Muggles and Magic: An Unoffical Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon

by George Beahm

One of the most popular companions to the Harry Potter Phenomenon just got even better! Muggles and Magic, which Publishers Weekly calls "sophisticated enough to interest adults and lively enough to keep younger fans engaged," has just come out in a new edition. This new edition is the only companion to cover the sixth Rowling book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, as well as the fourth movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. With color photos and illustrations by five-time Hugo award-winning artist Tim Kirk, fans won’t want to miss this treasure trove of information and trivia about all things Harry.

Genres: Harry Potter, Nonfiction, Reference, Pop Culture, Biography, Books About Books, Media Tie In

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

George Beahm writes books about censorship, sports figures, and numerous literary figures, including Patricia Cornwell, J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Philip Pullman, and others.

Reviews

[Annemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected George Beahm's Muggles and Magic to be more like Melissa Anelli's Harry, A History, but in reality, it read more like a sourcebook or the Kronzeks' The Sorcerer's Companion. Often, the information seemed like a biography of J.K. Rowling. There were then pages of quotes about various topics, often seeming repetitive. This is not to say that the text was not interesting.
One thing that made me giggle a bit was reading about "seven movies". This book was written shortly before the publication of Order of the Phoenix - how were they to know about the splitting of Deathly Hallows?

[Joona Tuomela · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Beahmin Jästit ja taikuus on liikuttavan kömpelö ja hurmaavan vanhentunut opaskirja Harry Potter -faneille. Lapsena puhkiluettu kirja herätti lämpimän nostalgisia tuntemuksia. Aikuisen silmin arvioituna Jästit ja taikuus on toki hämmentävä tapaus: se on täynnä sekalaista, huonosti järjesteltyä ja virheitä vilisevää tietoa sekä sekalaisia kuvaliitteitä, linkkilistoja ja keräilyluetteloja — siis suurella intohimolla tehty mutta erittäin amatöörimäinen kirja, joka on kiertänyt kustannustoimittajan katseen kilometrien päästä.

Samalla se on kuitenkin korvaamaton aikansa kuva: Beahm kirjoitti oppaansa ennen Kuoleman varjelusten ilmestymistä; aikana, jolloin Potter-ilmiö oli kuumimmillaan eikä sitä oltu vielä pilattu ylikaupallistamisella tai poliittisilla puhdasoppisuuden vaatimuksilla. Kirja esittelee fanien järjestämiä teemamatkoja ja konferensseja, puhuu "www-alustalle rakennetuista internet-sivuista" ja kertoo erilaisista spekulaatioista sarjan päätösosan suhteen: jääkö Harry henkiin vai ei? Elääkö Dumbledore sittenkin? Oliko Kalkaros sittenkin petturi?

Jästit ja taikuus on objektiivisesti arvioituna kaiketi melko surkea teos, mutta minulle se on paluu lapsuuteen ja velhomaailman taianomaiseen tunnelmaan. Sen lisäksi se on kiinnostava matka parinkymmenen vuoden taakse aikaan entiseen joka ei koskaan enää palaa: niihin maagisiin 2000-luvun alun vuosiin jolloin Harry Potter oli satoja miljoonia nuoria villitsevä ilmiö, jonka viattomuus ja hohto ei ollut vielä hiipunut pois.

[Ni]

Not rating because I skimmed all but the section in Stephen King being criticized alongside Rowling for "doing little more for humanity..."
Wow. Clearly biased.

[Maarit · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jästit ja taikuus (2007, Readme.fi) on nippelitietoa sisältävä teos Harry Potterin maailmasta, joka samalla taustoittaa J.K. Rowlingin elämää sekä kertoo erilaisista Harry Potter faniyhteisöistä. Kirja on jaettu kuuteen eri lukuun, lisäksi siinä on runsaasti liitteitä.

Täytyy miettiä, miksi vaivauduin lukemaan tämän teoksen loppuun asti. Kirja on sisällöllisesti pahasti vanhentunut ja osa sen antamista tiedoista on myös paikkaansapitämättömiä. Jotain asioita olisi myös voinut karsia kokonaan pois, esimerkiksi erilaiset tiedot Harry Potter aiheisista Internet-sivustoista, jotka ovat jo varmasti vanhentuneita sekä erilaisista teemamatkoista. Kirja myös toistaa itseään tarpeettomasti useissa luvuissa ja tätä karsimalla kirjasta olisi tullut tiiviimpi ja ehkä myös kiinnostavampi. Uutta tietoa kirjassa ei juurikaan ollut ja kirjan kiinnostavimpia asioita olivat erilaiset kuvitukset ja valokuvat sekä värivalokuvaliite. Suomennoksen laatu on paikoin huono, erityisesti erilaiset lisäykset suomenkieliseen painokseen on tehty kehnosti. Kokonaisuutena surkea teos, jota en suosittele kenellekään, en edes vannoutuneille Potter-faneille. Arvosana 1 tähti.

[Skylar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I'm a huge HP nerd. Yes, I will read anything having to do with HP. But this was actually really interesting!

[Tammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for the N.E.W.Ts.

[Mikey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a wonderful nonfiction book full of things that I did not know about j.k. Rowling like she got the name harry from a child hood friend, and that she had divorced her husband. This book includes a time line of J. K. Rowling, and interesting pictures that range from magazine covers to fan memorobelia. It also tells where she liked to write her books like in a coffee shop in England. It also tells about where she had lived in the past and her financial troubles struggling to make it as a writer. Though it was a vary interesting book it was slow and did not read quite fast.

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book for research when I was writing a paper in college. I took a class on Children's Literature and used Hermione Granger as the protagonist for my featured character anaylsis. It was a great help and takes an in-depth look into how Harry Potter and his universe has affected modern society. A great resource.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great source book for all things Potter up to the 5th book. It provides quite a bit of information regarding Rowling's background. I, also, found the Muggle's Guide to Harry Potter extremely helpful in keeping up with all the characters, places and items that appear in the first five books.

[RumBelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading companion guides to my favorite fandoms. Each sheds new light, and insight, into favorite characters, places, things and objects. It shows you how the worlds were created, and what the hidden symbolism is. You learn a lot, not only about the fandoms themselves, in this case Harry Potter, but also about the history, art and more that went into their construction.

[Sarah Margaret · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this at all.
It was boring and pointless (beside the mini biography of JK Rowling, which had a bit of new information in it).
Although the pictures of people dressed up in costume at Harry Potter conventions were amusing.

[Runa · Rating 3 out of 5]

good for HP fans as a resource

[C.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not only do I have the HP series, I have series about the series.
Holy shit I can't wait!!

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

disappointing

[Emily]

I used for a biography project on JKR.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book!
it explains almost everything about the creatures, spells, plants and people. it's the best book related to Harry Potter I've read.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my Philosophy of Harry Potter class!

[Jennifer Datus]

This was in the list of the typ of bookes I like and thought it will be good to read.

[angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

some of the information is wrong, but still an interesting read if you're a harry potter fan and there's a fun quiz at the end

[Madelyn]

It rocked like all other books involving HP.

[Jasmin · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was boring and pointless like somebody already said. Besides Rowling's biography and chapters two and five it was nothing but rubbish. Cannot understand how I made it through.

[Chloe Maddox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting if you are a fan, and good for factual reference studies, but some information is wrong on the fiction side.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating read, but give yourself plenty of time...not a book to zip through.

[Kelly (kellyinbookland) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took most of this with a pinch of salt because you never really know if what's in it is 100% true. Saying that I still did enjoy it!!!!

[Tiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with lots of story and behind the scenes information for Harry Potter fans. The book was published before the 6th book was released so most of the info is up to the fifth book.

[Diane Wachter · Rating 2 out of 5]

J.K rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon, George Beahm, PB-B @ 2004, 8/18/05. Criticism and interpretation. Okay.

[Nikki Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually somewhat of a letdown. It was boring and uninteresting in most parts

[Sabrina Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay....i guess