The magic behind Magic Man (Mysterious Stranger - David Blaine)

Member Name: miracleboy

Product:	Mysterious Stranger - David Blaine
Date:	25/05/03 (839 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: greatly inspiring, gives the reader things to try

Disadvantages: lots of historical stories

Just like most people, I am a person who is often impressed by magic tricks. Inspired whenever I see a magician performing. Never really taking an interest as a kid, I would still ask myself "how did they do that?? and "how is that possible?".

The first time I ever heard of David Blaine was a few years ago after he completed his challenge of standing in a block of ice for nearly 3 days. Ever since then I have been amazed by his TV series "David Blaine: Street Magic", left puzzled by his seemingly psychic ability, and shocked by his life threatening stunts for which he is best known for.

So naturally when I heard about the release of his new book "Mysterious Stranger", I HAD to order a copy!
The book presents itself as an autobiography rolled into an in-depth look at the secrets behind some of his magic, taking the reader on a journey through his extraordinary childhood years right up to the present day.
Compromised of 214 pages split up into 12 chapters full of text and illustrations, this book really lives up to the hype!

Here is a detailed look into each chapter:

1. FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE:

This first chapter tells a few old stories about Robert Houdin using illusions against an African tribe to save his life, and a magician that sawed a man in half right in front of the audience. This little bit of history really puts you in the mood for the rest of the book.
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2. DISCOVERY OF MAGIC:

This is the beginning of Blaine's life. This chapter is all about how he was introduced to magic, and the difficult upbringing he had as a child. There are also examples of basic optical illusions, the magic square, and many tricks you can try on your friends such as the "voodo hand", "the dollar bill effect" and making a friend feel like you're burning them.
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3. THE THR
EE MAGI:

This goes back to ancient Egyptian times and tells the story of a magician named Dedi who fooled a pharaoh. Blaine also reveals the secrets of defying snake venom, heat resisting and stone eating which were performed many years ago. These were all Blaine's inspirations for where he is today. (Experiments include resisting the force of ten people).
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4. SECRETS OF CARDS:

Blaine introduces the art of card magic firstly by explaining how Winston Churchill put the war on hold due to an amazing trick. He explains how cards came about and what they were used for, before revealing some simple effects for you to try?..These include:

The 21 Effect
Finding their card
Finding their card (Method 2)
Predict the card they will choose
Guess the card they?re thinking of
Their chosen card disappears from deck
Sound of Voice
Sound of Voice (over the phone)
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5. CONFIDENCE:

This chapter is all about conning. Blaine explains how gamblers would cheat at games and bets in order to always win. For instance betting that his dog could retrieve a rock marked with the letter X from the bottom of the river bed, (having previously marked ALL the rocks with an X so as not to lose). Things to try include scamming a bar out of $95!
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6 PLAYING THE PART OF A MAGICIAN:

This chapter is all about Blaine himself and how his magic progressed as he grew older, as well as fooling celebrities. Things to try include knowing which hand a coin is concealed in.
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7. THE MAN AINT RIGHT:

This chapter talks about how he came to have his TV show
?Street Magic? and how they filmed some of the footage. The trick to try involves accurately predicting which 1 of 6 sugar packets will always land the same way up.
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8. PRIMITIVE MYSTERIES:

This chapter talks about his TV special ?Magic Man?, and some of the places they visited for the footage. Also talked about is the art of ?cold reading? (a generalized reading given by phony psychics which most people can relate to), and how to test your ?karma?.
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9. EHRICH WEISS (Houdini):

This whole chapter looks at Houdini, and how many of his huge tricks (like escaping from a straight jacket) has inspired Blaine. This is basically a small biography on Houdini. The trick to try is knowing the participant?s selected object within a room, whilst you?re out of it.
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10. THE PREMATURE BURIAL:

This is the full story of Blaine?s first big stunt of being buried alive for 168 hours. He talks about how it felt, how he prepared for the feat, and everything that was going through his head. He also mentions past attempts by people which have gone wrong.
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11. FROZEN IN TIME:

This is all about his 2nd big stunt of being frozen in a block of ice for nearly 3 days. He covers all the preperation, all his thoughts and feelings and talks about what could have gone wrong, and what nearly did go wrong.
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12. VERTIGO:

This was his 3rd stunt to date where he stood on a huge 80 ft pillar for 35 hours with no safety devices. He talks about where the idea came from, how he prepared, what it was like for him and what went on after the stunt.
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Overall this book really inspired me. I would highly recommend this book to any magic enthusiast, and to anyone
who has taken a slight interest to Blaine?s work.
The idea of combining an autobiography with a factual study of magic works surprisingly well for keeping the reader interested. Though it has to be said that the frequent historical elements of the book could become boring for someone just wanting a quick read.

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