Levitation: Physics And Psychology In The Service Of Deception

by Jim Ottaviani, Janine Johnston (Artist)

Overview

• Levitation tells the story of the most dazzling gravity-defying illusion ever performed on stage, and features a cast of characters that seems almost too good to be true: John Neville Maskelyne, the very proper scientist-magician and the trick's inventor; Harry Kellar, the brash American who fails to buy the illusion, so steals it instead; Howard Thurston, the handsome and charismatic performer who inherits the act from Kellar; and Guy Jarrett, the rough-and-tumble engineer who perfects the levitation and guides us through the unfolding drama. But true it is — you'll never look at magic, or the mysteries of science — the same way again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780978803704
Publisher:	G.T. Labs
Publication date:	07/31/2007
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	995,708
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	13 - 16 Years

About the Author

Jim Ottaviani has written nonfiction, science-oriented comics since 1997, notably the number one New York Times bestseller, Feynman and Fallout which was nominated for an Ignatz Award. He has worked as a nuclear engineer, caddy, programmer, and reference librarian. Primates is his first collaboration with artist Maris Wicks. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Editorial Reviews

This nonfiction graphic novel gives the history of three early 20th-century magicians and the invention of the standard levitation trick. It's claimed that "Entranced Fakir," or "The Levitation of the Princess of Karnak" came from India, but in reality it was stolen from European magician John Neville Maskelyne by American Harry Kellar, who took it back to the States. Years later, it was passed on to Howard Thurston, who had "the voice and bearing of a preacher with the manner of a carnival barker." (Kellar notes that the two professions are "not so different.") The art is lively with nice Georgian and Jazz Age touches, especially in face shots that resemble old, hypnotic-eyed daguerreotypes of mesmerists in frock coats. It's all good fun, but the story never finds its heart, only touching on the obsessive control the great traveling magicians must have had, and their life on the road. The hard economics they faced comes through splendidly, however. To perform, they had to look like gentlemen. To survive, they had to act like cutthroat rogues. The story contains two revelations: one is the diagram explaining the trick. The other is the revelation that even when audience members are quietly shown how it works, they don't tell.(July)

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