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A famous magician's journey to find the greatest cardsharp ever evokes the forgotten world of magic where Americans found escape during the Great Depression
It has the nostalgic quality of an old-fashioned fable, but Karl Johnson's The Magician and the Cardsharp is a true story that lovingly re-creates the sparkle of a vanished world. Here, set against the backdrop of America struggling through the Depression, is the world of magic, a realm of stars, sleight of hand, and sin where dreams could be realized-or stolen away.
Following the Crash of '29, Dai Vernon, known by magicians as "the man who fooled Houdini," is tramping down Midwestern backroads, barely making ends meet. While swapping secrets with a Mexican gambler, he hears of a guy he doesn't quite believe is real-a legendary mystery man who deals perfectly from the center of the deck and who locals call the greatest cardsharp of all time. Determined to find the reclusive genius, Vernon sets out on a journey through America's shady, slick, and sinful side-from mob-run Kansas City through railroad towns that looked sleepy only in the daytime. Does he find the sharp?
Well, Karl Johnson did-after years of research into Vernon's colorful quest, research that led him to places he never knew existed. Johnson takes us to the cardsharp's doorstep and shows us how he bestowed on Vernon the greatest secret in magic. The Magician and the Cardsharp is a unique and endlessly entertaining piece of history that reveals the artistry and obsession of a special breed of American showmen.
- Sales Rank: #1175307 in Books
- Published on: 2005-08-10
- Released on: 2005-07-14
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.48" h x 1.19" w x 6.36" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 368 pages
From Publishers Weekly
This engrossing detective story traces the quest of Dai Vernon, né David Verner (1894–1992), to find the man who perfected the art of dealing from the center of the deck. An accomplished card cheat, sleight-of-hand magician and silhouette portraitist, Vernon was so expert at duplicitous card techniques that he once fooled Houdini with tricks he'd learned as a child from S.W. Erdnase's classic The Expert at the Card Table. Proficient at dealing from the top and bottom of the deck, he was astounded to learn that someone in the Midwest had the ability to win by dealing from the center. Johnson, a former editor at New York's Daily News, details Vernon's long search for Allen Kennedy (1865–1961), a cardsharp who plied his trade with loaded dice and deceitful deck handling. By recounting the shadowy careers of these two men, the author successfully evokes the picturesque world of illegal gambling during the 1920s, '30s and '40s. Johnson vividly conveys how obsessed Vernon was with magic and card tricks, and how much time, energy and practice gamblers put into learning how to cheat at cards.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
How does a kid from Ottawa, Ontario, get to Pleasant Hill, Missouri? With a deck of playing cards and an obsession with magic, of course. Johnson's fantastical tale concerns card cheating in general and, in particular, the search by Canadian Dai Vernon (1894-1992) for a legendary card player who dealt perfectly from the center of the deck. Johnson conveys the mores of the gambling world, in which Vernon considered himself primarily an entertainer. Vernon gravitated to New York and knocked about its carnivals, but following the stock market crash in 1929, he ended up in Wichita, Kansas, where he made a living cutting silhouettes but lived for mastering sleight of hand. There in 1932 he heard the center deal had been mastered by somebody in Missouri. One county down the railroad line from Kansas City, Pleasant Hill reflected its name--if you liked vice. Johnson's well-crafted unveiling of the town's character and the identity of the cardsharp inveigles as it entertains, rewarding readers hunting for an unusual topic. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Fascinating . . . This folk history of magic is irresistible."
--Details
"A master storyteller . . . dip[s] us headlong into the vibrantly portrayed worlds . . . part biography, part portrait of an age, and part guest narrative."
--The Washington Post Book World
Most helpful customer reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
The True Story Told Finally and Faithfully
By T. Quinlan
We just finished reading The Magician and the Cardsharp by Karl Johnson and are blown away.
If you do not already have this book, get it. Mr. Johnson tells the story of Dai Vernon's hunt for the middle-deal with such excitement, detail, and interest; you would swear he was a magician.
He's not one of us but he is the next best thing; a career journalist who knows how to write a good detective story.
The story of Dai Vernon's pursuit of what many considered a myth - the center deal - is well-known to most magicians (or at least the ones as old as us).
Some magicians assumed Mr. Vernon fabricated the entire story. There is no such thing as undetectable middle-deal, they grumble. And even if there was, no card mechanic would or could ever use it in a real game.
Tony Giorgio's writings against the myth of the center deal has been addressed several times on the Inside Magic web site. We see no need to go into it again other than to suggest this book supports a loud "told you so."
It is difficult to write a book about magic. We've all read the horrible efforts of non-magicians who either describe effects impossible to perform, or expose effects we depend on for our sustenance.
Jim Steinmeyer's approach to writing about the history of our great art deserves praise. We don't believe he unnecessarily exposes magic secrets in his writings.
We thought his balance was perfect in his two latest books: the recently released The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the "Marvelous Chinese Conjurer" and the incredible Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear.
Some may agree with us, some will not.
As much as we loved Mr. Steinmeyer's work -- and we really do -- Mr. Johnson's book on Dai Vernon's hunt for the mythical move surpasses all we've read.
Mr. Johnson's works real magic in his descriptions of the hunt for Allen Kennedy - the card mechanic - and the move magicians either dismissed as impossible to perfect, or irrelevant for a true gambler.
We read Jamy Ian Swiss' review of the book in one of our favorite magic magazines before we picked it up.
Mr. Swiss certainly knows his way around a deck of cards and knows what is possible. Mr. Swiss makes a convincing case that a gambler would learn to perfect the center deal despite the fact that it had limited (or according to Mr. Giorgio no) value in a real card game.
By the way, is it just us, or is Jamy Ian Swiss one of the best writers in our business? The guy is good. In fact, we think he's a gooder writer than us any day.
Some have asked, why would any mechanic take the time necessary to perfect a move that promised no advantage in a card game?
After all, assuming there is a stack you would like to use or preserve, you most certainly would not put the stack approximately in the center of the deck.
Remember, in a card game there would be a cut required after shuffling. The cut would certainly change the order of the bottom or top stack but and certainly not in a predictable sequence.
("Trust everyone but always cut the cards")
The book makes it clear the center deal can be done. Mr. Johnson points out, however, Mr. Vernon dedicated approximately two-years of daily practice to effectively present it.
Let's assume for the sake of argument Mr. Swiss and Mr. Vernon's skills with a deck of cards exceeds the average internet magic blog editor. If it would take them two years of daily practice to perfect the move for use in a magic trick, why would a gambler spend the time to learn the move or ever use it in a game when his moves are being burned by fellow gamers?
This is essentially Mr. Giorgio's point.
The Magician and the Cardsharp convincingly answers this question. We don't want to ruin the incredible drama of Mr. Vernon and Mr. Kennedy's meeting -- but we are sorely tempted because it is such great literature. You'll need to pick-up the book for yourself and read about the encounter. We think it is almost more exhilarating than the story of how Mr. Vernon finally located the card shark.
One of our favorite scenes leading up to the meeting with Mr. Kennedy, has Mr. Vernon and Charlie Miller meeting the underworld boss of the greater Kansas City area.
We never thought of Mr. Miller as being anything other than one of the very elite, cool members of the Dai Vernon mafia. His skills were legendary. But he had to start somewhere and the description of his first undercover test is hysterical and human.
We don't want to disclose too much. But at the same time, we're aching to tell. It's a great moment.
Please buy the book. Read it, buy copies for your magic and non-magic friends. This is a great story and as such transcends the traditional limitations of genre.
(...)
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful.
The Magician and the Cardsharp
By James D. Stambaugh
Dai Vernon,the "professor" of American magicians was famous for his single minded quests after diffcult and obscure card manipulations. This often took him into the seedy gambling dens of the early 20th century. The best card slights were done by cardsharpers whose income and somtimes life depended on a flawless performance. This true life tale concerns Vernon's search for the holy grail of card moves-the middle deal.Johnson has done a wonderful job of reseach and wrapped it in breezy narrative which makes it hard to put down. If you would like a glimpse into an otherwise closed fraternity of unusually gifted men this is your chance.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Great Story About Close Up Magic
By JCB
Story of the life of one of greatest magicans of the twentieth century.He is not as well known as the stage magicans of this era but most who study magic believe the true art is displayed in close up. Vernon was considered by many to be the best. He was a perfectionist and the book covers this well. It is also a story that covers mid western depression era gambling and associated scams, in Vernon's search for the perfect card slieght. The book is extremely well written and researched.
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