Now that I've had a chance to drive it around and kick the tires some, you can add my name to those recommending Joshua Jay's Magic: The Complete Course

Thanks everyone for all the ideas!

One of the best books anyone could receive as a present to a beginner would be Harry Lorayne's THE MAGIC BOOK. I only wish that I had seen this when I first started in magic 50 years ago. (It hadn't been printed then!!!)

I echo Hay\'s book. It has a couple chapters on magic theory which are invaluable.

Wilson\'s book is also great. His original tv show inspired me to become a magician.

Joshua Jay\'s complete course also has a dvd and great photographs.

Tarbell covers virtually every aspect of magic. I have the original correspondence course on a cd in .pdf files for $10 if you\'re interested. E-mail me (john (at)rjassociates.com) for that.

Anything written by Leeming, Severn, or Elliott is also good. These \"old-timers\" produced a wealth of now classic magic that has been forgotten, or most likely, never discovered.

This thread hasn\'t been active for a while but I thought I would add a few thoughts. I don\'t think ssmagic ever replied to what type of magic he was interested in but I have some suggestions for resources in kids magic. One person who has had a large effect on my magic has been David Guinn. He has a virtual library of books he has written about doing magic for kids. Professional Magic for Children, Kid Biz, Children Laugh Louder, Magic for Monsters are some of my favorites. These are not just books of tricks but have many chapters about the nuts and bolts of doing magic for kids as well. He also has a large collection of DVDs of actual shows that back up many of his books. Visit his web site for lots of free information and a wealth of YouTube videos. www.guinnmagic.com
Samuel Patrick Smith is also a great kids magician who has authored several books on the theory of performing kids magic. Big Laughs for Little People, The Booking Yourself Handbook are two that come to mind. The books cover entire routines that entertain as well as just surprise. He has a wonderful web site: www.PSPmagic.com.
By all means this not the only resources out there. But these are two that can provide a wealth of information on theory, performing, business practices, and tricks.