I have been REALLY partial to Joshua Jay's book on magic. But I can honestly say that this gets you the most bang for your buck. There are a bunch of great tricks in here that we really still perform.

I like the way he teaches. Mark is a fantastic Magician and he's really smart. I love how everything is layed out easily to see and nothing is to difficult. One problem that a lot of people don't like is, surprisingly how big it is. Some younger magicians might not want to read that much. It's really easy to get through but you learn a bunch of good tricks

This is sort of like some other books out there where you go through and learn something new every time. I suggest you buy this, HIGHLY!

This is almost a replica of Mark Wilson's Complete course in magic but in a much smaller size book. 4 stars because it actually leaves 1 chapter out. But other than that, it is one of my all time favourite beginner books in magic. I've performed something from every section (even the illusion section!) and everything always gets a great reaction.