Mike Caveney Wonders & The Conference Illusions
- Author by Mike Caveney
- Foreword by Mac King
- 9 by 11½ inches
- 456 pages printed in full color on art matte paper
- 570 photographs
- Printed end-sheets 3-color foil stamping on the cover
- Both books are housed in a matching slipcase with foil stamp
- Sold only as a set
Mike Caveney Wonders contains all of the routines that Mike has performed going back to my days as a teenage magician in the Long Beach Mystics right up to his current act that includes Magic Paper, The Bow & Arrow and Scissors, Coat, Silverware & Chicken. More than just a How-To book, it describes the creative process behind each routine. In the case of Magic Paper (the torn, restored and animated toilet paper) Mike explained all five methods that he has used and why each one was discarded in favor of a new version and why he stuck with method five for over thirty years. The goal is to teach and encourage the readers how to create their own original routines.
Volume II is called The Conference Illusions and it is a completely different type of book. During the twenty-two year run of the Los Angeles Conference on Magic History Mike recreated a number of long-forgotten tricks and illusions and each one posed its own unique challenges. In some instances he was able to use the original apparatus that once belonged to Howard Thurston or Charles Carter and other times the equipment had to be built from scratch. The book chronicles the research into the history of the illusion, the original routines, how they attempted to improve the mechanics of the apparatus, re-think the presentation and design a routine that was suitable for a modern audience. After their debut performance at the History Conference a number of these effects were presented dozens of times for lay audiences at the Magic Castle and were found to be highly effective a hundred or more years after their creation. Each chapter includes vintage photographs and posters from the files of Egyptian Hall Museum as well as behind-the-scenes and action photos or the performances. Few readers will add any of these mysteries to their acts but there is much to be learned from studying ideas that were created by the greatest minds from magic's Golden Age.
"This is the finest set of books I have ever owned. This is the finest thing in magic that I have ever owned. An absolute bargain and a must read."-
Steve Bryant, Little Egypt "Your books arrived today and I've not been able to put them down! The only way i can describe your books is pure beauty."
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Al Rudge "As a fellow bibliophile I love books that show how much the publisher cares about the material. Your books set a new standard. -Samuel Lamerson [Your books] are a magnificent achievement in every respect. Congratulations."-
Stephen Minch "These books surpass your own unbelievably high standards. Just finished the conference illusions. Phenomenal."
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Andy Labbie "I rank these volumes with Hoffman, Vernon, Baker, Germain, Harbin, Jarrett, and Steinmeyer. They are completely innocent of any kind of bullshit. You put into print in easy-to-follow language everything I need to understand the material. You tell great stories. You make me laugh. You think deeply, wisely, wittily about magic. These books are rich in important ideas and suffused with a profound love of (and respect for) the art. They inspire me."-
Teller "So congratulations on writing a classic book, containing not just the story of your journey through magic and some of the people you met, not just a record of your attempts at perfecting the tricks you perform, but providing inspiration to try and make magic itself, which you so dearly love, better -- perhaps even to make it art."-
Matt Field "I've spent half a day with your new books, and to state the obvious: You have done a glorious thing. The thought, skill, good taste, and joy that radiate from your efforts is palpable."-
David Regal "Superb in every aspect of content and production. Congratulations on a phenomenal job."-
Paul Daniels
