For the magician who has learned the basic sleights of cards and coins, and who wants to make his act both mystifying and entertaining, the undisputed all-time best guide is T. Nelson Downs' The Art of Magic. Downs was one of the greatest sleight-of-hand performers who ever lived, and his name is associated with many of the most famous card and coin manipulations.

In this classic volume he's compiled a selection of the finest tricks by other magicians, new methods of his own for many tricks, and several tricks that he invented. Beyond giving excellent instructions for all these tricks, Downs often includes complete transcriptions of appropriate patter-a vital part of many tricks that is often missing from other books of magic.

Approximately two-thirds of the book is devoted tro tricks with cards:

• Everywhere and Nowhere (2 methods)
• Houdini's Torn Card Trick
• The Flying Cards (2 methods)
• Cards Up the Sleeve (2 methods)
• The Card Through the Handkerchief
• Th