Bringing Simplicity to a Complex World:
The Key Strategies of Magic Revealed
There is far more to a trick than its mechanics and presentation. In this book, best-selling author Roberto Giobbi discusses the essential ingredients of artistic magic, the hallmark of all successful magicians.
Never before have these closely guarded secrets been identified, named or explained in such a detailed yet succinct manner, all in a single volume. The concepts are illustrated with a first-rate trick, technique or presentation from Roberto's working repertoire, written in a clear, engaging style.
Studying this book will change the way you view and practice magic.
Roberto Giobbi is a full-time professional performer, lecturer and author. His essays and columns have appeared in over fifty magic magazines. His numerous books include the five-volume Card College, the most widely translated set of magic books in history, internationally considered the foremost instructional text on sleight-of-hand card magic. His awards include the Literary Fellowship from the Academy of Magical Arts, the John Nevil Maskelyne Award for Literature from the Magic Circle of London and the FISM Lifetime Achievement Award for Theory and Philosophy. Roberto Giobbi lives in Switzerland and works internationally.
"Robert Giobbi's Sharing Secrets is the magic theory book we've all needed. As we've come to expect with Roberto’s publications, the information is organized efficiently, presented with clarity, and accompanied with useful applications. If your goal is to be a better magician, it should be in your library. I give it my highest recommendation." - Michael Close
"I have every one of Roberto Giobbi's books because each one is a guaranteed delight to read, is full of great tricks and provides insights into stuff you thought you knew. How does he do that every time? Until now, that's a secret he hasn't revealed. The secret, or rather the secrets of his approach and thinking are laid bare in this book. Its content and format are unique. I now think of Roberto as magic's Notorious R.B.G.--a brilliant thinker, whose opinions will shape magic for years to come." - Bob Farmer
"In this book Roberto made a profound study of 52 theoretical concepts you might or might not have heard of, from the best thinkers in magic, which include him, and presented them in a clear and down-to-earth style that makes them easier to understand than ever before. As soon as you start reading this book you will find yourself consciously and subconsciously revising all the magic you do. I know of no other book in magic that is better food for thought." - Rafael Benatar
"With typical clarity and passion, Roberto Giobbi asserts near the end of this instant classic: "If you don't have a name for it, you don't understand it." He has done such a thorough - and thoroughly engaging - job of using concrete examples to bring alive its fifty-two essential concepts that their names are likely to enter our common usage. I will be recommending this to anyone, beginner or expert, who aspires to artistic magic." - Gordon Bean
"The best way to improve magic is to listen to good advice. That advice is spread across the history of conjuring but in Sharing Secrets Robert Giobbi has drawn much of it together to formulate a theory of magic that can be applied in a practical way. Sharing Secrets is a guide to understanding how and why tricks work and how you can improve the tricks you already perform. Using many examples of classic sleights and routines, Roberto, shows how to make your magic as artful and deceptive as it can be." - David Britland
"A practical treatise on magic theory, embracing the whole calendar of concepts employed by the expert conjurer, some revealed here for the very first time." - Richard Hatch
"Once again Roberto Giobbi proves he is one of magic's finest teachers. His latest book Sharing Secrets is a book of theory discussing core magic concepts balanced with lots of real-world examples. Study this book and become a better magician." - Charlie Randall
"Giobbi has laid the groundwork for Magi to now have a lexicon for those concepts often alluded to, nearly always misunderstood, and many times evasive in description. With reference to past attempts and entries that are coupled here with concrete example we can, at last, move toward a standard jargon for a deeper level of analysis and creation. A much-needed addition to our arts literature." - Paul Vigil
"This is an amazing, useful, brilliant and inspired treatise on how to apply magic theory to the technical, dramatic and psychological aspects of magic performance. The pioneers of magic theory clarified concepts by giving them names; "the Eye," from Robert-Houdin, "in-transit actions" from Ascanio. This volume expands on these kinds of insights, providing clarifying terms to things magicians intuitively sense, making it easier to recognize them and put them to use. The goal is the creation of artistic magic designed to leave the intelligent mind clueless and astonished. There's something to learn on every page." - Allan Zola Kronzek
