Mainspring at Alexander Hansford

Mainspring at Alexander Hansford
Mainspring is about practice.
Mainspring is a book on how to think about magic, but more than that, it’s about the merits of practicing difficult things as an end in itself. It’s an invigorating and uplifting look at sleight of hand with cards, and how that has enriched my view of the world.
The content has been gathered from countless conversations with artists - magicians, painters, cinematographers, skateboarders, musicians, theatre directors, and the odd philosophy student - from all over the world. Conversations in Australia, Beirut and Vienna to Singapore, London and Spain led to a collection of notes that formed the foundations for this book. Once I started, I couldn’t not write it.
These topics spread outside of magic into other arts, and speak more than anything to the permeability of the creative worlds. We might start out doing magic, but the motivators that drive us are at the core of all arts. These are topics that have never before been discussed in a magic book.
Topics like state of mind, our relationship to our audiences, our relationship to our material, battling nerves, sustaining the opinions of our peers, our work ethic, all of these are extensively discussed in relation to magic.
There are no tricks inside the book, instead you’ll learn handling adjustments, try exercises and thought experiments, glean essays and stories, all intent on creating a deeper appreciation for magic and the sleight of hand we do.
Mainspring is about the constant pursuit of mastery, and why that is so alluring, and so important.
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