Walter B. Gibson was not only the creator of _The Shadow_, but he was a ghost writer for Houdini and Howard Thurston, the two great illusionists of the early twentieth century. He knows what he’s talking bout because he was knee-deep in it. Gibson writes about the tricks here by not only giving the “how it’s done”, but also the historical context of why the illusion was performed. The book is laid out with a large b/w illustration on one side, and 2 columns of text facing. One column is the historic context, and the 2nd tells how it was done. One gets the sense that he is only giving us the tip of the iceberg in debunking the “magic” aspects of tricks. There’s a lot more he knows how to do.

The table of contents will seem dated by today’s reader, but they offer a round-the-world tour of famous illusions.

Major sections:
Ancient Miracles
Mediaeval Mysteries [sic]
Modern Miracles
Oriental Magic
Secrets of Stage Magic
Fraudulent Psychic Phenomena
Magic Made Easy
Tricks with Cards

Fans of Houdini, Penn & Teller, and Derren Brown will also enjoy this book.