 The Glorious Deception
Jim’s 2005 book is a full biography of the remarkable American magician, William Robinson, who became famous by creating the illusion that he was a Chinese magician, Chung Ling Soo. The biography is a fascinating backstage view of magic: the personalities, intrigues, illusions and daring challenges that brought magic to the public at the early years of the twentieth century. The story ends in an explosive climax, with Chung Ling Soo’s dramatic death, onstage, during his performance of the Bullet Catching Trick. The hardcover edition is now almost impossible to find. We have some available. 430 pages. |
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 The Conjuring Anthology
A unique collection of magic for stand-up performers, including card effects, small apparatus, diagrams for illusions and routines for old favorites, complete with patter and presentation. Readers of MAGIC Magazine prized Jim Steinmeyer’s many Conjuring articles between 1992 and 2004. Now they’ve been collected in one volume. The Conjuring Anthology is 526 pages, a full course in magic with 85 separate effects in 75 chapters and 509 illustrations. Included are a number of “modern classics” like Onward and Upward, the new Rising Card routine, Apples and Oranges, mixing and transposing fruit, and The Five Senses, a demonstration of how we’re fooled. Also included are four new effects that did not appear in the Conjuring articles.
After many years of requests, all the Conjuring magic has been assembled in a quality book. Hardbound and sewn with fabric binding and foil cover. With a complete table of contents and a full index. 6 by 9 inches. It’s a book you’ll read and use, again and again.
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 The Complete Jarrett
Sixty-five years ago, Guy Jarrett self-published his notorious book on stage magic, Jarrett Magic. In 1981, the new edition was written by Jim Steinmeyer...but that was only part of the story. The 2001 edition, The Complete Jarrett, is the complete story of the original, one-of-a-kind, go-to-hell genius of stage illusion, Guy Jarrett. Every page of his prized original book is reproduced in facsimile, with informative comments, and annotations, with hundreds of photos and drawings. It’s a post-graduate course in the art, and one of the best reads in magic. (Just ask anyone who’s ever read Jarrett!) With an introduction by John McKinven. 288 pages. Large 11 by 8 1/2 inch format, hardbound with foil stamped cover. |
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 Charles Fort: The Man Who Invented the Supernatural
Jim’s 2008 book is a biography of the seminal author who redefined supernatural phenomena for the twentieth century. Frogs fall from the sky. Stones fall in slow motion. Remarkable accounts of blood, fish, and manna from the heavens. Planets that move where they shouldn’t. Spontaneous human combustion. Teleportation. Fort documented it all in his odd, obsessive way. Fort’s personal story is quirky and surprising. His research was influential and remarkable. It’s an interesting tale of American literature, and it will change the way that you think about paranormal subjects. Published by Penguin / Tarcher. Hardcover. 330 pages. |
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 The Book of the Damned: The Collected Works of Charles Fort
Penguin has republished Fort’s four influential books (original published between 1919 and 1932) in one volume. Jim provided the introduction, about the significance of the books and Charles Fort. Paperback, 1100 pages. |
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 Hiding the Elephant
How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear
(Hardbound Edition)
Jim Steinmeyer’s 2003 book is a journey thorough the rich history of magicians, their creations and their quest for the impossible. Starting with Houdini’s famous and infamous illusion of making an elephant disappear, Jim traces the various inventions in “optical conjuring,” from Pepper’s Ghost to Tobin’s Proteus Cabinet and the famous wonders at Egyptian Hall. The book discusses the creative masters of the art, including David Devant, Charles Morritt and Guy Jarrett. The book has received rave reviews. Publisher’s Weekly called it “a find.” Magician Teller, of Penn and Teller, reviewed it in the New York Times and called it “a loving celebration,” concluding that “no author has ever better conveyed magic’s joys, terrors and longings.” Published by Carroll and Graf. 351 pages, plus index, 8 pages of photos, author’s diagrams and magicians’ portraits by William Stout. (If you want your copy autographed, please include special instructions on the order form). |
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