Al Koran
THE UNIQUE YEARS
$47
Sorry, No Discounts on This Item
THE BLURB:
This new book - compiled and edited by Martin Breese -
gathers together all of Al Koran's magazine articles from
the magic Wand, the Gen, the Wizard and Pentagram. It also
features virtually all of the commercial effects that Al
released via the Unique Magic Studio in London. Included as
well are the effects that Al released himself whilst living
in the USA.
The book includes a great introduction and article about Al
Koran by the amazing mentalist Peter Zenner. Al Koran - The
Unique Years is illustrated throughout by Phil Shaw and has
a fantastic dust jacket designed by Paul Griffin.
Here are a few comments:
Richard Kaufman: "The name of Al Koran is still legendary
many years after his death and this book will tell you why."
Steve Shufton: "Al Koran's influence continues to thrive in
the magic and mentalist communities. What an extreme
pleasure I had in reading this, the latest Al Koran work
released by Martin Breese. These are lessons from the
master, well worth devouring. The book is formatted
beautifully - as one would expect from Martin Breese, and
has taken its rightful spot - next to the other Koran books
from Breese - but not until I read it again."
Larry Becker: "This is an absolute must for Al Koran fans
and gathers together his magazine contributions and
commercially-released effects - all in one book."
Ben Harris: "Exceptional material in an exceptional book."
Peter Zenner: "I was very pleased to be able to contribute
to and be involved in such a worthwhile book."
Nick Lewin: "A great new book! For many years, the two
classic Koran books were the chief source of information for
those of us who were trying to learn the secrets of the
master. Wonderful information, advice and routines were
contained in those two slim volumes. They are still valuable
and beloved residents in my bookshelf.
Recently my friend Martin Breese has done a wonderful job in
updating the available reading matter on this iconic
performer and magical innovator. Breese must be really
thanked by the magic community for his recent additions to
our knowledge and understanding of Al Koran. He has added
another classic book to the available treasure trove.
I have found it to be a particularly fascinating volume. It
gathers some rather obscure and extremely interesting
material and turned it into a must-read book for fans of
Koran. In fact, even if you have never had any interest in
Al Koran because of his identification with mindreading, buy
the book anyway-you may be in for a surprise. Don't forget
Koran was the man who created the basis and framework for
Ring Flight! Before he became an almost instant star as a
mentalist, Koran was a very sophisticated and accomplished
sleight of hand/close-up performer.
This book collects routines and effects that have previously
only seen the light of day in magazines. What they really
demonstrate is what a powerful tunnel vision Koran had for
the structure and subtleties that can create a miracle. His
ability to simplify an effect and maximize its impact
reminds me of a diamond cutter taking something precious and
transforming it into something as close to perfection as
possible. One entire section of the book contains many of
the commercial effects that Koran released under the
auspices of Harry Stanley's Unique Magic Studio in London. A
great deal of scholarly work wen
t into patching these various instructions and manuscripts
into a form suitable for release as a stand-alone book. The
final section of the book details two routines that Koran
released, after his relocation to America in 1969.
I really enjoyed the highly personal and fact filled
introduction to the book by Peter Zenner, which does much to
fill in the personal legacy of this remarkable man. It goes
a long way in revealing the real 'taste' of the man born
Edward Charles Doe, who carved out a unique spot for himself
under a new name. Did you know Koran performed a
magical/musical act entitled 'Song & Sorcery?' I didn't; and
I found this a fascinating piece of information, especially
given the reason why.
Since receiving the manuscript I have taken the time to
learn and perform several of the routines from this book and
can report that they are pure gold. This collection has
released great new/old material and is a true cause for joy
for the performing magician." (Nick Lewin)
Pages: 200 - 9.5" x 6.5" - Hardbound with dust jacket -
Illustrated with line drawing and black and white
photographs.
MY COMMENTS:
I don't think there's a single mentalist, or magician for that matter, who hasn't been influenced by the work of Al Koran. That said, just about any book that's a compilation of his material belongs in one's library and this is no exception. There's a mix of both classic mentalism and magic in this volume. As such, this 200 page, 9.5" x 6.5" hardbound book with dustjacket, is certainly recommended. No more needs to be said.
Here are the contents:
This new book - compiled and edited by Martin Breese -
gathers together all of Al Koran's magazine articles from
the magic Wand, the Gen, the Wizard and Pentagram. It also
features virtually all of the commercial effects that Al
released via the Unique Magic Studio in London. Included as
well are the effects that Al released himself whilst living
in the USA.
The book includes a great introduction and article about Al
Koran by the amazing mentalist Peter Zenner. Al Koran - The
Unique Years is illustrated throughout by Phil Shaw and has
a fantastic dust jacket designed by Paul Griffin.
Here are a few comments:
Richard Kaufman: "The name of Al Koran is still legendary
many years after his death and this book will tell you why."
Steve Shufton: "Al Koran's influence continues to thrive in
the magic and mentalist communities. What an extreme
pleasure I had in reading this, the latest Al Koran work
released by Martin Breese. These are lessons from the
master, well worth devouring. The book is formatted
beautifully - as one would expect from Martin Breese, and
has taken its rightful spot - next to the other Koran books
from Breese - but not until I read it again."
Larry Becker: "This is an absolute must for Al Koran fans
and gathers together his magazine contributions and
commercially-released effects - all in one book."
Ben Harris: "Exceptional material in an exceptional book."
Peter Zenner: "I was very pleased to be able to contribute
to and be involved in such a worthwhile book."
Nick Lewin: "A great new book! For many years, the two
classic Koran books were the chief source of information for
those of us who were trying to learn the secrets of the
master. Wonderful information, advice and routines were
contained in those two slim volumes. They are still valuable
and beloved residents in my bookshelf.
Recently my friend Martin Breese has done a wonderful job in
updating the available reading matter on this iconic
performer and magical innovator. Breese must be really
thanked by the magic community for his recent additions to
our knowledge and understanding of Al Koran. He has added
another classic book to the available treasure trove.
I have found it to be a particularly fascinating volume. It
gathers some rather obscure and extremely interesting
material and turned it into a must-read book for fans of
Koran. In fact, even if you have never had any interest in
Al Koran because of his identification with mindreading, buy
the book anyway-you may be in for a surprise. Don't forget
Koran was the man who created the basis and framework for
Ring Flight! Before he became an almost instant star as a
mentalist, Koran was a very sophisticated and accomplished
sleight of hand/close-up performer.
This book collects routines and effects that have previously
only seen the light of day in magazines. What they really
demonstrate is what a powerful tunnel vision Koran had for
the structure and subtleties that can create a miracle. His
ability to simplify an effect and maximize its impact
reminds me of a diamond cutter taking something precious and
transforming it into something as close to perfection as
possible. One entire section of the book contains many of
the commercial effects that Koran released under the
auspices of Harry Stanley's Unique Magic Studio in London. A
great deal of scholarly work wen
t into patching these various instructions and manuscripts
into a form suitable for release as a stand-alone book. The
final section of the book details two routines that Koran
released, after his relocation to America in 1969.
I really enjoyed the highly personal and fact filled
introduction to the book by Peter Zenner, which does much to
fill in the personal legacy of this remarkable man. It goes
a long way in revealing the real 'taste' of the man born
Edward Charles Doe, who carved out a unique spot for himself
under a new name. Did you know Koran performed a
magical/musical act entitled 'Song & Sorcery?' I didn't; and
I found this a fascinating piece of information, especially
given the reason why.
Since receiving the manuscript I have taken the time to
learn and perform several of the routines from this book and
can report that they are pure gold. This collection has
released great new/old material and is a true cause for joy
for the performing magician." (Nick Lewin)
Pages: 200 - 9.5" x 6.5" - Hardbound with dust jacket -
Illustrated with line drawing and black and white
photographs.
MY COMMENTS:
I don't think there's a single mentalist, or magician for that matter, who hasn't been influenced by the work of Al Koran. That said, just about any book that's a compilation of his material belongs in one's library and this is no exception. There's a mix of both classic mentalism and magic in this volume. As such, this 200 page, 9.5" x 6.5" hardbound book with dustjacket, is certainly recommended. No more needs to be said.
Here are the contents:
