The Trick Brain

This is book two from Fitzkee's trilogy and is unlike any other book ever written on magic. It was the first book (and to my knowledge the only book) to attack magic methods from a scientific standpoint. Fitzkee develops here a classification of effects, from appearances to vanishes, and then describes a system to invent or develop new trick plots. This is an invention system. I would say it is one way to invent new trick plots. But even if you are not of the scientific sort, the classification and discussion of magic effects and methods is a tremendous resource to expand your horizon and think in new ways about magic.

• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER I - Classification Of Effects
• CHAPTER II - Upon These Fundamentals We Stand
• CHAPTER III - The Beginning Of Appearances
• CHAPTER IV - Appearances, Continued
• CHAPTER V - Appearances, Again
• CHAPTER VI - Appearances, Still Going On
• CHAPTER VII - The Vanish
• CHAPTER VIII - Vanish, Continuing
• CHAPTER IX - Transpositions
• CHAPTER X - Transformations
• CHAPTER XI - Penetration
• CHAPTER XII - Restoration
• CHAPTER XIII - Animation
• CHAPTER XIV - Anti-Gravity
• CHAPTER XV - Attraction
• CHAPTER XVI - Sympathetic Reactions
• CHAPTER XVII - Invulnerability
• CHAPTER XVIII - Physical Anomaly
• CHAPTER XIX - Spectator Failure
• CHAPTER XX - Control
• CHAPTER XXI - Identification
• CHAPTER XXII - Thought Reading
• CHAPTER XXIII - Thought Transference
• CHAPTER XXIV - Predictions
• CHAPTER XXV - Extra-Sensory Perception
• CHAPTER XXVI - Pseudo Skill
• CHAPTER XXVII - The Invention Of New Trick Plots
• CHAPTER XXVIII - Methods For New Trick Plots
• CHAPTER XXIX - The Trick Brain
• CHAPTER XXX - Techniques Of Invention
• CHAPTER XXXI - Sleight-Of-Hand Translations
• CHAPTER XXXII - New Lamps For Old
• CHAPTER XXXIII - The Ultimate Objective
• CHAPTER XXXIV - Glossary Of Definitions Of Fundamental Expedients

1st edition 1944; 311 pages
word count: 97091 which is equivalent to 388 standard pages of text