Most books on magic history discuss the Father of Modern Magic, the Frenchman Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin and the American “escapologist” Harry Houdini. If these books discuss the history of magic as a form of entertainment, they cannot avoid talking about issues of witchcraft, sorcery, ESP and the paranormal, more generally. These “pseudo sciences” contributed, directly or indirectly, to making conjuring what it is today. Often of the highest quality, these books can, in many cases, be found in your local library, along with other magic books. Search the library catalog for the terms: magic, magic tricks, illusionism, paranormal, entertainment, etc

Specialty treatises are intended for advanced amateurs, and discuss expert tricks and techniques. The authors are often professional magicians or prominent amateurs, who discuss tricks that they have either invented or refined, with in-depth technical explanations. The English-speaking market is the biggest in the world, so these books are generally published in English. Non-native speakers must pay special attention to decipher their detailed explanations.

Conference notes are little booklets of varying quality, ranging from black and white photocopies stapled haphazardly together to fancy, full color formats. They offer inexpensive synopses of the tricks a magician presents during a conference. The descriptions are generally detailed enough to enable a professional magician or advanced amateur to perform the effect. But because of the technical terminology employed, these explanations would be completely inaccessible to beginners.