Here Is Real Magic: A Magician’s Search for Wonder in the Modern World

Magician Staniforth, best known for his Discovery show Breaking Magic, wonderfully captures the joys and struggles of becoming a working magician and what happened to him when his fascination with his craft faded. From an early age, ever since he made a coin disappear on the playground, Staniforth knew he wanted to be a magician, not only because of the “open-mouthed wonder” his playground trick evoked from his audience but also because the moment was even “far more amazing for” him than it was for them. But as he strove to be like his heroes Houdini and David Copperfield, Staniforth burned out on the traveling magic circuit and lost touch with the reason he became a magician in the first place. Asking himself, “Where do you find wonder after you have lost it?” he traveled to India to watch magic shows and feel like he did when “he didn’t know the secrets.” In New Delhi, he meets an old street magician who said: “The real magic is your hard work. If you do hard work, that will show you magic.” During the course of his trip, Staniforth rekindled his passion. He ends his books with suggestions on how to “bring wonder back into your ordinary life.” The result is a personal story that conjures up the wonder and magic of life without any trickery or deceit. [em](Jan.) [/em]