Jim Steinmeyer

"Two renowned historians of stage magic team up to produce this definitive, engaging history of stage magic, from Ancient Egypt to David Copperfield. Fifty glorious illustrations throughout. This is the story of how conjurors managed to survive in a world of modern wonders. It is a history of unbelievable tales. Behind the tall tales is an extraordinary truth. If you read the standard history of magic, you learn that it begins in ancient Egypt,...

"Harry Houdini was the greatest escape artist in history, yet known to his contemporaries as a terrible stage magician. Nevertheless, in 1918 he performed a single illusion that has been hotly debated ever since: Under the bright lights at New York's Hippodrome Theater, he made a live elephant disappear. Where did he learn this amazing trick and how did it work? The astonishing answers lie in magic expert Jim Steinmeyer's chronicle of more than half...