A British stage magician of the 1930s and '40s, Jasper Maskelyne was a third-generation performer in a well-known family of illusionists. During World War II, Maskelyne assembled a squad known as the "Magic Gang" to misdirect Axis bombers and camouflage the activities of the Allied forces with illusions of tanks, battleships, and armies. This new edition of his captivating classic features a 20 page introduction by magic historian and author Edwin A. Dawes that recounts the Maskelyne family's place in magic history and Jasper Maskelyne's larger-than-life career and exploits.

The book itself gives a charming glimpse of stage magic in the early twentieth century, its time-honored tricks ranging from sleight of hand with coins, cards, and rope to thought-reading and juggling. Its tried-and-true feats and performance tips are illustrated by sixty figures and thirteen vintage photographs, including images of Houdini, Chung Ling Soo, Harry Kellar, Alexander Herrmann, Howard Thurston, Carl Hertz, Ellis Stanyon, P. T. Selbit sawing a woman in half, the Indian Rope Trick, and other, not to mention a photo of the handsome Jasper himself!