MN Author Norm Barnhart’s four hard cover Magic Books – Now in Paperback!

The beautifully graphically designed books that came out 2 years ago are now combined in a deluxe paperback and a very reasonable price.  Capstone Press did a fabulous job producing these books.  I was invited on board to write these books and it was a very challenging process and the deadlines came up very quickly.  It was fun to create the tricks and write the secrets in a style that can be understood by even reluctant readers.  About half of the material are my original tricks and the other half are variations on old classic magic tricks.

Check them out, by searching by my name at Barnes & Noble.com, Target.com or Amazon.com.

Or order on my website, click here

The Magic Book would make a great gift for any youngster between age 5-15. I think it would be a great gift for an adult too. You can learn the tricks very easily and do them for your kids and grandkids. Then show them how you learned it from a book and off they go with a love of reading as they realize all the cool things you can learn when you read.

Teachers will discover many good magic tricks that they can use in their class rooms. Check my website for more on how teachers can use magic in their classrooms to motivate reading, teach writing , speaking  and science.

Comedy and Magic Convention at Daytona Beach

Florida Stage Convention Features Harry Anderson

 

 

Harry Anderson, the beloved judge on the Comedy TV show Night Court, presented a lecture and show at the Florida State Magic Convention this fall.  I was M.C. on the Friday night show and presented my comedy act for the magicians. On that same stage right after the show, Harry presented a unique lecture along with magical historian and card expert Jon Racherbaumer.

This lecture was a huge treat as it gave us an opportunity to see two experts discuss the history of our art and focused on the life and magic of Ted Anneman.  Harry Anderson and Jon Racherbaumer presented several amazing magic effects that were in the Anneman tradition as they discussed his methods and philosophy.   There are many approaches to the art of magic and Anneman was a lone wolf who created some diabolically mysterious and clever methods for tricks.

It’s fascinating to study and learn about the art of magic and consider the hidden methods of some of magic’s greats from the past.

This was also a very unique opportunity to hear many very funny stories told by Harry Anderson about his life in Magic.  Many years ago I enjoyed Harry Anderson’s hip and cool comedy magic when he appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Saturday Night Live and other TV appearances. He made it big as a magician and was hilarious and clever in his approach to Houdini’s strait jacket escape.

Next thing you know he was a TV star with his role as the Judge on NBC’s Night Court.  He later had another hit TV show, Dave’s World .  Most recently he owned a very successful restaurant/theater in New Orleans. This was sadly destroyed during the hurricane and never rebuilt. He and his team rode out the storm in that theater. He watched his dream fall apart and I hope someday he will be able to move forward and put together another cool spot like that.

Harry Anderson’s witty insights and amazing stories from his life in show business were a great bonus to this evening.  Show Biz, like life, has many ups and downs and it was a joy to hang out with this modern legend.