Hiding the Elephant
Jim Steinmeyer
Carroll & Graf Publishers, Avalon Publishing Group
Steinmeyer unveils the secrets and life stories of the fascinating personalities behind optical marvels such as floating ghosts interacting with live actors, disembodied heads, and vanishing ladies. He demystifies such tricks as Pepper’s Ghost, The Sphinx of Colonel Joseph Stodare, Harry Kellar’s The Levitation of Princess Karnak, and Charles Morritt’s Disappearing Donkey—and with his brilliant descriptions, provides a front row seat to the most celebrated (and notorious) magic performances in history.
The people and events surrounding each step toward The Vanishing Elephant reveal how simple principles—optics, lighting, and mechanics, all diagrammed in this book—mixed with ingenious psychology, can entertain, deceive, and even make us believe in miracles. HIDING THE ELEPHANT reveals Houdini’s mystery and more—the dramatic mix of science and history that is the backstage story of magic.