Some card magic books teach you tricks, Solomon's Mind teaches you how to think
This is David Solomon's first book, and it is a substantial one. More than forty original card routines, dozens of techniques, a wealth of novel handlings, and a philosophy of construction that will quietly improve everything else in your repertoire long after you have put the book down.
David Solomon was a longtime member of Chicago's legendary Magic Round Table during the years Edward Marlo held court. He spent countless hours watching Marlo work, collaborating with him on effects, and developing his own deeply considered approach to card magic. Many of those collaborations appear in this book for the first time in print.
What distinguishes Solomon's work from the crowd is his fundamental approach to construction. He built effects by stripping away anything that was not necessary. Extraneous moves were replaced with subtlety. Clever thinking did the work that flashy technique might otherwise handle. The result is card magic that feels clean, natural, and completely baffling, exactly because there is less happening than you might expect.
Eugene Burger, who wrote the book, also contributes his perspective on the routines throughout, adding an additional layer of context and insight that makes Solomon's Mind as much a study in performance thinking as it is a collection of practical material. The book also features candid interviews with David about the Chicago magic scene, the magicians he grew up around, and the controversies that shaped that era.
As a bonus, you also get access to an online video where David Solomon performs ten of his favorite routines from the book.
"In this book, you will discover how David's commitment to magical thinking, to taking things apart and putting them back together in new and different ways, has generated some very wonderful card magic." Eugene Burger
Format: Softcover, 236 pages, 294 photographs, 7x10 inches. Published by Meir Yedid Magic. Includes online video access.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Best for: Card workers at all levels, students of magic theory and construction
