Comments: Illustrated by Nelson Hahne. A great beginner's book in card magic. Teaches a solid foundation with sleights and intermediate level tricks. Not just a book of tricks. Each section teaches, and then introduces some effects using the concept taught. Contents: 5 Foreword by Henry Hay 7 Preface: A short history 17 Chapter 1: A Magic Key to Magic: physical, psychological, tricks (essay) 22 Chapter 2: Misdirection (essay) 23 A False Cut 25 The Simple Pass 28 The Card on the Wall 30 Chapter 3: The Palm, the Slip, and the Pass 30 Rules about Sleights 32 The Palm: 3 methods 37 The Card in the Book 38 The Brain Buster: Cards are fanned and spectator selects one. Card is counted to, but vanishes, to be found in the performer's pocket. 39 The Slip (top slip, slip change) 40 Cut Your Card: knife inserted into deck locates selection 40 The Prophet: Card selected with knife matches prediction 41 The Old Fashioned Pass 45 Covering the Pass 46 The Herrmann Pass (easier) 49 The Hypnotic Aces: 2 red aces in the center, 2 black Aces on top & bottom of deck. Suddenly the reds are at the top and bottom and the blacks are in the center. The deck is then spread, and the cards have returned to original locations. 50 Bridge and Shuffle: control card to top 51 The Short Card 53 The Crimp 55 The Double Cut: bring chosen to top 55 Having a Selected Card Returned 57 Chapter 4: Shuffles - fair, false, and fancy 57 Dovetail Shuffle 59 False Dovetail 60 Overhand Shuffle 61 Gambler's Shuffle: maintain a packet of cards 63 Running Cut 64 False Running Cut 65 False Triple Cut 66 One Hand Cut 68 One Hand Shuffle 69 Poker Hand application of false shuffles (stack) 71 Chapter 5: The Build Up - motivating the effect 74 The Spectator Takes Over: Spectator reverses one card behind back and inserts it into the pack, locating an earlier selection. 75 The Spelling Trick: a memory speller 76 Four Ace Trick: Aces assemble to one packet 79 The 22 Trick: Cards are dealt one into hat, one on table. This is repeated with the tabled portion until one card remains: the selection 80 Do As I Do: Spectator & Magician each shuffle, cut, peek at a card and cut again. They exchange decks. Spectator and Magician each take a selection: they match! 81 Kings & Queens: Queen of Spades to pocket, Queen of Hearts between two Red Kings. They change places (requires Double Lift, Palm) 84 Chapter 6: How to Force a Card 84 Regular Force: the Classic Force (not 100%) 86 The Bridge: Spectator cuts the deck (not 100%) 87 Three Pile Force: magician's choice 88 Touch Force: uses slip 88 Shuffle Force: overhand shuffle 89 The Card in the Cigarette: corner matches! 90 Three Alike: Three spectators all pick the same card 90 Telephone Trick: Three methods 91 Telephone Trick Number 2: As the spectator selects a card, the phone rings, and the caller tells the spectator what he just picked. 92 The Magazine Test: Magician predicts word in magazine using cards to locate the word 93 Chapter 7: Special Decks: includes short suggestions for use 93 Key Card Deck: short, narrow, wide, slick, dotted, broken, nicked 95 Pre-Arranged Deck: 8 Kings 96 Strippers 97 One Way Backs 97 Svengali Deck 99 Chapter 8: Sudden Stuff: Manipulative Magic 100 Thumb Steal Color Change 102 Slip Slide Color Change 103 Double Color Change 105 The Double Card 105 A Top Change 106 A One Hand Change 107 The Downs' Change 108 The Glide 109 The Fading Pips: The 3 of Hearts is poorly passed for an Ace on the bottom of the deck and dealt to the table, but it is found to really be the Ace of Hearts. 110 Production of a Fan of Cards 111 Vanish of the Deck: Two fans are shown, one vanishes 113 A routine of Quick Changes 114 The Fickle Heart: Card is selected and returned. Deck is put in the case. Spectator is asked to think the card to the bottom of the deck. Bottom card ends up with one pip to many, so one pip is removed! 116 Chapter 9: Gambler's Sleights 118 The Second Deal 120 Another Second Deal 121 Bottom Deal 124 Running Up a Hand 125 The Cut 129 Various Subterfuges: Glimpse bottom, top, dealing extras, the twist 130 Cheating at Bridge 133 Chapter 10: Subtle Stuff 
134 The Set Up Location: card selected and returned. Cards are dealt face up to table. Cards are eliminated until only selection remains. While eliminating cards, you stack the deck for the next effect!
136 Poker Deal: using result from above 136 Think A Card: Speller using stack
137 Perfect Control: counting location 137 Sugar Perception: Cards dealt into two packets. Spectator picks one, remembers card at a certain number, and shuffles. Magician puts packets together and dicerns selection.
138 Divination Supreme: Spectator counts down to card. Magician takes second deck and finds copy of selection.
139 Super Memory: Magician glimpses cards, counts accurately the first 10, then the second 10.
140 The Photographic Eye: Magician riffles cards and memorizes them. Cards are spread face up, spectator transposes two cards, and magician (whose back was turned) knows which two were switched.
142 Chapter 11: Flourishes
143 To Spring the Cards
144 The Cascade
145 Pressure Fan
146 To Close the Fan
147 One Hand Fan
149 Blank Fan (uses blank card)
150 The Rosette
151 Eye Level Dovetail Shuffle
152 Giant Fan of Cards
154 Chapter 12: More Impromptu Tricks
155 Change About: Spectator one counts down and selects card, spectator two counts up from bottom same number and selects card. Magician returns to room and shuffled deck. Spectator one and two repeat the counts, taking the cards located. Spectator one has selected spectator's two card, and spec 2 has spec 1's card.
155 The Count-Down Trick: describes an evolution of different ways to count down to the spectator's card 157 The Salt Trick: deck is tossed and separates at spectator's selection 158 The Magnetic Cards: Two cards separated in the deck join each other 158 The Windmill: a flourish to reveal the second from top card 159 The Court Card Location: 12 court cards placed on top. Spectator counts to one of them, then shuffles & cuts the deck. Magician locates the selection. 159 Magic by Long Distance: a mathematical trick can be done over the phone