The Spectacle of Illusion: Deception, Magic and the Paranormal

Cool book. Great pics

This book is a great pleasure to own because everything about it is extremely well done.

This is a wonderfully illustrated book about the history of magic. The text is also solid and has been written by an expert in the field. To me, it's more than a mere coffee table book.

I’ve only flipped through it. It’s a beautifully crafted book with quality paper and filled with strange pictures. It’s a coffee table book for my office. I’m fond of it - it’s just so…odd.

Tompkins' topical overview magic and illusions primarily centers on the relationship between magic and spiritualism but it also takes fun offshoots into modern psychology, history and more. Worth reading for sure!

I just got this book in the mail and I had to look through it and I love it. It is perfect for what I have need of.

The “City in France” Market (they his review) in Savannah is selling this book for $90. It’s a great and chic coffee table book.

Saw the great review of this in the journal Science and ordered it straight away. Not disappointed; should be required reading.

How can we hope to conduct experiments on things that only exist within our minds.Highly recommend this beautifully written and illustrated book to anyone interested in science, magic or who simply enjoys good stories about weird pieces of forgotten history.