Review: Performing Dark Arts: A Cultural History of Conjuring by Michael Mangan
The Times (UK) recently ran a review of Intellect Books' Performing Dark Arts: A Cultural History of Conjuring. In addition to recounting an anecdote about an ill-fated encounter with Uri Geller, reviewer Mark Stafford discusses the struggles of jugglers, court performers, and conjurers through the ages, who were often regarded as dangerous occultists by their contemporaries. He praises Performing Dark Arts for its unparalleled scope and erudition amongst a glut of how-to guides for amateur magicians:
If you want a book that reveals "the secrets of street magicians" you will be disappointed. If you want to learn about the one trick that all good conjurers have up their sleeve, the oldest in the book—here it is, rehearsed across the centuries. It is to make sure that whichever cup the audience looks under—mere chicanery or actual sorcery—the ball is not there. It is to "leave us balanced between two explanations," where we can enjoy the possibility of phenomenal powers, without the genie escaping the bottle.
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