The Complete Cups & Balls by Michael Ammar

This is possibly one of the best books on the cups and balls for the beginner – or the book collector. Yes, there are other books on the subject that are considered classics but note that I wrote ‘for the beginner.’ What puts this book a notch above others (along with the quality of Ammar's text) is the layout of each page and how the illustrations are designed. It is not simply that there are plenty of photographs to illustrate each move; the design of the page clearly links relevant text to each illustration – sometimes using arrows to connect text to a particular area of a photo.  There is very little room for misunderstanding what is meant. That value of that point will make more sense if you have read earlier books or booklets that deal with the same subject. It is not unusual for the small number of badly drawn illustrations in them to confuse matters more than help.
Another point in its favour is it discusses timing and misdirection; which many other books on the cups and balls hardly ever mention let alone discuss the principles.
Finally, there is the sixty page bonus of brief essays from renowned practitioners of the cups and balls including Bob Sheets, Gazzo, Paul Gertner, Tommy Wonder and David Williamson.
A question that might sensibly be asked is how much do the DVDs of the same name by Michael Ammar relate to the book – and the answer is very much so. Anyone failing to learn the cups and balls by using the book and the DVDs together should consider getting a hobby or profession that does not involve using their hands. Or consult a neurologist to find out what is wrong with their hand/eye coordination. 
If I am to level any criticism about the book it is that the ‘complete’ used in the title is not deserved. I believe it would require an encyclopaedic publication to get even near deserving that accolade.  But with any publication from any publisher the title is not to be taken so literally; for anyone with a genuine interest in learning the cups and balls and who will truly see it through to the end, this book is as complete as it needs to be. 

DEALING WITH MAGIC: The Rise & Fall of The Supreme Magic Company

Every now and then on magic websites or in magazines you’ll read the sales pitch that a particular book is the most important thing to have happened in magic that year or whatever. Whether or not such products live up to that description I don’t know but I do know that this book by Ian Adair is an important event for anyone interested in the history of British magic.

Adair modestly deprecates his own effort at autobiography at the start of the book by stating “In writing this book, I didn’t set out to win any literary prizes, nor will I expect grand reviews for my writing skills.” Actually, his book should receive grand reviews for him having at least written and made generally available some form of memoir about contemporary magic in the UK whereas many, whose magical careers have included writing, have not.

It’s never easy for someone to write a memoir on a particular form of career where others in that field are inevitably mentioned. It immediately prompts responses from readers with details that may aid, support or contradict the information given - sometimes in an unkind way. And so it takes a brave person to put themselves into such an arena, especially if it includes a controversial topic such as the demise of The Supreme Magic Company. But that is a process which historians rely on. Sometimes the people who won’t normally put pen to paper on the subject of a period in their life suddenly do in response to someone’s autobiography.

Adair’s autobiography is a very candid one. He writes of his successes, which is natural considering his successful career in magic, but he also includes his personal failures and does so without any trace of self-pity or excuse-making.

The first half of the book is Adair’s autobiography from childhood to present day. The second half of the book consists of mini-essays or memoirs of people and events. That may seem to be a strange thing to do but it has allowed Adair to give space for detailed information on specific topics about The Supreme Magic Company and even his own method of creating magic tricks.

The book is available directly from Ian Adair; for inquiries please email magicianadair@hotmail.co.uk

January Updates.

The book The Art of Iugling by Sa Rid, 1612, has been delayed. This has been because I found copies of Sa Rid’s other book Martin Mark-All and I’m including the text in the book to be published. The delay is not a long one. The publication date is now in February. The publication of Hocus Pocus Junior will be not be that long thereafter.

Publication of the first book, and any other book, of the Ancient Greek Drama Series has been suspended for an indefinite period. One of the plays was converted into a film script and I await an answer regarding the option being taken up by someone. I personally do not see it happening but with agents being what they are I am patiently doing as I am bid (for a while) before inevitably forging ahead with my own plans.

I’ve neglected uploading more videos to You Tube. This has simply been down to lack of time. The winter months kept me busier than I expected. The promised videos will begin to be uploaded soon but not at the rate I hoped. I have some academic research which begins in February and which continues through to the summer and this will mean focusing my time on what is absolutely essential. So editing and uploading videos has to take second place for a while.

A Bit Busy

I’ve been more than a bit busy recently and so I haven’t much to report in terms of travel or entertainment. In fact, I’ve been so busy I haven’t kept up with my correspondence and so I publicly apologise to those who haven’t heard from me in a while. Hopefully, August will bring some ease to my schedule and I can relax a bit.

I am able to relate a few titbits of interest.

In reply to those who have asked, yes I will be uploading another video of artwork soon - an oil painting of an iconic magician of yesteryear. There will be no more pen drawings for quite a while. The project has more than enough of them. There will be some pencil drawings but mostly, from now on, the portraits will be in paint of one kind or another. The bad news is that client has told me that the UK is not going to be one of the exhibition's venues. Not entirely unexpected considering he lives in Italy. Once again, I would like to remind everyone that the videos of the artwork will be removed from the internet once the exhibition begins. The portraits are to be published in a book. I will give more details on that when I know them.

Dr. Richard Wiseman’s latest book seems to be doing well. You can learn more at http://59seconds.wordpress.com/
I’ve ordered my copy. I enjoy reading myth busting books. I can recommend an out of print book by another psychologist, R. D. Rosen, called Psychobabble (not to be confused with a new religious book using the same title). Rosen coined the phrase psychobabble when studying the trend for new psychotherapies that swept the western world during the Sixties and Seventies. Another psychologist who took a practical look at things that do and don’t work was Robert Cialdini, whose book was simply called Influence. Both are very interesting books.

R. Paul Wilson, of BBC3's The Real Hustle, now has blog you can follow.
http://rpaulwilson.wordpress.com/beijing-bound/
You can also read a good interview of Wilson in the recent issue of Magicseen. For more details on that:
http://www.magicseen.co.uk/

I recently received the first issue of Gambit published by Benjamin Earl. It’s always difficult to judge the quality of a magazine from its first issue because there has been no reader response to guide the editor. It’s good but considering its high price and the promise made regarding the magazine’s proposed content I hope that the second issue, which will be on sale soon, has fewer gags filling dead space and more articles on card magic.

Don’t forget The LaBaL Competition is still running and the closing date is not until the 15th September so there is plenty of time to get a copy of the latest issue of The LaBaL from its editor and publisher, Al Smith, and enter the competition. For details on ordering a copy look for the advertisement on the left hand side of this page.