Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear | 
 enlarge | Author: Jim Steinmeyer
Creator: Teller
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $4.96
You Save: $9.99 (67%)
New (21) from $4.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 177322
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0786714018
Dewey Decimal Number: 790
EAN: 9780786714018
ASIN: 0786714018
Publication Date: September 14, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect and New! Has a publisher remainder mark. 2004 Paperback.
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Product Description
Now in paperback comes Jim Steinmeyer's astonishing chronicle of half a century of illusionary innovation, backstage chicanery, and keen competition within the world of magicians. Lauded by today's finest magicians and critics, Hiding the Elephant is a cultural history of the efforts among legendary conjurers to make things materialize, levitate, and disappear. Steinmeyer unveils the secrets and life stories of the fascinating personalities behind optical marvels such as floating ghosts interacting with live actors, disembodied heads, and vanishing ladies. He demystifies Pepper's Ghost, Harry Kellar's Levitation of Princess Karnak, Charles Morritt's Disappearing Donkey, and Houdini's landmark vanishing of Jennie the elephant in 1918. The dramatic mix of science and history, with revealing diagrams, photographs and magicians' portraits by William Stout, provides a glimpse behind the curtain at the backstage story of magic.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 To amaze and delight February 21, 2008
The author, Steinmeyer, amazes and delights along with the top magicians who appear in this book. I never had any interest in magic until my grandson, then 11, became interested. He's now a member of the Society of Young Magicians. Now, having some insight into the creativity behind illusions, and the stage presense required to create them, I appreciate and enjoy the illusions much more. This book is a delightful read. It's well organized and beautifully written. Woven through all are the personalities of some of the best magicians who worked in England and the US in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. Steinmeyer follows the development of certain kinds of illusions from early ideas, to later and more spectacular versions. The illustrations are helpful, and there's a nice photo section.
Seeing how incredibly precise and creative these entertainers were makes this a fascinating book. I highly recommend it. Even if you've never had much interest in magical illusions, this is simply a good read.
 Interesting, If Interested In Magic October 4, 2007
Fortunately I am as this is no laymen's book. I quite enjoyed it and found it full of the fragmented tidbits of information I am so fond of. A little technical at times - I was far more interested in some of the stories then in precise line drawings or sketches, though Steinmeyer is skilled at taking complex principles and breaking them down into simple line drawings. I wish it had been a bit more chatty but am glad i read it.
Good History, Easy Reading October 4, 2007
This is a fun and easy read. Probably nothing new for serious fans of the history of magic but it is a good summary of the lives of some very special people in an interesting sub-culture.
For those buying the book to discover magical secrets, they will learn little other than the truth of the cliche that magic is all smoke and mirrors.
Not your average magic book February 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you're looking for a book to teach you magic tricks, this is not the book for you. Granted, it describes how some grand illusions work (mostly those that aren't in use any longer), but the book is more about the history of magic. But don't let that turn you off. It's not the dry, boring history you'd find in a textbook. There are anecdotes, personal recollections, and much more. It's a very easy read, and it's absolutely fascinating.
An Instant Classic January 11, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is a classic. It is not only one of the best books on the history of magic ever written, but is also a rich portrait of both Victorian and Edwardian England. The magicians become full characters in Steinmeyer's hands. He shows us some of their secrets, yes, but in a full-bodied manner that keeps us mezmerized, even after we know how the trick was done. As a magician myself I fully agree that a trick is never the secret or sleight itself, but is how this sleight is used in an act of fantasy. Learning the "trick," as Steinmeyer says, IS like turning to the last page of a mystery novel. You may know the ending, but you will not appreciate the fullness of the story. This is easily one of my favorite books. I loved it so much I immediately ordered his other books. I started reading Art & Artifice next, and was greatly dismayed to learn that the entire book, word for word (except for a some rearranging and a few brief passages), appears in Hiding the Elephant! Unless you're a completist do not buy both Hiding the Elephant and Art & Artifice. Steinmeyer has plagiarized himself quite dramatically, as Hiding the Elephant is really just an expanded version of Art & Artifice.
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