This book is not for the specialist magician. The cardist, mentalist etc. It is aimed at the average club magician with basic knowledge of magic and the desire to be a better performer therefore has wide market appeal.

It is not a book of fine technique but is concerned more with presentation .It supports the philosophy that audiences pay you for what they see, not what you do.

It has been designed to be easy to read and has good visual eye appeal unlike some magic books which look like legal documents with masses of text and few illustrations.

It features tricks and methods of name magicians of the past - Al Koran, Alex Elmsley, John Ramsay, Jack Avis and other magicians personally known to the author.

It recalls fascinating events and magic as it was practised a half century ago, even a factual short story - The Metamorphosis of Barrington - and a reference to dealer George Davenport's little seen amazing vanish of a billiard ball and rice in a tumbler.

It is virtually a unique scrapbook of magic ideas, tricks, thoughts, comment, observations and things seen and noted over fifty years in the period when magic changed largely from stage performance to close quarter magic. All the ideas described are practical and have been used over the years by the author.