Astonishing Essays - Prison Magician (Volume 3)

This book was a complete page turner. I was fascinated by the author's story of life in prison as a magician, and as a human being. Parts made me laugh, and parts made me choke up. I also learned about the California Prison System. Thank you Joshua Jay and Vanishing Inc for producing this book. Loved it and will read it again. I highly recommend it for the power of magic in even the worst environments. This book will not teach you any tricks, but it will give you a greater appreciation for the art of magic. Get it.

Amazing content.

This was the least 'theory' of the 3 essays that have come out so far, but is by and large the most gripping.

The magicians perspective, self reflection, and outlook towards magic are painfully radiant, and his stories on self-improvement and dedication to the craft are things that more magicians everywhere should share.

The Magic Rainbow opens with a large discussion on what magic is. Darwin Ortiz gives a very persuasive argument for part of a definition (I think kept short for teaching purposes) in his Strong Magic and Designing Miracles books. If you want another perspective read this book.

That said I have to talk about the quality if the printing. The outside was everything I expected, uniform cover, very beautifully done. However the inside was quite poorly printed. I am not sure if it is just my copy and they ran out of ink, but towards the end of my book a series of the pages are lightly, just half printed. It is still readable so I didn't want to rate it lower than 3 stars, but for 25 dollars I am expecting a much higher quality printing. I know that the content is by far the more valuable thing, but having to strain to read words is unacceptable at this price range.

Having worked for the KY Dept of Corrections, I can see the authors story with an insiders view. His story of survival, loneliness and daily life is the real deal. His story is one of truly taking lemons and making lemonade.

This little book got me back into reading again and that says a lot. You got a sad glimpse of prison live in the United States. But also a wonderful peek of the possibilities of magic.

No tricks explained, but one could argue about theory. Because maybe this little book tells a lot about what magic should be.

A very inspirational story in a nice little book.

when the book arrived I started reading it and before I knew it I had read the book cover to cover.
The author talks about any aspects of his life inside and how magic has saved him. This is a great book for magicians and none magicians.
It is written openly and isn't a feel sorry for me book. He talks about his ups and down of prison life. I highly recommend this book.

To be honest, it's ok. If you've ever known someone in prison or seen interviews etc. It's essentially the same story. "I didn't do it". "Conditions are bad". "I wish I was a better father, son, etc." It's the same story, this guy just happens to know magic.

You get a glimpse into how difficult it is to get props and how performing can work for an against you. After that it's just bravado and more stories about missing family. Given what the author has been convicted of, it's hard to feel bad for him but it was cool to read, however I wouldn't do it again

I have purchased 3 of the 9 essays thus far, and they are always fascinating reading!
This one about the gentleman in jail was just amazing. What a story! I recommend this one for sure.

This was so far one of my favourite reads from the astonishing essays series and though the author isn't specifically named there are clues that can help you try and work it out. The story is also touched upon in Joshua Jays book "How Magicians Think" but this expansion certainly added to the story

A must read book for Magicians as well as Non -Magicians.Thanks so much Vanishing Inc for publishing this amazing book.Really enjoyed reading it.