"Shattering Illusions" by Jamy Ian Swiss Published by Hermetic Press 3-Piece Cloth Binding Price - $35 (plus $4 postage if ordered from Hermetic Press) Most books published in the magic arena are compilations of tricks. Some of these books contain essays on the state-of-the-art as seen through the eyes of the author. Very few concern themselves only with the practice of magic, seeking to better it through words and not examples of artifice. I am predisposed to enjoy books like these, because this is "the other real work". Honestly, I would favor a book that raised interesting and valid questions regarding the art of magic even if it was artlessly written, but Shattering Illusions, a compilation of twenty essays by Jamy Ian Swiss about the performance of magic (some previously published - some not) is splendidly written. The result is a rewarding and enjoyable volume that introduces us to a new voice. Yes, a new voice, because these essays, taken as a whole, create a more well-rounded portrait of Mr. Swiss than one might expect, given his notoriety for speaking his mind and suffering no fools gladly. Indeed, Mr. Swiss has won himself a certain fame for making his (sometimes acid) views known and cheerfully going against the grain whenever he felt the dignity of magic was being assailed. One might think a collection of essays by this man would contain rants and railings against magic's undesirables, as Mr. Swiss sounds off on what is wrong with the art, and what can be done to remedy its ills. Well…there's some of that, but there's much more. In these essays Mr. Swiss lays bare his love of magic, and with that, reminds us of our own. We are offered a deeper understanding of Mr. Swiss' motivations, and his appreciation of others' contributions to the craft. At their best, these essays remind us of the wonderful, the fleeting, the transcendent feelings we've had while experiencing the performance of a magic effect, and give us reason to pause and reconsider our own objectives. Having said these lofty words, I must report that the first essay of the first chapter is titled "Why Magic Sucks". Lest you think this disrespectful, let me point out that Maskelyn's portion of Our Magic might just as well have been called "Why Magic Sucks". Mr. Swiss speaks with an utterly contemporary voice, to address the art of magic as is stands now. His essays are filled with intriguing suggestions, apt observations, and funny comments. In this first essay, I particularly enjoyed Mr. Swiss' observation that no, it is not particularly "fun to be fooled", and the resulting places that observation took him. I will not detail each of the twenty essays in the book, but I feel compelled to quote a humorously caustic line from the next piece, "Mentalism Grows Up", in which he notes the current growth of mentalism, as well as its awkward adolescence: "Mentalism at magic conventions seemed to make bad card tricks look good". Meditations on theft and exposure follow, the latter of which makes for particularly interesting reading as Mr. Swiss has worked closely with Penn & Teller, a duo who gained renown thanks in part to the audience's assumption that they were "bad boys of magic" who exposed cherished secrets to magicians' collective chagrin. You may not agree with Mr. Swiss' explanations of/justifications for the "pseudo-exposures" of Penn & Teller, but I liked hearing from one who was in the eye of the hurricane. The chapter concludes with "Magic in the Age of Information", which, in addition to exposure, covers the area of video instruction, which Mr. Swiss pretty much loathes, though he appreciates the medium's ability to capture qualities of technique and performance. To this I would add the historical element, which future generations may (or may not) appreciate. The next section, "Yesterdays", is my favorite, for in its three essays is found a beating heart, a humanizing factor that disarms us and allows us a personal view of Mr. Swiss' love of magic and his high regard for many he has met and known. The first offering here, "Real Secrets" is my pick for best piece in the book - the tale of a young woman and her wanting to know just one secret is both funny and heartbreaking, and speaks volumes. "A Magician Prepares", a nod to Stanislavski's "An Actor Prepares", contains the essays that comprise the remainder of the book. The first, "Audience Members and Other Props", has, in addition to its self-explanatory title, this amusing quote: "…the maltreatment of audience members has become at the very least a staple of magic acts, and perhaps even deserves to be accorded the status of tradition". "Old, New, Borrowed and Blue" is a look at some of Mr. Swiss' favorite books. Included in the list are several names of interest, including John Mendoza (his The Book of John is deservedly singled out) and Michael Ammar. In fact, Mr. Swiss has kind words to say about many people in this book, including Vernon, Slydini, Goshman, Wonder, Burger, Skinner, Gallo, Maven, York, Carney, Ammar, Eason, Mullica, Spill, Roth, Nelson, Thompson, Sharpe, Kennedy, Racherbaumer, Waters, Baker, Martinez, Tamariz, Hayden, Read, Ortiz, and more. The only individual who takes a drubbing is one of the more commercially successful magicians of our time, David Blaine, who is used so frequently in the book's pages as an example of something to which one should not aspire, he almost becomes symbolic. "Good Trick, Bad Trick" is a thought-provoking essay in which Mr. Swiss seeks to isolate and identify the ingredients of an effective magic trick. This is another one of my favorite pieces - it covers everything from a refreshing and persuasive defense of the pick-a-card plot, to the deriding of a peeve, the performance of magic on television by show-biz personalities. Amen to that. "In Defense of Technique" contains one of the best observations in the book: "When magicians ask me which is more important, technique or presentation, I tell them it's the wrong question - a false dichotomy. The question implies that these entities are somehow "wholes." Whole somethings. In fact, neither is a whole anything. The only whole is the performance. And technique and presentation are elements of that performance." Other essays include thoughts on what it means to be natural, commercial, and original; methods of teaching and learning, developing "style", and the qualities of adult wonder and mystery. This is an entertaining, illuminating and provocative collection by a man who possesses a profound affection for magic. Every generation seems to produce a few voices that shout from the wilderness, waking us from our complacency, pointing out alternative paths and cajoling us to do better. Jamy Ian Swiss will certainly be remembered as one of those voices. If this sounds like faint praise, I mean just the opposite.