The Magic World of the Amazing Randi

by James Randi

This book deserves a place alongside the many wonderful tricks that James Randi has pulled off in his amazing career. He's gotten 24 of the finest magicians in the world to contribute favorite tricks to this collection. Some can be done with little or no practice, others will take some rehearsal. All are fiendishly clever and many are very funny besides. Contributors range from David Copperfield to Penn & Teller. Plus, of course, the Amazing Randi himself. Randi also treats readers to profiles on the contributing prestidigitators. Grab this book and prepare to bedazzle and deceive.

Genres: Magic

161 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1989

About the author

James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and a scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), originally known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP). He also founded the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). He began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo".Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from the JREF at 87.

Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit! - wikipeadia

Reviews

[Kevin Krein]

Abracadabra!!!!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/15e5...

[elstaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounds up to 4 stars for me.

Pull quotes/notes
"Johnny Carson, who has featured many magicians on his famous Tonight Show, was once known as The Great Carsoni, and has never lost his love for the magical art." (21) THE GREAT CARSONI

"You'll use a regular, well shuffled deck of cards. You'll also use this magic book as a prop." (68) nice

"'I combine classical dance with electric boogie to present my concept of dance with magic.'" (71) Martin Cottet, what. How.

"Tina is married to a very well known magician, Mike Caveney. He even helps her design parts of her performance." (95) so kind of him to deign to help her out with his well known magician self, since clearly she wouldn't be able to design stuff by herself. Is how I read it. I was...in a mood.

"Angel has made music a big part of his act. In fact, his four piece rock music group, known as Chris Angel, performs every minute he is on stage." (102) very weird to see evidence of pre-mind freak Chris Angel

"EIGHT KINGS THREATENED TO SAVE
NINETY-FIVE QUEENS FOR ONE SICK KNAVE." (120)

"Trick that Never Goes Wrong, 88
Tricks that go wrong: what to do, 161" (158)