You might remember that back in April we told you about The Magic of Johnny Thompson, a beautiful, two-volume treatise on Thompson’s life, career, and most importantly, his tricks. You might also recall that we warned you the box set, penned by the man himself in collaboration with fellow magician, Jamy Ian Swiss, would most likely sell out well before the first printing actually started.
Well, surprise! We were right, and you didn’t listen. The set sold out in mere days, leaving the slow, the weak, and those who didn’t have the best part of $300 to plonk down on (admittedly beautiful) magic literature to watch in dismay as bolder, luckier magic-lovers got their grubby paws on the books.
Mistakes are useful as long as you learn from them. The Magic of Johnny Thompson is once again available for purchase, this time from the Magic Emporium for the same price of 295 American clams.
If $295 sounds steep, I shall leave it to the books’ sales spiel to remind you of what’s contained within their pages:
Written by renowned author Jamy Ian Swiss—Shattering Illusions (2001), Devious Standards (2011), and Preserving Mystery (2017) and the Lyons Den—and the master magician himself, Johnny Thompson, The Magic of Johnny Thompson meticulously details the real secrets of seventy-eight of Johnny’s most cherished and celebrated routines, including The Cups & Balls, The Balls in the Net, The Egg Bag and The Gambler’s Ballad.
It also includes previously unpublished material from Johnny’s respected colleagues and mentors including Dai Vernon, Harry Riser and Ed Marlo. There is an extended chapter devoted to the close-up magic of Charlie Miller and Max Malini. There is the entire Johnny Thompson Trade Show Act (complete with a sample script), including his incredibly impossible $100 Dollar Prediction. There is also a chapter devoted to dove and silk magic by The Great Tomsoni & Co., which includes a thorough essay on the development of a dove act.
That’s a lot of magicians passing on a lot of knowledge. You can order a copy here.