This Is Not A Book

Wonder and magic surround us, yet we need a guide to see them. Historically, that guide is the magician-and Robert E. Neale is the celebrated mapmaker for this terra incognita.

This new Neale collection explores the sphere of close-up magic without playing cards. In the process, it expands the borders of magic in ways never before seen. Neale takes magicians at their word when they claim their job is to provoke wonder in their audiences. As he explains in his introduction, "there are many effects ahead that are not tricks, because I am more interested in magic than I am in tricks."

Beginning with the title of his book, echoing René Magritte's famous comment on the deceptive quality of all art, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe," Neale begins to demonstrate how illusory our perception is and how fuzzy the borders are between the real and the unreal. Using uncomplicated sleights and props, he dares magicians to seek wonder in ways that are new and unexpected by both audiences and other magicians.

• In Robin's Nest he recalls a youthful mistake and the miracle that resulted from it.
• In Breaking Bread he resurrects an ancient Middle-Eastern ritual that produces an astonishing result and a humorous observation on the leaders of movements.
• In The Treasure Hunt a woman makes a dream-journey to foreign lands that eventually leads her to just the right message to discover an elusive treasure.
• In Countermanded someone receives a chilling message from the spirit world, and the unexpected ability to find humor in it.
• In The First Mystery the true meaning of the events in the Garden of Eden is revealed with only six illustrated cards and an old sock.
• An old puzzle, the Bashful Lock, becomes a metallic con game.
• A color-changing knife becomes the instrument for telling a tale of love and tragedy.
• Three coins bring together a collector with the ghost of Judas.