The Amateur Magician's Handbook,

This is one of the finest modern magic books available to the general public. It teaches how to entertain with magic, not just how the tricks are done. It is an all-encompassing book, with major sections on all types of sleight-of-hand, mentalism, self-working (head) magic, and apparatus magic. Couple this book with the Mark Wilson Complete Course In Magic and Bill Tarr's 101 Easy Magic Tricks for a comprehensive library for beginners and intermediates alike. I have dozens of other, more advanced fine magic books, and I have done magic for 30 years as a hobby, but I refer to Amateur Magician's Handbook regularly. Very Highly Recommended!