An Essay on Magic by Robert E. Neale

Between 1998-2000 Robert E. Neale wrote three important books, each one on a topic that is central to magicians: illusion, wonder, and magic itself.

An Essay on Magic is Book 3 in this long-awaited, highly acclaimed TRILOGY OF MAGIC. In these pages Bob Neale articulates his important, influential general theory of magic. The theory both explains and celebrates the artful work of magicians by showing how stage magic grows out of everyday human needs and desires. Bob Neale also shows how his theory can help magicians create performances with greater significance and lasting impact.

An Essay on Magic includes 38 of Bob Neale’s innovative magic routines, all of which are published here for the first time. Each routine comes with a fully developed presentation. As an extra bonus, this book includes Very Small Worlds – a separate manuscript that develops two powerful new principles for astonishing magic with playing cards.

PRODUCT DETAILS
Paperback: 516 pages. Edited with an extensive introduction by Lawrence Hass. 62 illustrations by Kiva Singh.

WORDS OF PRAISE

Praise for Books 1 and 2 of Bob Neale’s Trilogy of Magic

Michael Weber: “Robert Neale has done something important for the art of magic. [In The Magic of Celebrating Illusion] he has given us a book full of ways and means by which we can see past our self-imposed illusions in order to more clearly see the real magic which exists in the world…. Long live Robert Neale.”

Barrie Richardson: “Bob Neale is a wonder…. His ideas are arresting. His insights stretch your mind and make you shake your head with awe, wonder, and respect. And his magic routines are what Mozart would applaud with glee.”

Genii Magazine: “The Sense of Wonder is packed with material. Theorists and those with a love for the mathematical and topological will be thoughtfully engaged.”

MAGIC Magazine: “Robert Neale is a unique thinker, and The Magic of Celebrating Illusion is essential reading for [any magician] who enjoys a challenge, rather than being spoon-fed the latest one-trick DVD.”

Praise for Bob Neale

Max Maven: “Bob Neale has a rare ability to create magic with an intellectual whimsy. The result is simultaneously provocative, profound, and just plain fun. I am a fan….”

Jeff McBride: “Bob Neale is my hero…. It astonishes me how he can transform even some of the darkest situations of the human condition into light, humor, and inspiration.”

Eugene Burger: “Reading Bob Neale’s work is always an adventure. He tugs and pushes us beyond what we think we know and suddenly rearranges things in a completely unexpected way….”