Approaching Magic

by David Regal
Hardcover • 500+ pages • 1,000+ photos

If you like your magic smart, funny, and actually workable in the real world, David Regal’s Approaching Magic is one of those “clear off a shelf in the library” books.

Over 500 pages and more than 1,000 photographs take you through a huge range of material: bills, beer, socks, envelopes, DVDs, coffee cups, baskets, boxes, borrowed rings, “portable darkness,” bits of paper, paperback books, a bulletin board, a glass canister, a wand, a pencil, and a marshmallow… plus plenty of cards and coins.

This isn’t just a card book or a theory book. It’s a full course in close-up, stand-up, parlor, and platform magic – the kind of material that plays in living rooms, banquet rooms, and on real stages. You get a wealth of complete routines, sleights, and essays on performance, structure, and presentation.

Regal’s background as a TV comedy writer and Magic Castle regular shows on every page: the plots are direct, the methods are devious, and the presentations are built to get laughs and gasps. His acclaimed pieces like “In Darkness”(a borrowed-ring-and-wand mystery that feels utterly impossible) and his money and coin work have become favorites of working magicians.

You’ll find:

• Close-up magic with everyday objects (money, mugs, socks, envelopes, DVD cases, etc.)

• Card magic with strong, direct plots and clever methods

• Coin work including “Consolidation,” “An Attractive Vanish,” and “A Quiet Good-bye”

• Stand-up & parlor pieces using rings, wands, boxes, boards, and more

• Essays and theory on character, structure, misdirection, and impact

• Practical thinking on making magic play bigger without making it more complicated

And the endorsements read like a who’s who of modern magic:

"David Regal's magic is just sensational, and the presentations are equally ingenious. He's fooled me, surprised me, made me laugh, and made me wonder. Most of all, he made me wonder where all these great ideas come from. Now every magician will know. They come from this book."
— Jim Steinmeyer

"Brilliance in action, David gives you his real world – real work."
— Jeff McBride

"I have had the privilege of experiencing David’s fine performances and lectures. David has the insightful understandings of magical theories that I have heard Professor Dai Vernon preach on for years. He understands what makes for good magic."
— Richard Turner

"In the UK, 'REGAL' is a brand of cigarette. David's material relates to this in two ways; It is of highest quality and it KILLS."
— R. Paul Wilson

"Very few tricks give me the feeling that 'In Darkness' gave me. In short it blew me away."
— Dean Dill

"The one-hand Half Pass completely flew by me… I simply had no clue. David has given the brethren a diabolical new tool to create miracles."
— Roger Klause

"Please ignore David's 'Change for a Five'. People feel abused and mentally violated after seeing it."
— Derek Delgaudio

"After reading three coin effects, 'Consolidation', 'An Attractive Vanish', and 'A Quiet Good-bye', I can honestly say that they are stunning, cunning, and diabolical."
— Mike Gallo

If you’re a serious hobbyist or a working pro hunting for strong, audience-tested material you can build into your show, this is the kind of book you’ll keep reaching for.

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What You Get

• Author: David Regal

• Title: Approaching Magic

• Format: Hardcover with dust jacket

• Length: 500+ pages

• Illustrations: Over 1,000 photographs

• Content mix: Routines, sleights, essays, and performance theory

• Skill range: Intermediate to advanced

• Performance settings: Close-up, strolling, parlor, stand-up, and platform