Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon

If you are an avid reader and collector of the Potter books, which you are or you wouldn't be exploring the purchase of this book, then you MUST purchase this book. It is thick with facts and interesting items and will be a collectible for your Potter shelf in the coming years. You MUST try, buy and sigh -- with happiness at this inexpensive, but informative, addition. Remember - there is ONLY one Potter book left and after it has been read we will still ache for more --- so buy this now in anticipation of the last book!

"Muggles and Magic" is the most comprehensive book I have found to date about the Harry Potter phenomenon. Written in a clear, honest, and delightful manner, it is sure to inform and charm its readers. There are many aspects of the book I enjoyed and I found a few things to be particularly helpful. Seeing that is was written to be a sourcebook, I found it satisfying that the book delivers exactly what it promises. There is a nice succinct, yet thorough chronology of J.K.R.'s life in the beginning of the book. There is a glossary of terms that can prove very handy to the H.P. newcomer. The section on merchandise will be invaluable to those obsessed with collectibles. Particularly eye-opening to me was the list of other H.P./J.K.R. books cited in one of the chapters. Other than rabid fans, I don't believe most people are aware of the wealth of literary ambition Harry Potter has inspired, not only in the form of professionally published books, but of devoted fan fiction which appears on many H.P. related websites. Some of these websites have not only been listed but also described in the book, along with screen shots from the actual sites.The most popular chapters of M & M will, no doubt, be the ones which discuss the books and movies. Each one is covered individually and the chapters contain a good amount of information. Another popular chapter will be the one devoted to J.K.Rowling herself. Much interesting and sometimes fascinating information about the author is contained in this chapter, all of it stated without delving into gossip or hearsay. One of my favorite sections in the book is the one titled "So You Want to Be a Novelist?". Beahm is forthright and helpful in his offerings, choosing to share with the reader the wisdom gained from his own experience. I think parents of children who are budding writers will particularly appreciate his practical advice.Unlike another reviewer, I relished the sidebars. I think they were informative, often amusing, and of benefit to the book. I found them to be few in number, and they did not hamper the flow of the book for me but were a fun way to include additional info that is pertinent, yet may not have fit perfectly into the current discussion. Tidbits such as how to make your way around England, Harry Potter polls, how to obtain H.P. merchandise, and J.K.R.'s charity interests are touched upon. Sidebars are always some of my favorite parts of non-fiction books and Beahm's inclusion of them has, in my opinion, been an asset.I must add that the forward by Colleen Doran is something you shouldn't skip by. It is written with intelligence, sincerity and humor and, unlike many forwards of books, is a delightful read. I will also add my kudos to Tim Kirk for the wonderful sketches. I often found myself returning to pages simply to catch another glimpse of his work.I enjoyed many other areas of M & M (including the fun trivia section) but my favorite parts of the book are the "Notable and

I thought I knew it all. As a huge fan of the Harry Potter books and the surrounding media, I could have sworn that I knew all the insights into J.K. Rowling, her books, and the movies. Muggles and Magic, by George Beahm, showed me just how little I actually knew. This 393 page gem covers all aspects of the Harry Potter phenomenon, from the writer herself, to the books and movies, to even helping aspiring writers get their start! Beahm does a top-notch job providing an informative account of everything you could ever want to know about Harry Potter, and more. Part One deals with J.K. Rowling herself. How did she come up with the idea for Harry Potter? Where did she write the first book? How is it raising a child alone? All these questions are answered in this section. Part Two is for authors-to-be. J.K. Rowling had little writing experience when she wrote the first Harry Potter book. She truly had a gift for telling a story, and there are others out there, too! This section tells those individuals how to go about following their dreams and becoming the next J.K. Rowling. Part Three follows the movie track of the Harry Potter franchise. Covering all aspects of the first two films and even looking at the newest film, Prisoner of Azkaban, this section delves into the movie-making process and contains wonderful quotes from those involved. Part Four covers the big topic - the books. An analysis of the first five books are covered here in great detail. Anything you could ever want to know can be easily looked up here. Other Harry Potter related books are also mentioned here. This section ends with my favorite part of the book, a quiz on the Harry Potter series. Part Five inventories the plethora of Harry Potter merchandise. Everything from computer games to health products to school supplies can be found here. Part Six lists the most popular Harry Potter official and fan websites, including my personal favorite, MuggleNet. Further reference to this book can be found at the informative site The Harry Potter Lexicon, and there are even sites devoted to J.K. Rowling herself listed here. All in all, this is an outstanding book, a must have for any serious Harry Potter fan, or even for the casual fan who wishes to delve deeper into the imaginings of J.K. Rowling. Recommended for all ages!

First off, this book is exactly what it claims to be: a general resource guide and reference book focusing on JK Rowling and the phenomenon surrounding the Harry Potter books. It is not a book that focuses on spoilers, speculation, or inside knowledge of future Harry Potter novels or movies. Anyone looking for that sort of information will not find it here; however, someone interested in in-depth background information on Rowling, the writing of the first several Harry Potter books, and the reactions to her books and the movies should definitely pick up this companion.Beahm divides his book into comprehensive sections and includes information from various sources: interviews, online chats, broadcasts, articles, and anything else he could get his hands on. Some of the information is repeated in more than one section, but Beahm warns the reader of this beforehand and is completely honest and correct as to why he's done this: in some cases, he needs to repeat information, particularly as this companion isn't necessarily meant to be read through from front to back. Being rather a Potterphile, I've read a lot of extra information on Rowling and the various peripheral events and reactions to her and her works, and Beahm has managed to collect more of the interesting and important information in one place. He's even managed to provide me with several intriguing bits of new information about Rowling and the books.Beahm also gives the curious American reader a fairly comprehensive comparison of the US and UK versions of the books, going into a short discussion about the illustrations and illustrators as well as the performers for the audio CDs. He even provides us with pictures of the children's, adult (UK), and movie-inspired versions of the covers for each book. In fact, Beahm provides his readers with numerous pictures of Rowling, stills from the movies, screenshots of various interesting Potter-related websites, and all kinds of merchandise. He's even tucked in a few color photos of movie locations and adorable little owls.The surprising depth and breadth of Potter-and-Rowling-related phenomena is one of the things that makes this book an excellent companion (Beahm obviously can't possibly cover everything in minute detail; he does, however, do a wonderful job of giving better-than-general coverage in the nearly 400 pages of my copy). I wasn't expecting as much new information as I got, nor did I expect to read about so many different facets of the Rowling/Potter phenomenon. Hooray for being pleasantly surprised! Another thing that makes this book an excellent companion is its readability: Beahm's writing is intelligent and descriptive, and while he is obviously a fan of Rowling and Potter, he is also unafraid of bringing up a few interesting criticisms of the works or their tie-ins. The sections in this companion are clearly defined, and the Table of Contents is comprehensive and detailed, making things much easier on the reader who doesn't want to s