Grab a Root and Branch Out
Lately, I’ve been studying pretty heavily Eugene Burger and his philosophy. He has very much inspired my work as of late. I’m very interested in philosophy and thought and the Quest for Essence of Mind and Pattern. I’m interested in it in life in general, but in particular, in magic. The entire purpose of this column is to get you, my readers, to take a root and branch out. What better way to do that than read and study some of magic’s greatest thinkers and philosophers.
Root:
Let’s remember our roots. This month’s root: A self-referential request that you do the very thing that I tell you to do every month . . . My sign off for this column every month has not changed (nor will it) since the very first Roots and Branches article I wrote back in July of 2007 entitled Street Dumbs. Every month for over 6 years, I’ve been signing off by telling you to ” . . . go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.”
This month, I’m focusing on that very concept very specifically. First, why not take a look at some of today’s best thinkers in magic and see what they recommend we should read. So take a moment to check out this video of Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger and Larry Hass sharing their top 3 books.
Allow me to add my own top three as well. In no particular order:
- Harry Anderson’s Wise Guy Written by Mike Caveney
- Maelstrom By Tom Stone
- Psychological Subtleties Volume 1-3 By Banacheck
These, in my opinion, are modern day Classics. They are a must read for anyone who has either crossed over the line of hobby into pro . . . or you’re thinking about crossing that line. These books will take you to the next level.
Briefly, Wise Guy will take you on a journey of Harry Anderson’s career. It’s one of the most inspirational and motivational books I’ve ever read. It will make you want to become a pro. You’ll learn a handful of his pet effects, but more importantly you’ll be inspired to blaze your own trail and become a better magician.
Tom Stone’s (no relation – that I know of) brilliant book, Maelstrom is an incredible collection of thoughts, ideas, tricks, concept, presentations, and more for the real thinking magician. This book will expand your mind when it comes to method, effect and staging. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Finally, Banacheck’s Psychological Subtleties books are a Ph.D. in psychology, thought and presentation. You will be a changed (wo)man after reading those books. They open your eyes to depth of our art.
The concept of my latest book, 793.8 is very much inspired by Stone’s and Banachek’s books mentioned above. They really opened my mind up to thinking about magic. I’ve got several other books that I could recommend, but those are definitely a good starting point for those of you who want to take things to the next level.
I’ve written reviews for Maelstrom and Wise Guy. Though I didn’t list any Burger books on my list of three above, I did mention that I’ve been very much inspired by his work lately, so if you’d like to read those reviews or the two mentioned above, you can find them here:
Branch:
Let’s build our branches. Your challenge: Read a book from that list. I don’t care which one, but pick one. Take the time to read the entire book, and then come back here and tell us about it. There’s no fun in not sharing. So the challenge is simple. It’s the same one this column always tells you to do . . .
Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.
