey very well in Dante's words, 'all done by kindness'. Geoffrey is never going to be the 'in your face' 'hit and run' 'wham bam' street magish - thank goodness - instead he's the epitome of thoughtful, entertaining, and top quality magic. Over the many years he's been performing he's probably done more than most professionals, TV, stage, corporate, 'quiz' shows, theatre, consultancy - the list is nowhere near complete. On his website is a vid of his Newsaper routine, just a simple torn and restored but the presentation, and more importantly the timing, hoist it miles above many other effects.

The first pages of the book give a review of Geoffrey's career so far, the early days as an actor, the transition to magician, TV appearances, the Rise and Death of the Great Soprendo, Countdown, the mistakes along the way (which we've all done at one time or another!) and the list of 'names' he's appeared with or been associated with reads like a Who's who of magic. He's the proud holder of a Magic Circle Maskelyne Award and it couldn't have happened to a nicer chap!

After this are full descriptions of a dozen effects/routines, each one subdivided into Before You Start, Performance and Closing Thoughts. There are clear line illustrations throughout and the centre pages are a collection of photos from various stages in his career. In between the effects are extremely useful articles on performing, the rhythm of Magic, Patter, Practice, Rehearsal and several more which are all goldmines of tips, hints and pointers to the how and why of making your magic more entertaining. Briefly, the headings for the 12 effects are:
The Gypsy Thread, The Durham Hand Flasher (don't ask!), The Chinese Rice Bowls, Durham's Prediction Box, The Linking Wedding Rings, Thirty Years of Coins and Bottles, The Egg on the Fan, The Blocks, The Dictionary Test, The Gold Medallion, The Magic Square, The Celebrity Floats.

Overall: Highly recommended reading - 250 pages of priceless knowledge and advice - even at £27 plus P&P it's a steal.

Rating: A definite 9/10 and that'll probably increase after I've read through it more at leisure and savoured every morsel of it!

I once met Geoffrey back when he was performing as The Great Soprendo and he is a very nice man. I enjoy magic biographies and will buy this one - thanks for the review Mandrake - the forward is by Wayne Dobson whos own biog WD40 is an excellent read.

I'm working my way very carefully through the book at the moment - it's very readable as well as informative. The first effect, The Gypsy Thread is superbly explained. It's the old classic where a length of thread is broken off a card of thread, then broken further into several short prices, rolled into a ball and restored into one long thread again. It's all done at the fingertips, right under the spectators' noses if you like but the way Geoffrey describes and prepares it, it would, and does, also work extremely well in a stage routine. He describes what to buy, where to buy it, how to prepare it, how to perform it and supplies a great deal of reasoning as to what's being done, the pace and timing and so on. The only thing which would be better than this is to have Geoffrey in the room showing you personally! As something which can be carried wherever you go ready for an 'impromptu' performance, it's hard to beat and, as it's not a card trick, doesn't suffer from that spectator resistance which can sometimes happen when a deck is produced.

Chinese Rice Bowls, had me in fits of laughter as Geoffrey described his manic purchasing of all the various bowls under the sun only to be utterly disappointed by most of them. He also refers to his dream of one day having a stand at a convention or similar place where he'll put on display all the tat he's bought over the years and never had any use for. So refreshing to know we're not alone !

I practiced the Al Koran torned and restored cigarette paper for months. This effect is done at the fingertips under the nose of the spectator. Now I wait and wait for someone to start rolling a cigarette... and wait.... and wait. I havent seen someone roll a cigarette for a long long time

Im looking forward for my copy to arrive.

Recommended by Mandrake,I ordered it two days ago & it arrived today.
Breakfast was forgotten once I opened the pages. An hour later the only thing that went through my head was wow! wow! wow!

The details of each routine and the thinking behind them really puts, and I quote Time Out London, 'Geoffrey Durham in a class of his own'.

Apart from the routines those of you who buy the book, please read and read the advice acquired from years of thinking, creating, trying out and sheer experience.Follow it and you will become a better magician, a far better entertainer.

It's also a wonderfully easy read and will sit on my library shelves alongside my favourite books as Magic Of Robert Harbin,The Mind & Magic Of David Berglas, The Magic & Illusions of Lee Grabel, The Magic Of Alan Wakeling, The Tarbell Course and the Professor Hoffman books.
It won't however be allowed to rest there all the time as there is so much one can use & learn from its pages.

Wonderful that Geoffrey Durham has allowed us to look into and share his Professional Secrets.

Allen Tipton

I may well try to pick up a copy of this in Blackpool. Sounds like a thorougly good read.

Thanks for the review. I was thinking about getting this and you have swung me to place an order. Looking forward to a good read now. Cheers.

Thanks for the reviews. I ordered mine yesterday and got an almost instant reply email from Geoffrey himself!! Touch wood (he said reaching for a magic wand) it will arrive tomorrow. I will of course let you know what I think!

Cheers guys,

Sheridan

I was really excited when I read in Magicseen his book was due out as he was always an inspiration, a good professional who went through many transformations to arrive where he is today and the book doesnt dissapoint, if only for the annecdotes inside! Well worth a read!