Second Wind by Asi Wind

And now for something completely different. Like most of us, when Asi was a youngster, he learned magic from beginner’s books. He writes, “Beginner’s books offered the best value; they were cheap and packed with magic. The authors kept them sleight-free so that someone new to magic could easily perform them. The stratagems behind these tricks are simple: key cards, mathematical principles, and prearranged sequences of cards, to name a few. Their simplicity was their greatest strength because it allowed me to dive in and start performing magic instantly.”

Of course, as he progressed he gravitated to more advanced books like Hugard and Braue’s classic text, Expert Card Magic. As a consequence, the beginner’s books were put aside in a place of honor on the magic bookshelf.

Lately though, Asi has returned to these books for reasons other than nostalgia. He writes, “Nowadays, I love these books for entirely different reasons. Besides finding the old ink illustrations on the aged, creamy pages beautiful, the simple principles behind these tricks offer great starting points to develop more fleshed-out magic routines. One of my signature magic tricks, Time is Money, was inspired by an item in such a book: Two for the Price of One in Will Dexter’s 131 Magic Tricks for Amateurs (1958). Whenever my creativity dries out and I’m looking for inspiration, I go back to those books and flip through them. Sometimes, one illustration, out of context, can spark ideas for a new trick. Every one of these beginner’s tricks can instantly be improved in the hands of a pro.”

And this is what Second Wind is all about. Asi has taken seven well-known beginner’s card effects and has supercharged them by incorporating more advanced sleight-of-hand techniques, finding more deceptive ways to conceal underlying principles, or creating scripts that elevate the entertainment factor. You’ll find variations of the Gemini Twins effect, hands-off card revelations, key-card locations, and the color separation plot. As with the two books reviewed above, one of the benefits of a book like is seeing how Asi solves problems. But that’s not to say these routines aren't performable (and deceptive) for both laymen and magicians. In fact, one of the tricks in the book solved a big problem a student of mine and I had been working on for months.

Be aware that the look of this book is markedly different than the Repertoire books. Its design and layout are reminiscent of the beginner’s books from decades ago. I very much enjoyed Second Wind; if you are a fan of card magic, I think you’ll enjoy it, too.