His consuming passion—his obsession—was magic, especially card magic built on the techniques of professional cardsharps. “He’s nuts on the gambling. The Magician and the Cardsharp has ratings and 20 reviews. Harold said: I read this not long before I joined and just reread it now. I thoroughly enj. I’m on a library computer right now because I’m at a library. I picked up a great book called “The Magician and the Cardsharp”.
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This was a feat Vernon – and every other living magician – considered unachievable. Vernon would smile and follow the devil himself if it meant he could bring back something, a sleight, a ruse, a line of patter, that he could use in his art. The Cardsharp in many ways is as fascinating as the Magician.
Johnson takes us to the cardsharp’s doorstep and shows us how he bestowed on Vernon the greatest secret in magic. My favorite non-fiction read in a long time – a fascinating overview of a forgotten time and place in American history, a broad and encompassing look at the worlds of performance magic and card cheating, and a gripping story to boot – a genuine historical mystery, solved. I knew Dai Vernon slightly during his Magic Castle years didn’t know him well, I think he tolerated me because Jay Ose liked me and I was a friend of the Larsen’s and this book captures the essence of the man as I was able to observe him.
Then he would look them in the eye and tell them the exact card they were thinking of. Found at these bookshops Searching – please wait An aristocrat, really in that he accepted reverence as his due but never demanded it. After reading in the newspaper about the gambling resort of Reno, they decided to work their way across the country to Nevada to see what all the fuss was about.
Write a customer review. While swapping secrets with a Mexican gambler, he hears of a guy he doesn’t quite believe is real-a legendary mystery man who deals perfectly from the center of the deck and who locals call the greatest cardsharp of all time.
This also has an interesting and educational early ‘s history of card sharps and card slights, plus the argot.
A Magician’s Quest for the Perfect Card Cheat
To Vernon, the magic was not in the size of the stage or the number of tricks on the bill or the box-office receipts. The Magician and the Cardsharp is a unique and endlessly entertaining piece of history that reveals the artistry and obsession of a special breed of American showmen. View online Borrow Buy Freely available Show 0 more links The Magician And The Cardsharp is a unique and endlessly entertaining piece of history that reveals the artistry and obsession of a special breed of American showmen.
Vernon came to see them as the greatest magicians of them all. The real magic, he says, lies in the audience’s desire to believe. His quest to learn its secret led him from one sleazy dive to another. Even among the most gifted of the cardsharps, this virtuoso remained just a rumor, a fairy tale. Fantastic account of magician Dai Vernon’s quest to find the ‘holy grail’ of gambling and card magic subterfuge: Oct 03, adri patamoma rated it it was amazing.
Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. I really got hooked on gambling sleights and the various techniques used in the “underground” after reading this book. Learn more about Amazon Prime. His card handling was workmanlike, good for fooling these jail guards maybe, or drunken marks at a roadhouse, but he was not a genuine sleight-of-hand artist.
I’m on a library computer right now To most of the great illusionists of that golden era, bigger was better. Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers. Michael rated it really liked it May 04, For more than 60 years, Al Cohen ran a magic shop in Washington, D. Little did he realize that his life was about to change. Amazon Music Stream millions of songs.
A Magician’s Quest for the Perfect Card Cheat : NPR
Suit Cut to Orde. Loved the story behind the middle deal. A famous magician’s journey to find the greatest cardsharp ever evokes the forgotten world of magic where Americans found escape during the Great Depression It has the nostalgic quality of an old-fashioned fable, but Karl Johnson’s The Magician and the Cardsharp is a true story that lovingly re-creates the sparkle of a vanished world.
I was hooked on learning card magcian moves after reading it and had to buy Volume six of Revelations by Vernon to learn more about the kennedy Center Deal.
Im in the bowels of hell. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews.

You’ll be sad when it’s finished. Looks great in our library. The true story of Dai Vernon and the discovery of the “center deal”. You won’t be disappointed in this true tale. Skip to content Skip to search. There’d be a moment of silence too small to measure, then applause — small at first then louder — as the sense of wonder dissolved. Vernon certainly wasn’t one to make a hobby of murder. Proficient at dealing from the top and bottom of the deck, he was astounded to learn that someone in the Midwest had the ability to win by dealing from the center.
Get to Know Us. Mhcoffin rated it really liked it Feb 16, The Other Brothers Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers.
Jul 2, Messages: Cover looks just like the picture on Amazon. I’ll never forget those moments.
