Most readers of MAGIC know the name Herb Zarrow. I may be wasting space in describing who he is and why he’s important, so I’ll keep my introductory comments brief.

Involved with magic for over seventy years, Zarrow was, until his passing in May at age 82, a living legend. On at least three occasions, I remember seeing him at a magic convention and overhearing people pass him and remark, “Do you know who that is? That’s Herb Zarrow.” These moments were usually followed by a deck being hastily removed from its case as Zarrow was chased down and asked to do “the shuffle.” He always acquiesced. There is no doubt that it’s the Full Deck Control from The Phoenix for which Herb Zarrow will be most remembered. However, those who think it was his only significant contribution to magic are sorely mistaken.

Zarrow -- A Lifetime of Magic weighs in at a staggering 478 pages. It is a wonderful book full of interesting, accessible and, most of all, important magic. Of course, the shuffle is here, described absolutely properly by David Ben -- with Zarrow’s approval of every word. If you must, skip directly to Chapter 18 and dive in. Eventually, though, work your way through each and every item in the tome. There are gems here. Resist the temptation to allow the shuffle to overshadow them.

Keep an eye out for Progressive Poker, the routine Johnny Thompson has been waiting over thirty years to learn. It was developed by Zarrow in conjunction with Ron Wohl after seeing Persi Diaconis perform a similar effect.

Other routines to study include: Doubly Ambitious, Herb’s difficult but satisfyingly elegant approach to a well-loved plot; Minimal Miraskill, a version of the Stewart James classic that doesn’t require you to steal or replace any cards from the deck; Vernon’s ACAAN, a different approach to a plot that has come back into vogue in recent years — not everyone’s cup of tea, to be sure, but readers who are willing to put in the time to learn this will have something special; and the Strip-out Production, an easy-to-do production of the four Aces.

In addition, Zarrow had excellent work on a variety of indispensable utility sleights. The bottom palm, an excellent but difficult palm replacement, a riffle steal from the center of the deck that will rock your world, and a variation on Erdnase’s Diagonal Palm Shift are just a few of the technical explorations that will keep readers busy.

Although known primarily as a card worker, Zarrow made significant contributions in other areas of magic. Be sure to check out The Penetration Band, the Berg Knot Revisited, and Starfish Copper/Silver. You may be surprised to see how versatile he really was.

I must confess, I turned to the Zarrow shuffle section first. Over seventy pages long, the chapter closes the book with a very extensive -- though admittedly not exhaustive -- look at what has been hailed as the most important contribution to card magic in the last fifty years. All of Zarrow’s major variations and finesses on the shuffle are explained and shown. Until now, virtually every explanation of the shuffle -- including the original, written by Zarrow himself -- has been at worst inaccurate or at best incomplete. No more. Using dozens of photographs reminiscent (by design) of Stars of Magic, David Ben has managed to capture every salient visual feature necessary for mastery of the shuffle. If you’ve no experience with contemporary riffle shuffle work, bear in mind, the Zarrow is not an easy move to do well. It is easy to do poorly. Careful study of this chapter will enable you to avoid the many pitfalls lurking within the technique.

Considering the subject, it was almost a foregone conclusion that I would enjoy this book. If your tastes parallel my own, you’ll enjoy it too. I was surprised, however, by how deeply I enjoyed this book. I found something of value in every section. As Persi Diaconis hints in his introduction to the Zarrow shuffle chapter, there are many treasures hidden within the pages of Zarrow -- A Lifetime of Magic. Happy hunting!

Zarrow -- A Lifetime of Magic by David Ben. Hardbound, illustrated with photographs. $125 postpaid in USA (add $25 international). Available from Meir Yedid Magic, P.O. Box 2566, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410, or www.mymagic.com.

The preceding book review for "Zarrow: A Lifetime Of Magic" was written by Jason England and appeared in the November 2008 issue of MAGIC Magazine edited by Stan Allen.

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