Price$40.00
Media TypeBook
CategoryClose Up, Philosophy
Date AddedSep 17, 2009
Magic Matters
Robert Neale; Larry Hass
Magic and Mystery School
(Based on 2 reviews)
In this collection, Bob Neale shares his latest work on both sides of his magical mind. Magic Matters contains over forty new tricks, each one with a fully developed presentation on a wide variety of themes. It also contains eleven theoretical essays on topics central to thinking magicians: for some examples, gift magic, humor, wonder, dark magic, and play.
This remarkable book offers an abundance of riches for people who love magic. Just as the performance of a master magician, it will delight, challenge, and inspire you. You, your magic, and your views about magic will not be unchanged.
Indeed, magic matters!
Pages: 281 - Hardcover with Dustjacket
"If this book doesn't tickle you, you're not feeling.
If this book doesn't annoy you, you're not thinking.
If this book doesn't inspire you, you're not breathing."
- Max Maven
"Bob Neale is a marvel of creative thinking. With all its wonderful tricks and essays, Magic Matters is a book to really savor and enjoy."
-Eugene Burger
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Lay Your Hands on Me by Bon Jovi
Magic Matters by Robert E. Neale Reviewed
Nearly 50 effects, 281 pages and $40 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.
Effect/Method
Only in the house of Bob Neale can we find subjects like waterboarding, force-feeding sacramental wafers to hand-puppets and buffalo poop under the same roof. Yet at the same time this home/book covers subjects such as love and the beauty of magical gifts. Yet The Holocaust, the death of innocent women under the guise of witch hunting and other dark themes are explored. Yet, mother, teddy bears and fables are also examined.
It's no wonder that I feel conflicted when completing any given Bob Neale book. I feel happiness and sorrow simultaneously. I feel love and anger together. I feel giddy and offended all at once. It is a wonder how he can do it over and over again. Regardless of how I feel when I'm done reading, I always have been enlightened, encouraged and energized. All of the effects start with an intriguing premise, a premise that will capture your audience's (and your) imagination. Of the nearly 50 effects, I'm sure you'll find plenty you'll hate and plenty you'll love. That aside, you'll learn, by example, what an effect should be like.
The methods are simple and within the grasp of just about any skill level. In addition to roughly four dozen effects, you also receive nearly a dozen eye and mind opening essays that will twist you, thrill you, jab you, move you and improve you.
Ad Copy Integrity
In the ad copy, there is a quote from Max Maven:
"If this book doesn't tickle you, you're not feeling.
If this book doesn't annoy you, you're not thinking.
If this book doesn't inspire you, you're not breathing."
I can't think of a more perfect way to describe this book. I've said this of other Bob Neale books, "If this book doesn't move you, you're dead." A+ on the ad copy.
Product Quality
The book is extremely well produced. It's hardbound and sturdy with thick paper that will stand up to Father Time with no problem. Though the essays were deep and required multiple readings to fully absorb, they were well written, and the effects were well taught with plenty of illustrations and solid instructions. And of course, let's not forget that ever-inspiring bibliography at the end of the book — typical Bob Neale.
Final Thoughts
The title of this book says it all. In a world of meaningless droning on . . . er . . . um . . . I mean . . . patter . . . it's about time someone published a book like this. You don't have to like any of the effects, messages, essays, methods, etc. in this book to learn from this. Too often, magic is looked down upon and mocked and misused and abused by lay people and (so called) magicians.
Through the essays and effects found in this book, through the vast expanse and broad range of subjects from the juvenile to the divine, the beautiful to the truly dark, Bob has successfully taken on the task of proving that Magic Matters.
Final Verdict:
5 Stars with a Stone Status of GEM.
(Top ▲)
Bob Neale is so damned unique. He's a true inventor of the impossible in our little corner of the world where so many others claim to be. MAGIC MATTERS is a book of ideas, tricks, theories, and meaning that will surely challenge you in more ways than one. And I'm not going to lie to you. The book itself is a challenge.
Those of you that have read Bob's books know what I mean. His voice is so different from others that sometimes you forget you're reading a magic book. Oh but you are. There are dozens of ideas here. Some of them are cute and surprising puzzles, and some are most definitely not! How about a trick with a waterboarding theme? Not your cup of tea? How about the Holocaust? Still not interested? Let's talk about God, death, vampires, and Internet dating.
To single out one piece that I like the best is an awful task. Bob Neale has a point of view, something most magicians are lacking. Me telling you what the "best" effect is would be like telling you which apple to pick on the tree. You need to taste it for yourself.
In the last five months, I've read this book twice all the way through and paged through individual sections dozens of times. Bob has a wonderful take on how showing someone magic can be a gift. I would say Bob's writings are gifts and he's a national treasure. A gift that keeps on giving. Bob Neale matters.
Those of you that have read Bob's books know what I mean. His voice is so different from others that sometimes you forget you're reading a magic book. Oh but you are. There are dozens of ideas here. Some of them are cute and surprising puzzles, and some are most definitely not! How about a trick with a waterboarding theme? Not your cup of tea? How about the Holocaust? Still not interested? Let's talk about God, death, vampires, and Internet dating.
To single out one piece that I like the best is an awful task. Bob Neale has a point of view, something most magicians are lacking. Me telling you what the "best" effect is would be like telling you which apple to pick on the tree. You need to taste it for yourself.
In the last five months, I've read this book twice all the way through and paged through individual sections dozens of times. Bob has a wonderful take on how showing someone magic can be a gift. I would say Bob's writings are gifts and he's a national treasure. A gift that keeps on giving. Bob Neale matters.