A fascinating look at how magic is elevated from simple trickery to a true work of art. Discover how perception, deception and secrecy come together to create entertainment and social impact with Performing Deception: Learning, Skill and the Art of Conjuring by Brian Rappert
This reflective account follows Sociology Professor Brian Rappert’s exploration of the world’s most secretive artform and the communities that support it. Rappert dove headfirst into magic in at attempt to become a magician himself. He doesn't just learn magic tricks though. But rather, analyzes the art of magic through the lens of perception, deception and learning.
Performing Deception: Learning, Skill and the Art of Conjuring explores a variety of sociological, philosophical and psychological concepts to showcase how magic goes well beyond the tricks. This captivating book is an extraordinary assessment of how deception and secrecy are woven into everyday social interactions and our misleading views on expertise.
230 pages | eBook (PDF format)
I enjoyed the book immensely. Thought provoking and informative. I definitely see magic as a tool for entertaining and storytelling, and I hate routines that look like just a trick demonstrator at work. So this gave me lots of food for thought.
This is a great read. And free to download. Do you need any more information? Ok, it's not about the tricks, so it might not be for everyone. But it's free! Free to read, anywhere you want. So at least give it a try.
This is a great ebook that is free and a great read. it talks about how to perform your magic and make it better. There isn't any tricks in the book but still is a great read if you want to learn the best way to perform magic. The book is two hundred thirty pages and you should definitely get it.
This book was a good, thought-provoking read. I appreciated how it focused on the art form of magic, rather than the tricks themselves. It was interesting to understand how the different elements of magic are woven together to create a beautiful performance piece. If you are a working performer then I'd recommend this because it gives you a better understanding of deception, conjuring, and magic.
The ebook is all about the contextual knowledge about magic as an art form, and focuses on how to make awestruck presentations that are entertaining bound with great storytelling by weaving various elements together. It intends to serve as a guide to make magic enjoyable and fun and does not talk about specific tricks in general.
While I am grateful for an ability to access a free download, my enthusiasm for this particular ouvre is dampened by the superficial verbiage that litters every page in an effort to impress the reader with "intellectualization" of matters that appear to be self evident. While I read the book in one sitting (stumbled is more appropriate word), I am not sure I got anything out of it that would force me to rethink my presentation delivery or audience management. The sources selected for this book are arbitrary and incomplete suggested that the author has not done sufficient research and had limited exposure to magic. Maybe I am not the target audience for this poorly conceived book.
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