“With the author’s attention to detail and ability to weave …details into a remarkably readable story, you will learn much more about the man at the center of the close-up magic revolution than previously possible. Highly recommended.”
THE LINKING RING MAGAZINE
October 2006
 Book Review
By Steve Beam
I remember the first time I met Dai Vernon. It was in Greenville, SC on his lecture tour in 1976. I watched for four-plus hours as he executed moves, sleights, and tricks that had been honed to perfection. Despite having already seen many of the “names” in close-up and card magic perform, this was an unprecedented inspiration to a 17-year old, 24-7 magic fanatic. It was just one of those moments when you realize that you are watching the very best of what you aspire to do. I simply could not get enough. (At the restaurant afterward, I headed for the seat next to Vernon like a running back breaking through the defensive line – which fortunately for me consisted of about fifty, mostly older and more flaccid linemen. I’m betting some of the other magicians in the room still walk with a limp as a result.)
By that age, I was already a huge fan. I had read everything by and about Vernon that was available and a lot more has been made available in the 30 years since. So, who needs yet another book on Dai Vernon? In addition to the classic Dai Vernon Book of Magic, the four-volume Inner Secrets series, and the four-volume Vernon Chronicles, there have been three recent books adding to the legend. In 2005, Karl Johnson published The Magician and the Cardsharp, a detailed account of Vernon’s search for Allen Kennedy and the center deal. Earlier this year, Richard Kaufman’s Genii released The Vernon Touch, a 600-page compilation of Vernon’s column by the same name that ran in Genii from 1968 to 1990.
Now, we have the first volume of a two-volume biography of Dai Vernon by David Ben. For those of you who have read everything about Vernon you could get your hands on, what makes this different? Put simply, David was able to get his hands on more than you could get your hands on. You haven’t been shuffling with a full deck. Attacking his topic as he does his other magic adventures, David has pulled together an incredible number of stories from a diverse group of sources and almost perfectly interweaves them into the thread that becomes the first half of Vernon’s life.
One would think that there would be a limited amount of information about someone who spent much of his life pursuing perfection with the pasteboards rather than engaging in the public performance of magic. Historians have plenty of material to work with when researching the larger than life professionals of the time. There are newspaper accounts, interviews and reviews in magic and non-magic trade journals, and of course the performer’s own public relations material. For Vernon, you have all of this, his regular column in Genii that ran for 22 years, the assistance of his two sons, an unpublished manuscript by his wife, audio and videotaped interviews, and a tremendous amount of correspondence by those around him. Fortunately, many of those around him were also notables whose magic-related correspondence was deemed to be of value and therefore preserved. Now residing in private collections, these letters come from such magic luminaries as Faucett Ross, T. Nelson Downs, Paul Fox, Dr. William Elliott, Charlie Miller, John Braun, and Vernon himself.
While all the dates and documents are there to back up the story, it is after all, the story that counts. And the story is a complex one on many levels. You will read about Vernon’s introduction to magic, his discovery and mastery of Erdnase, his relentless pursuit of the tools of the advantage players, his courtship and marriage to Jeanne, and his occasional forays into performing professionally. You will read how he went all around the country pursuing magic and gambling secrets, funding the adventure by cutting silhouettes.
But the book is not all about Vernon the artist. You’ll also read about his lack of concern for the welfare of his family, his ambivalence toward any kind of regular job or financial security, his willingness to allow others to serve as his benefactors, and his many missed opportunities to rectify his abysmal financial situation.
As much as this is the history of Dai Vernon, it is also a colorful snapshot of magic in the early twentieth century. You’ll get a front row seat to witness the backroom goings-on, in and around magic at the time. David provides the all-important context for Vernon’s life. Unlike today’s Internet glut, this was a period where secrets remained secret and you had to earn your way into the back room. It is fascinating to read the correspondence that circled Vernon written by those that coveted his secrets. You will also read how many of his secrets were co-opted by others, often without credit and almost always without remuneration. You will see just how much influence Vernon had on the future of magic and magicians as close-up magic was starting to come of age.
And then there are Vernon’s contemporaries who form a Who’s Who of the magicians you read about in your youth. You will read about Cardini, Hardeen, Daley, Downs, Rosini, Miller, Malini, Horowitz, Liepzig, Scarne, Margules, Fox, Baker, Houdini, Benson, Carlyle, Flosso, McDougall, Gray, and Green. These are the characters who made magic in the early 20th century and you will find their stories fascinating.
This first volume covers Vernon’s life until age 47 when in a rare attempt at a regular job, Vernon took a six-story fall off a construction project into the East River, breaking both his arms as he hit various objects on the way down. In a dramatic turn of events, a barely conscious Vernon is asked to sign a paper authorizing the amputation of his right arm because of the doctor’s fear that gangrene may set in. The book closes with Vernon refusing to sign anything and demanding they call Dr. Daley – yet another magician of repute with a critical role in Vernon’s life.
If you enjoy flipping through old copies of the Sphinx, reminiscing about a special brick and mortar magic shop of yesteryear, or taking a nostalgic trip through the classic texts of magic, you will enjoy reading this book. With the author’s attention to detail and ability to weave those details into a remarkably readable story, you will learn much more about the man at the center of the close-up magic revolution than previously possible. In addition, for those of you who practice magic for your own enjoyment rather than relying on it as a source of income, you will celebrate the journey through life of the ultimate magical hobbyist. Highly recommended.
Back to reviews |
