I hope there is not a review already of this book. I used the search feature and nothing appeared. So, here is my review of this masterpiece.
Title: Expert Card Technique
Authors: Jean Hugard, Frederick Braue
Cost: $11.95
Abstract: This is an oldie, but a goodie. Dover have published the second edition (1944) of the book and it is outstanding. The number of sleights that you will learn and use is what makes this book worth its salt. Entire chapters are dedicated to the accurate and descriptive teaching of the fundamental techniques of card magic. I can honestly remember many a lazy saturday morning just going through this book with deck in hand
Rating: 5/5 This book will teach you something new everytime you read it, and will give you ideas for new routines and tricks
Inside this book are old secrets that still amaze to this very day. It has incorporated many brilliant minds from the era of its release. Learning the push off DL , rear palm, middle deal, faro shuffle and many other little known sleights is guarenteed to elevate your card work.
Take for instance, the idea of vesting. I had no idea that this was even possible. Unfortunately, owing to the fact that few people these days wear the type of vests used back then,it has lead to this ingenious sleight not being employed anymore. So, I tried to modernise it and tried it with a t-shirt on, and it works like a charm! Due to the way that t-shirts are sewn, they are perfect for using this sleight. No more worries about people burning your hands
This is just one example of taking something that was revolutionary in its time, changing it slightly (no pun intended) so that it may be employed today. I seriously do not know of any magician who uses this technique. (That might be due to the fact that it is so natural looking
) And it is a shame, why such a useful technique should go to waste.
I could go on about how much you can learn from this book, including technique in making your sleights look natural, presentation as well as teaching more than one method to execute the moves. But I won`t.
If you read this with the modern audience in mind, it will be a treasure trove to you. I can honestly not recommend this book enough to the beginner as well as the advanced card man (if you don`t have it already
)
The major selling point is the price. It is extremely cheap when compared with other books/dvds which will not teach you half of what this book can.
Go out and buy this book if you are interested in card magic.
HAHAHAHAHA
