Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear
by Jim Steinmeyer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jim SteinmeyerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-09-19
ISBN: 0786712260
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Book Reviews of Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear
Book Review: A Mysterious Mess
Summary: 2 Stars
I thought this book was ambitious in scope, but ultimately failed to deliver. This "history of magic" seemed to me little more than a jumble of results from the author's no-doubt extensive research and experience.
The format is kind of a mess. I got worried when I saw the little oval pictures and bio information of the various magicians listed in the front -- "He's lumping a lot of basic info up front, in this 'cast of characters,'" I thought. "I bet the structure of this book is going to be all over the place. This does not bode well."
Boy, was I right. The chapters progress in no apparent order, and the titles and epigraphs can seem arbitrary. A chapter that begins with the picture of Georges Melies, with a quotation from this pioneer of visual special effects, ends up not being about Melies. A chapter titled "Houdini" opens with several pages about Charles Morritt. The reason for this becomes clear later, but a reader would have been better served by just cutting to the chase.
Speaking of Houdini, I'm a big Houdini fan, and I was intrigued and amused by what a trouncing he takes in this book. I knew he was regarded as a poor stage magician, but the extent to which he is reviled in this book was very interesting indeed. I enjoyed reading about one of my idols from this very different point of view.
But -- why on earth is the information about Houdini (and nearly every other magician in the book) spread across three chapters? Not even _consecutive_ chapters. The structure of this book really is inscrutable, and all the little oval pictures in the world won't help that. It's too bad, because the drawings of the magicians really are well-done -- arresting in black and white.
The writing was kind of a drag. I'm a fast reader, but it took me almost a month to get through this book, because I kept putting it down and having to force myself to pick it up again.
As for the explanations of the tricks, I still don't understand anything. I'm not given to quick, intuitive understanding of mechanical things, and I believe a successful book that was going to expose the secrets of magical illusions would do so in a way that was accessible to _any_ reader. I have a feeling this book is for readers who are already somewhat "in the know" about stage magic. The secrets of Morritt, Kellar, Maskelyne, Devant, and others are still safe with me; I simply didn't understand any of them.
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