Marc DeSouza’s Top Ten Desert Island Magic Books
Stars of Magic (George Starke)
The Books of Wonder (Tommy Wonder)
Our Magic (Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant)
Five Points of Magic (Juan Tamariz)
The Book of Secrets (John Carney)
The Magic Way (Juan Tamariz)
The Royal Road to Card Magic (Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue)
Modern Coin Magic (J.B. Bobo)
Classic Secrets of Magic (Bruce Elliott)
Tarbell Course in Magic (Harlan Tarbell)
About Marc DeSouza
Marc DeSouza has an international reputation in the magic community, having won some of the most prestigious magic competitions in the world. These prizes include three First Place wins in stage and close-up magic competitions from the Society of American Magicians and three silver medals from that same organization. Additionally, Marc is a three-time gold medal finalist in stage magic at the International Brotherhood of Magicians competition and won first place in close-up magic from them as well.
Marc’s thoughts on his list
My first great magic book was Classic Secrets of Magic. I learned and performed every trick in that book, except the smoking pipes. I think there are some great professional level routines in there that are great lessons for all. Stars of Magic is probably the greatest book on close-up sleight of hand magic ever published. I believe every magician should learn almost all of the effects in there. I truly believe that a magician could make a professional living just with the material in that book. Royal Road and Bobo are two seminal texts that compile the best basic andintermediate knowledge on the subjects of card and coin magic. Tarbell is probably the single most useful collection of magic ever written.
Our Magic was the first book on magical theory I ever read and it still stands as one of the best. The books on my list by Carney, Wonder and Tamariz represent the best magical theoretical discussions I have read since, along with amazing applications of the theoretical work discussed. I believe that Tommy Wonder was one of the greatest all around magicians of the Twentieth Century. John Carney is the best living exponent of pure sleight of hand magic around today. Juan Tamariz’s magic and thinking is diabolical, astounding, sublime and mind-blowing.