Libros

296 pags.
Binding: Hardcover
Format: 24cmx17cm

Compiled and Written by Jesús Etcheverry

The Maestro left us the 6 of April of 1997, but his magic remains alive.
The Magic of Ascanio, in four volumes. His theories, his thinking, his philosophy, and the entirety of his card magic, including his legendary routines (with over thirty previously unreleased tricks), full of the ascanian touch, and his magic with pocket knives.

The first volume includes: Technique, Construction, Cover, Presentation, How to Study Magic. Ascanio's previously unpublished essays: Thoughts on Creativity, Theory Notebook of 1970. His classic articles on theory: Conception of the Magical Atmosphere, Analysis of a Trick, On Misdirection, The Fundamentals of Timing, Know Yourself, The Psychology of Palming. The interviews: Interview with a Genius of Magic, by Juan Tamariz, A Biographical Interview and My Character, by Docampo. Three juicy conversations: Arturo and Juan Chat. An essay by Aurelio Paviato.
The result is the most important theoretical book on magic ever written.

"...I was tempted to say this book will make you a better magician, but nothing can do that but yourself. What it does is show you the way. Whether you take it or not is up to you, but at least you will know what magic can be. A book for all time and a must read".
Phil Willmarth
The Linking Ring. May 2005

"This book is so good that all I really need to say is "Buy it, you won't be disappointed"."
Michael Close
MAGIC Magazine, April 2005

"The 30-page segment on how to study magic will be immensely useful to any student in the early years of their approach, and I highly recommend it to anyone attempting to approach the art in a serious manner".
Jamy Ian Swiss
In Genii, March, 2005

"Ascanio is gone, but his work is just arriving for some of us. And thus great art continues to live beyond the life of its artisans".
Jamy Ian Swiss
In Genii, March, 2005

"In the first of four volumes of The Magic of Ascanio to be published by Páginas can be found some of the real secrets of magic, the ones you won't find in any other book"
Matthew Field
The Magic Circle Circular. May 2005

"Described as the Dai Vernon of Spain, Ascanio cared about magic so passionately that he devoted much of his life to thinking creatively, profoundly, and brilliantly about it: what it is and can be, how it is performed... No detail was too unimportant to escape his attention.
Incidentally, lets you think Ascanio did not practice what he preached, he was a FISM card champion (as an amateur!)".
Phil Willmarth
The Linking Ring, May 2005

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements//Promissory Note by Stephen Minch//Foreword by Juan Tamariz//Foreword by Miguel Gómez//Introduction//Part One: Thoughts on Magic//Part Two: Interviews//Part Three: Structural Conception of Magic//Part Four: Creativity

Other titles in this collection:
2. The Magic of Ascanio
Studies of Card Magic. Ascanio's Favorites

3. The Magic of Ascanio
Studies of Card Magic. Ascanio's Classics

4. The Magic of Ascanio
Knives and Color-Blindness

Oh, Jesús! How great Jesús is! Jesús Etcheverry. The magic he knows and does! The magic he thinks of, practices and writes! His own magic and that of others that he remembers! What a prodigious memory! What a refined taste for good and exquisite magic.
Oh, Jesús! Every time I see him, he tells me about new variations and personal ideas. Every time I perform an effect for him, he gives me the wise, accurate opinions of an authentic connoisseur. Every time I talk to him about a trick, he tells me about its origins and about the latest version of it. Every time we discuss one of my own tricks, he reminds me of another version that I showed him twenty-two years ago at a magic convention and that I had since forgotten. For all this:
Oh, Jesús!
What a miraculous and magical memory. Thanks to that quality of his, as well as the others mentioned above (theoretical and practical knowledge, good taste, wisdom and the right judgment to compile and clean-up the magic of anyone), but…
Oh, Jesús!
In this case, however, it’s not just anyone. It’s the great Arturo, teacher of so many (including me and Jesús), and the practical and theoretical magic of the great Ascanio.
Oh, Jesús!
Jesús met Arturo over thirty years ago, and was a close confidant of his throughout his different periods: his semi-retirement, his triumphant comeback, the Escorial weekends, the refinements, his deep insight into theory (I think his theoretical framework will be a landmark in the history of magic) and later his poetical and then subtle periods. And Jesús knows them well and accompanied Arturo through them. Not in vain Arturo used to try out many of his lectures in Bilbao (most likely in order to discuss them with Jesús). Furthermore:
Oh, Jesús!
Jesús has taken up the task of compiling all possible material, whether it be published, unpublished or on video, and all of Arturo’s personal notes on his lectures (the best I’ve seen or heard anywhere, as I’ve mentioned in print more than once).
Then, in an organized effort, he culled all the material and intelligently put it together to avoid repetition and to allow Maestro Ascanio’s voice to be heard crisply, clearly and from very near.
And that voice of Arturo’s, full of beauty and clarity, full of love and passion for magic, full of enthusiasm and solid depth, comes alive in a brilliant and unique way in these pages.
This is why I must leave you with another “Oh, Jesús!”
Note: There is so much I could write about Ascanio (and I will sometime) that it would be another book. For now, let me refer you to what I wrote in my book Sonata. Borrow it from someone and read it and you will see my admiration for his magical thinking. This book also includes some of my opinions on Ascanio. To say that his theory (the practical effects will be published in the following volumes) is absolutely indispensable and fascinating would be an understatement. So, dear reader, I should now let you channel your excitement by reading, learning, studying and delving into the magic of Arturo’s words and thoughts.
What a master Arturo was!
And what a book! It’s already a classic before its publication, as it embodies the work of Arturo de Ascanio and his unique and ingenious thinking.

Juan Tamariz, Madrid, 2000