THE BEST BOOKS FOR BEGINNING MAGICIANS are: The Tarbell Course in Magic, GREATER MAGIC by Hilliard, Bill Tarrs 'Now You See It, NOW YOU DON'T,' Karrel Foxx Books, GO TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY & CHECK OUT THEIR MAGIC BOOKS !! MOST OF THE NEWER DVD's are too expensive $$$$$ for the Beginner !!

these are books that helped me. the book of knowledge, was my first intro into magic. the plder encyclopedias had a magic sectiion. bill severn,blackstones secrets of magic,dunningers,mark wilson course, jean hugard hankercheiif magic, magic with everyday objects, marshall brodien magic set with book of some good magic, magic wanda, and many more ive read.

There are two fairly easy to find books by Henry Hay that are good for beginning magicians. These are The Amateur Magicians Handbook and The Cyclopedia of Magic.

Also great is Bruce Elliott's Great Secrets of the Master Magicians. Chapters include The Ambitious Card, Cups and Balls, Billiard Balls, Miser's Dream coin production and much more.

Dover Publications Inc, New York publishes reprints of many classic books on magic. I am sure their catalog can be found on the Internet.

Have you seen Josh Jay's new "Complete Course in Magic"? It is really great! I second the motion on many that were mentioned. My first books were the Bill Tarr books and Mark Wilsons big book.

Have just read Joshua Jay's new book "MAGIC" The Complete Course. This is a great introduction to magic as a serious hobby. It is one of very few books that treats the reader's intelligence with respect. As well the book comes with a 132 minute performance and teaching DVD. What a bargain!!

A good source at a great price (less than $30) is:

The Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic

Three hundred magic tricks are divided into the sections "Effect," "Secret & Preparation," "Method," and "Comments & Suggestions"; and more than two thousand photographs demonstrate how to master sleight-of-hand.

It's all here: Card Magic, Coin Magic, Rope Magic, Mental Magic, Make-at-Home Magic, Sponge Ball Magic, Billiard Ball Magic, Cups and Balls Magic, and Magical Illusions. Mark Wilson devoted more than two years of research, writing, and technical preparation to this book. More than 50,000 still photographs were taken of the detailed execution of the tricks considered worthy to include in this course, and these photographs were edited and converted into hundreds of simplified line drawings. The straightforward text follows Mark Wilson's "step method" of magic instruction, the same method he has used to teach magic to Tony Curtis, Telly Savalas, Bill Bixby, Dick Van Dyke, Peter Faulk, Bernadette Peters, John Denver, and other professional entertainers. It's thoroughness makes Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic especially recommended for the beginner with absolutely no experience in magic. At the same time, its scope and depth has earned this book a place in the libraries of many of today's most accomplished magicians, professional and amature alike!

Hardcover: now 503 pages
Publisher: Running Press Book Publishers
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0894716239
ISBN-13: 978-0894716232
Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 1.5 inches

Also the Karl Fulves Self-Working book series, from DoverPublications (store.doverpublications.com), is a great source for every beginners in magic.

Self-working Card Tricks
Self-working Close-up Card Magic
Self-working Coin Magic
Self-working Handkerchief Magic
Self-working Mental Magic
Self-working Number Magic
Self-working Paper Magic
Self-working Rope Magic
Self-working Table Magic
etc...

Best regards from Quebec Canada
Andre Rancourt, magician and ventriloquist