5 comments about Art and Artifice: And Other Essays of Illusion.

1. This is a reissue of a collection of five Steinmeyer essays about illusion originally published in 1998 which contains some overlap with his more recent books, Vanishing the Elephant and The Glorious Deception. This book is less polished and comprehensive, but is still quite interesting and well-documented, as those other two books are.
   
   The first of the five essays discusses Steel MacKaye, John Nevil Maskelyne, and David Devant, the latter two of which are familiar to readers of Steinmeyer's other books. The essay is about the use of illusion in a grand scale on the theater stage, where MacKaye had some of the grandest ideas. The bulk of the essay is about MacKaye's desire to build "The Spectatorium," a special theater seating 12,000 that included a miniature ocean on which 3/4 scale ships could sail to show the story of Columbus' discovery of the New World. This was intended to be built for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, but it ran overbudget and behind schedule, and was never completed.
   
   The second essay is about David Devant's "The Mascot Moth," and Steinmeyer's recreation of the illusion for Doug Henning's "Merlin" show--also familiar to those who have read Steinmeyer's other works.
   
   The third essay is about the history and development of the "sawing a lady in half" illusion, and its relation to Grand Guignol. The fourth and fifth essays are about Steinmeyer's rediscovery and reproduction of Morritt's Disappearing Donkey illusion, a topic also familiar to readers of Vanishing an Elephant.
   
   This isn't an essential purchase for those who have read Steinmeyer's other books--it's not as satisfying a work as the other two masterful books I've mentioned. It is, however, something that does stand on its own and is well worth reading for those interested in the history of magic.



2. I don't recall how I found out about Jim Steinmeyer -- it was an off-hand mention on the web somewhere crediting him with inventing David Copperfield's vanish of the Statue of Liberty. So I did a bit of reading on him, and picked up a few of his books. This was the first one I read of his.
   
   There's 5 essays in the book. The first one was a little slow going, but I am happy I stuck with it because the last two essays are just great.
   
   Steinmeyer has a keen interest in the history of magic. He illustrates magic's relation to theatre and how it was initially woven into theatrical tableaus. I'm in the midst of reading "Hiding the Elephant" so I'm not sure if it was in this book or that one where he quoted someone as "I am not so much a magician as I am an actor who is playing a magician." That's just great.
   
   The last two essays concern Steinmeyer's quest to decipher the secret to a trick whose secret was never written down, and his attempt to recreate it. Really entertaining.



3. Jim Steinmeyer is one of the best and most lucid of writers on conjuring and magic. This book of essays takes you backstage to learn what goes on in the minds of those who conceive and execute the unexplainable that is seen on stage. It's not so important for the secrets it reveals as it is in going one step further to show how the secrets are invented. It's like taking a walk backstage at a magic show with an incredibly well informed tour guide.



4. The famous magician team Penn and Teller know that a good magic trick does not always depend on fooling the audience. Some of their tricks they do and show exactly how the trick works so the audience can follow along and appreciate not just the mechanics of the trick but also the stage artistry. It wouldn't be much fun if they did this for every trick, but in small doses, their demonstrations heighten the enjoyment of the audience by showing just how clever the workings of a specific trick can be. I think this is the right way to approach also _Art & Artifice and Other Essays on Illusion: Concerning the Inventors, Traditions, Evolution, & Rediscovery of Stage Magic_ (Carroll & Graf) by Jim Steinmeyer. The book is newly re-released after being out of print, and after Steinmeyer's success with other magic-themed books like _The Glorious Deception_ and _Hiding the Elephant_. Steinmeyer is himself a magician, and a designer of magical tricks used by others, so his writing on this subject is authoritative. There has been some backlash from magicians who feel that he is giving away secrets still being used on the stage, but though he does explain in print some specific effects and their histories, the explanations are nothing like seeing the trick itself. In fact, though I read some of the explanations a couple of times, and looked at the diagrams he has given, I realized how much I wanted to see the actual trick, and how much more I would enjoy seeing the effect not despite but because of knowing its mechanics.
   
   The five essays here describe the interwoven lives of some famous and some relatively unknown magicians in pursuit of illusion. The first tells the performance history of the American magician and theatrical illusionist Steele MacKaye, whose tragic failure of a huge auditorium at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair was due to his simple disregard for the practicalities of getting the job done. Then there is the history of "The Moth in the Spotlight", a classic illusion devised by David Devant in 1905, and recreated by Steinmeyer for the 1982 Broadway musical _Merlin_ with Doug Henning. The recreation not only required special hardware, but in every performance the actions of five people, two above stage and three below, had to be perfectly synchronized to make the Moth disappear. Steinmeyer says, "The secret was every bit as wonderful as the result on stage, and maybe even more wonderful." It would be fun to be able to compare. One chapter is the wonderful history of the classic trick "Sawing a Woman in Half", which I was surprised to find had been invented by one man, the British illusionist P. T. Selbit who introduced it in 1921. It was a sensation, immediately copied and sent worldwide by rival troupes. The final two chapters of this entertaining book are both titled "Mister Morritt's Donkey", with the first being "In Theory" and the second "In Practice". Charles Morritt created many memorable illusions, with the Disappearing Donkey under examination here. In examining Morritt's illusion, it is clear that "it's all done with mirrors" is much too dismissive an explanation. Using mirrors, Morritt got results "... nothing short of alchemy." After much research, Steinmeyer brought the illusion to life again, before the Los Angeles Conference on Magic History in 1995. Tracking down the secret and making it work read like a detective novel with plenty of clues and red herrings (and broken mirrors) along the way.
   
   _Art and Artifice_ is a lovely book that explains some tricks, but more importantly explains what it is magicians do, and why we love to be fooled by them. Anyone looking here for a quick explanation of "How did they do that?" will be disappointed; the explanations are here, but they are thoughtful and full of anecdotes of magic history and magicians with oversized personalities. "How did they do that?" proves to have fascinating answers that go well beyond the magician's bag of tricks.



5. I have just finished reading "Hiding the Elephant" by the same author and was disappointed to find a lot of the stories repeated. "Hiding the Elephant" is a superior book so I'd buy that and forget about this one.

2 comments about The Darker Face of the Earth: Completely Revised Second Edition.

1. The Darker Face of the Earth is a wonderful book. It keeps the reader on the edge of his seat. The play is based on the well know Greek story of Oedipus, so it makes the story easier to follow for the reader. Even though you know what will happen in the end of the story it is still surprisingly suspenseful. There are many more actions in this play that lead up to the conclusion than in Oedipus, which adds to the enjoyment of reading this book. The Darker Face of the Earth is an excellent mix of the tangles of a mother and son caught in their sins, and the hardships of slavery. The play is a quick read and I recommend it to anyone who has a free hour or two, because once you start reading this book you will not be able to put it down.



2. Rita Dove's poetry won her a Pulitzer in her mid-thirties; she went on to became the youngest (and first African-American) Poet Laureate of the United States. It should not be surprising, then, that her first venture into playwriting has produced an enormously powerful and beautiful work. The themes are intricate, the main characters full-bodied and the language -- oh, the language -- nothing short of stunning. What is surprising is that, with all of the above and with a premise that could easily lend itself to parodic or pretentious treatment, she has produced a play that imitates nothing, never takes itself too seriously and expresses itself (dare I say despite its monumental lyricism?) with clarity. Above is from Les Gutman's monthly report from DC where the play is currently running in Washington. And here, for Amazon.com customers, his final paragraph: While most plays are probably better seen than read, I'm inclined to think this one may be a good one to enjoy on the page as well. The poetry is too good to experience only in passing. I am ordering an inexpensive copy of it. To read his whole review and check out the many other features at CurtainUp, the New York City based Internet magazine of theater reviews and related features.

5 comments about Pulp Fiction.

1. Tarantino's rich, exciting dialogue comes to life in his Oscar-winning screenplay, Pulp Fiction. If you love the film, read this, because it may answer any further questions you have about it, and you'll understand the movie a bit more. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who highly admires Quentin Tarantino.



2. This is the original screenplay of 1994's top movie, Pulp Fiction. If you haven't seen this flick, do so. Right now. Afterwards, buy this trade paperback and relive all the high points of the film. The stories are great, the characters leap from the pages, and the dialogue is tight and witty. It's $12.95 well spent, if only so you can deliver all the cool lines at parties. My favorite bit of dialogue involves Butch, a boxer, and Esmerelda, a cab driver.
   
   Butch: ...Esmarelda Villalobos--is that Mexican?
   Esmerelda: The name is Spanish, but I'm Colombian.
   B: It's a very pretty name.
   E: It means "Esmerelda of the wolves."
   B: That's one hell of a name you got there, sister.
   E: Thank you. And what is your name?
   B: Butch.
   E: Butch. What does it mean?
   B: I'm an American, baby, our names don't mean s***.



3. the reason i like this movie is because it has alot of big name actors of the 90s samuel l. jackson, john t, bruce willis, ving rhames, uma thurman, and tim roth i enjoyed when uma thurman got high and was listening 2 some cool music n her house 2 celebrate her and john winning the dancing contest at the restuarnat this movie made me respect samuel jackson more because like denzel most of his movies are outspoken characters in this movie he plays a religious guy who has strong belief in Jesus Christ so with that he tells his partner john during their conversation at a classy restuarant that he is going to retire and walked da earth and john told him he was crazy because da people that walked da earth are known as bums which was kind of funny 2 me and bruce willis breaking on his adorable wife was also funny when he got very mad at her for leaving his father valuable watch at the hotel he had 2 go back and get it and got into so trouble on his way there pulp fiction slightly turned into die hard because bruce was all bloodly up like he was in all of his die hard films ving rhames was the king in this film but later he was raped by a gay guy but bruce saved him and he told bruce that this was between them there was some other scenes but the scenes that i mentioned all my favorite parts of the movie



4. PULP FICTION, the film, is one of my favorites, and I own both the DVD and the screenplay by Quentin Tarantino. Now, as with most things, since Quentin has become ultra-popular, it's suddenly become "cool" to dislike him and his movies (particularly FICTION). Quoting Dave Thomas (SCTV), "Let's get down to the nitty gritty here": Whether or not you like the film, Quentin DOES have a knack for superb dialogue, and here is proof.

   Recommended on all levels - one of my hobbies is scriptwriting and this is a definite inspiration as it was written by a man-child who never took a single screenwriting course. He just did it, and that's always been my own strategy when it comes to these things.




5. I've already written a review for the movie which I gave five stars and now i'm giving the same to the screenplay.The scrrenplay had all of the same things the movie had and some stuff that was left on the cutting room floor in the final cut of the movie,but the screenplay is always good to read to see the way the story was told and then put on film.For example,the Marcellus and Zed scene when you see it you are utterly disgusted and strangely mesmerized at the same time and when you read that part in the screenplay the way Quentin Tarantino wrote and explained the scene was magnificent although I try to skip that entire scene while watching the DVD.Quentin Tarantino is not
   only a great director but he is also the definitive screenwriter
   and Pulp Fiction proves that the man can write.

5 comments about Using Stories and Humor: Grab Your Audience (Part of the Essence of Public Speaking Series) (Essence of Public Speaking Series).

1. This book is merely a compilation of common-sense, "nothing-new" ideas about public speaking techniques. The approach is heavily dependent on the reader's use of his own creativity, and does little to enhance one's abilities. It would seem that the author herself could use some help in "grabbing" her intended audience. It's not even worth the paperback price.



2. As an author, I'm very comfortable expressing myself via the written word--funny stories,quick wit, no problem. But put me in front of a live, breathing audience and: instant jitters! I was recently invited to act as KEYNOTE speaker for a conference, and was so relieved by the "toolkit" that Ms. Slan's USING STORIES and HUMOR provided to me. With the book's guidance, I was able to develop my own humorous stories, interact personally with my audience and present an entertaining and inspiring first-time keynote address. Especially effective, was the information on developing a "theme" for the humorous stories, and how a speaker uses this to support the ideas presented--I hadn't thought about that. Important too, was the encouragement to speak "from the heart," in order to engage the audience, as well as techno-tips regarding microphones, lighting, etc. The book was instrumental in changing my jitters to confidence,and my presentation was met with laughter, applause--and an immediate offer for another speaking engagement! I highly recommend this book.



3. This is a valuable book for the public speaker who would like to enhance the speaking style by the use of stories and humor. It provides practical tips and exercises to make effective use of stories in public presentaions. Stories have always been used in our society not only to add flavor and appeal to presentations but also to instruct and inform the audience. The first few chapters of the book deal with the importance of the use of stories for our generation and what follows is a clear road map for story-tellers out of the rich experience of the author and many other accomplished public speakers like herself. This handy guide with eleven chapters deals more with stories than with humor. Each chapter provides a summary and some exercises at the end. The basic nuts and bolts provided by the author here have been very useful to me in my teaching and preaching.



4. This is one of the most valuable books on public speaking that I have read. Before you buy a book on one liners, joke book or how to keep them laughing. Read this book and find out how to develop your own personal stories. I took it page by page and found that I had an amazing number of stories to develop. As she says: Your own stories will ring true. I know a CEO of a large company that starts each speech with a very dumb joke that he seems to think works. He must pay a lot to his speech writer. In real life people laugh at old jokes that are O.K., but they are still old. I have been crafting my own stories after reading this book. It makes me sound like a more interesting person than I am. It has got to be a lot fresher material, Im the only one that lived it. I bought a bunch of joke books early on and I wish I could get my money back. They become boring so fast. The only story worth telling is one that is relevant to your point. That is where this book comes in. The book details so many aspects of humor. How to use humor. Where it comes from. Shaping stories. The best in the Essence of Public Speaking Series.



5. Author's comments: Bore no more! A step-by-step guide for finding, developing and sharing great stories. In addition, the section on humor offers important rules for using humor effectively and appropriately. Great storytellers sense the inherent drama in life's daily activities and work to heighten it, taking ordinary moments and transforming them into extraordinary insights. This book is a must for clergy, speakers, teachers, presenters, parents, sales people, association executives, business people, therapists, and anyone who wants to improve his/her communications skills. Includes: ways to find great stories, how to build characters and drama, use of significant detail to make your stories "sing," presentation techniques, practice techniques, tips for stage presence, when to use humor, where to find humor, how to deliver humor and who laughs and when. By exploring the tools of fiction writers, I encourage my readers to awaken the theatre of the mind. Once our audiences experience our stories, they will never be the same. Using the techniques in this book faithfully, you too can tell compelling stories!

5 comments about The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers.

1. this book was written by carol spinney, fan of henson, who ended up working with him and doing big bird and oscar the grouch for years.
   
   i had seen an interview with him prior to reading the book where he equates working with henson to being asked to be a member of the beatles. just awesome.
   
   this book has many anecdotes of his times working with henson, on sesame street, the story of the girl they did "big bird goes to china" with, getting punched in costume by rappers, and he tells the story of hensons death and how it affected him.
   
   for any henson fan, it really is a must have.



2. To be honest, I have not kept up on Sesame Street since I was a regular viewer from say, oh 1974-77. So I was surprised that there was but a single guy playing Big Bird! I would have otherwise presumed the role was like Vader, a guy in the suit and a guy doing the voice. Moreover, the same guy did ALL the public appearances, award shows, White House dinners. I was floored; what an interesting time this guy had stemming from the Big Bird suit. He's very matter of fact about much of this so I am perhaps overly impressed? In any case, he comes across as very genuine and extremely kind and generally a good person. He also offers odd but intriguing insights into the puppetry world. A neat short read.



3. 
   The book was easy reading, took me about 3 hours and filled with life stories/lesson's from Caroll Spinney, the man behind Big Bird & Oscar the Grouch. I laughed and cried and totally enjoyed the book.



4. A fun read. Carol Spinney is a man whom I never knew much about besides seeing his name in the credits of Sesame Street, and other productions where Big Bird made an appearance.
   
   It was interesting to read about how Big Bird's character was developed, and how just playing the part of a lovable children's icon changed Carol's life.
   
   Worth your time. For sure.



5. I'm still in the middle of reading this book. but, I'm admiring the work of Carroll very much and every time I look at Big Bird or Oscar now I imagine the position that Carroll is in to make the muppet come to life.

5 comments about On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring, Second Edition.

1. This book is a MUST for everybody who is involved in the film industry (composers, producers, directors, film and music editors, etc...) and wants to know the insides of composing film scores:
   
   It has many examples, references, quotes and the expertise of such a great composer as Karlin is.
   
   Wanna be serious in this business, must get it.
   
   It's worth buying it.



2. Fred Karlin and his orchestration teacher Rayburn Wright both passed away but their spirit comes alive through the pages of this book. Fred's love for film music and to impart fledgling composers to imbibe the intricacies of film music composition is well documented and presented and is current with examples of cues from movies till 2002 in the 2nd edition of the book. Fred's reverence for film composers is both inspirational and exhaustive and reveals what a brilliant human being he was. This world and the music community needs people like this who have taken their chosen art form and has the good heart to share that information which is hard earned to let other men take lead and become CAUSE over their own vistas of expression in film music. Fred is BRILLIANT AND ALIVE. It is inevitable that you can't help but think of him with gratitude and call out to him and say THANK YOU. These are the people who can bring about changes in the field of film music education and the evolution of man in general by helping us create better art. This is the Veda of Film Scoring. Its that good.



3. This book is perfect for people who is interested in filmscoring, discussing every aspect of filmcomposing that you need to know about. It`s the best I`ve read so far.



4. This is a great book to add to your collection and to improve your technique and knowledge of film scoring. it's worth the price!



5. This book was great for the beginner. It breaks down scoring into easy to understand sections. Great examples are used from prominent composers. Definitely a must have for anyone who is just getting serious about composing for picture.

1 comments about Ten Greek Plays In Contemporary Translation (Riverside Editions).

1. Louis MacNeice was a more significant 20th cent. poet, and a better Greek scholar, both of those together, than nearly any translator of Greek tragedy I can think of. His "Agamemnon" alone justifies this volume. Also unique is C. T. Murphy's "Lysistrata", produced for a Harvard College student production (perhaps not one with Leonard Bernstein incidental music, though that was the rumor when I was Murphy's student at Oberlin). The Sophocles and Euripides translations are serviceable at least. Given that one play in the Oxford Greek Tragedy in New Translations series costs $8 or 9, and that Chicago or Penguin organize by single playwrites, and that the standard theatre history anthologies contain inferior translations in pricier volumes, this remains a terrific value for the money.

No comments about Medea.

1 comments about Where Do We Live and Other Plays.

1. I don't review on Amazon, but since no one else is saying it here, I feel I should. Christopher Shinn is a damn good playwright. He talks about things relevant to our times w/o simplifying things. His characters are psychologically credible and complex. He has range (he doesn't simply write the same play over and over). He's not a writer who will hit you over the head, but his intelligence and subtlety can be even more rewarding. Also, he does have his own voice, and set of obsessions. He's a moralist in the tradition of all great writers, meaning not that he's moralistic but that he seems interested in bringing into question accepted mores and stereotypes. "Other People" and "Where Do We Live" are two of the best plays I've read recently (and I read a lot of plays). The other plays in the book are also really good. People who criticize him for writing naturalistic plays are way off. It's like criticizing someone for NOT writing naturalistic plays; it simply reveals more about the person's preferences than any actual shortcoming. Moreover, the plays are not really that naturalistic. "Long Day's Journey Into Night" is not really that naturalistic either. Like any good dramatic writing, Shinn's plays lend themselves to a variety of possible stagings. I recommend this book to anyone who loves theatre.

5 comments about The Joy of Music Leonard Bernstein.

1. I've had this book for a couple of decades in the original hardback version. It's a reminder to me of what I watched, live on television back in the fifties, when television had "culture." His Omnibus lectures were thrilling to behold and I wish dearly they were on dvd. His description of how perfect the Fifth was defies description; you had to have seen him use musicians as notes and move them around to show what happened if one note had changed. Or how a little discussion around a table with a man and a woman becomes something else again when sung (La Boheme) or explaining about a piece concerning a little nightengale when introducing Stravinsky.
   
   The man was pure genious and millions of Americans became interested in classical music through this man. This teenaged girl did.



2. This is Leonard Bernsteain at his best. It's a fun book, an engaging and fascinating book. All the Bernstein wit and wisdom is here. It's a book for both musicians and those wanting to learn about music in a fun way.
   
   You won't regret spending time or money on this gem.



3. Leonard Bernstein excelled at everything he tried--he was a fantastic conductor, composer, and writer. From popular music from West Side Story to jazz to "serious art music" like Chichester Psalms and his Mass, Bernstein was never constrained by any seeming limitations. This book is a compilation Bernstein's writings. The first section consists of dialogues between Bernstein and several imaginary characters regarding society's philosophy of music. These discussions are quite intellectual and thought-provoking. The second section contains seven television transcripts about subjects ranging from Musical Theater to J.S. Bach. This half is much more accessible and a breeze to read. If you can't read music, you would enjoy getting CDs of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Brahms' First Symphony, and Bach's St. Matthew Passion before curling up with this book. It will enhance your enjoyment of Bernstein's exciting descriptions, and will make them come to life.



4. This is a complete, lucid, approachable and vibrant book. The dialogues at the beginning reveal the many facets of Bernstein's character and of his startling brilliance, and the section on modern music should not be missed. Of course, for the sections taken from his Omnibus television programs, the textual medium can only inform the reader what would be happening on screen, and those descriptions probably lack the power of audio-visual aids. It is, however, a work that any student of music, or any lover of music, would be able to take for granted in a Perfect World.



5. This is a great book for those who wish to know how a composer/conductor thinks about music. The discussion presented is witty, intelligent and very insightful. My only problem with the book is that it should be accompanied by a CD or video tape. All of the examples are presented as written music. If you can't read and play/sing the music in the book you will have only a vague idea of the point the author is trying to make.