Created: 10/06/2020
Updated: 03/07/2023
John Carney's Recommended Reading List
In John Carney's The Book of Secrets he shares a list of 36 books he can highly recommend - books he would bring to the proverbial desert island. Many of these books are out-of-print. Luckily a good number of them are available as ebooks from Lybrary.com.
Biographies of Magicians
- Carter Beats the Devil
- Memoirs of Robert-Houdin
- The Life and Times of Augustus Rapp
- Illusion Show by David Bamberg
- Illustrated History of Magic by Milbourne Christopher
- Magic by David Price
Magic Craft
- Hofzinser's Card Conjuring
- The Magic of J. N. Hofzinser
- Sleight of Hand by Edwin Sachs
- Secrets of My Magic by David Devant
- My Magic Life by David Devant
- Our Magic by David Devant and Nevil Maskelyn
- Magical Ways and Means by Al Baker
- Pet Secrets by Al Baker
- Al Baker's Book One by Al Baker
- Al Baker's Book Two by Al Baker
- The Dai Vernon Book of Magic by Lewis Ganson
- Magic with Faucett Ross by Lewis Ganson
- The Books of Wonder by Stephen Minch
Misdirection and Timing
- The Ramsay Legend by Andrew Galloway
- The Ramsay Classics by Andrew Galloway
- The Ramsay Finale by Andrew Galloway
- The Magic of Slydini by Lewis Ganson
- Slydini Encores by Leon Nathanson
Stage Illusion
- The Complete Jarrett by Jim Steinmeyer
- Device and Illusion by Jim Steinmeyer
- The Magic of Alan Wakeling by Jim Steinmeyer
- The Conjuring Anthology by Jim Steinmeyer
Reference Books
- Modern Magic by Professor Hoffmann
- More Magic by Professor Hoffmann
- Later Magic by Professor Hoffmann
- Conjuror’s Optical Secrets by S. H. Sharpe
- Conjuror’s Mechanical Secrets by S. H. Sharpe
- Conjuror’s Psychological Secrets by S. H. Sharpe
- Conjuror’s Hydraulic and Pneumatic Secrets by S. H. Sharpe
- The Tarbell Course by Harlan Tarbell