THE SECRET ART OF MAGIC is comprised of two sections, essentially two "books:"
"Street Magic & The Art of War" and "The Secret Art of Dispersion."
Separate, yet inextricably linked by the paradigm of ancient war strategy.

"Street Magic & The Art of War" uses strategies from Sun Tzu's The Art of War to teach the intricacies of street magic—from trick selection, to the pitch, to stopping people, to handling hecklers, to building a crowd, to collecting the hat. Its most profound lessons, however, deal with controlling yourself and your audience—the most critical thing for all performers.

"With unrelenting conviction and a style uncommon among most, award winning performers Eric Evans and Nowlin Craver have expertly defined the facts and fallacies facing the contemporary street artist. Using their combined years of hard earned experience, along with ancient time tested strategies, the serious student is guided step by step through a labyrinth of obstacles; permitting one to circumvent the deadly hazards competing with a bountiful 'hat.'
Performers of any and all conceivable venues will benefit from the treasure trove of invaluable advice and wisdom within The Secret Art of Magic." - Roger Klause

Though "Street Magic and The Art of War" is already being called "THE textbook" for street magic, ultimately the most important—and largest at 170pp—section of the book is "The Secret Art of Dispersion." It provides a framework to understand, assimilate, and implement deception as never before.

Using an ancient Chinese manuscript of 36 strategies for deception in warfare, "The Secret Art of Dispersion" teaches a new and expanded approach to misdirection—dispersion. Based on the military concept of dispersing concentration, it not only encompasses the concept of directing/misdirecting attention, but unifies all the ways magicians control their audience's awareness—not just of what they see, but of what they think about (and conversely, and perhaps more importantly, what they don't think about). While misdirection is usually thought of as a tool just for sleight of hand or manipulation, "The Secret Art of Dispersion" uses a plethora of examples to show the applications of dispersion with apparatus, illusions, stand-up, doves, mentalism, and children's magic as well.

"In 'The Secret Art of Dispersion' Nowlin has, not only discovered and compiled a vocabulary through which we can discuss and analyze our magic, but also unearthed a complete and consistently true paradigm that helps us comprehend aspects of our art as never before. Though there have been previous, and noble, attempts in this area, they have always—to my mind at least—been incomplete. Nowlin has presented us with the entire picture for the first time, not only of the separate strategies themselves, but also how they can work with, and at times within, the others. This then in my mind is this book's most important contribution to the literature of magic—a complete and applicable approach to how we manipulate human awareness." - Eric Evans from the "Preface."