Illusionology (Ologies) Hardcover – March 13, 2012

My amateur magician had to have this after seeing it at a friends. It is very entertaining. Includes lots of history and detailed explanations of famous illusions in clever little popups and envelopes. Well made and fascinating for all lovers of magic. It does give secret to many tricks away which could be a con to some.

This book is fun for older kids and young adults.

GREAT book! My son loves these Ologie books. And He really loves this one! Such a nice illustrated book with tons of little inserts and magic tricks to pull out- all the little inserts and pull outs are his favorite.. it makes the book so much fun! And he loves learning and showing us all his new magic tricks!

This book is beautifully designed and illustrated. From the front cover to the back. Full of little extras like card tricks, pull outs, fold outs, and much more. Quite worth the price. Young budding magicians will love it.

This book was a Christmas gift for our daughter and she uses it all the time. It is filled with fun magic tricks and optical illusions that are fun and spark interest in learning new things. I was surprised at what I learned and found it very interest myself. We have many of the Ology books and this is one of the best. Highly recommend.

There is a scene in the movie "The Goonies" where the boys, bored on a rainy day, race up to Mikey's attic in the search of "rich stuff." Mikey and Brand's father is the curator of the local museum and apparently what doesn't make the cut at the museum winds up in the attic.The attic is dark and dusty. The boys are all amusing themselves. Mouth destroys a painting and makes a crude joke. He's Mouth after all.And then Mikey, all alone, finds something amazing. He finds a map to the pirate One-Eyed Willy's treasure. Thus the rainy day mystery begins. The setting, the tone, is all perfect for that initial discovery. The wiping of the dust from the glass, the discovery of the newspaper clipping of Chester Copperpot's search for the treasure and his disappearance.What child doesn't crave this sort of thing?Which I think is why the "ology" books produced by Candlewick Press are so popular. Books such as "Pirateology," "Egyptology" and "Dragonology" have all graced the bookshelves in my classroom and have all been so used and abused by curious hands, they are practically falling apart.The brilliance of the "ology" series is that each book presents itself as a found journal. There are no authors per se. Each book is filled with interactive materials from "dragon skin" to old handwritten notes and letters.The most recent "ology" book is "Illusionology." It is probably my favorite by far. The interactive materials include various magic tricks like playing cards and optical illusions. Though ultimately a work of fiction, "Illusionology" offers real and true facts about the art of magic, why it works, how it works, how your brain is fooled. It introduces real life illusionists and scientists, like Houdini and Tesla and explains their contributions to the art.I'm still reading and rereading "Illusionology" finding new tidbits each time I do. It's fascinating.

My 8 year old and 11 year old daughters love this book. Lots of little magic tricks and fun activities have kept them busy for hours. Recommend this book.

Not just for kids. I don't even have kids and I buy the ologies books. i found the oceanology book at a local shop and I Was hooked. There's new surprises on every page, activities and keepsakes. These books are beautifully illustrated and written and the attention to detail is stellar!