"Mathematical Card Magic is filled with many original ideas that will keep mathematicians and magicians busy for a very long time." -Arthur Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College, and author of Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks "Colm Mulcahy has produced a stimulating collection of novel card magic tricks that not only form a wonderful introduction to important ideas in combinatorics but also contain some very nifty magic effects as well. By reading this book, the reader will be well rewarded in both disciplines." -Ronald Graham, University of California, San Diego, and co-author of Magical Mathematics "Colm has invented many important and practical mathematical principles and tailor-made them for card magic. He's a skilled teacher and creator, and with his book in hand you'll be able to construct lots of new effects. A must for your magic library." -Lennart Green, 1991 World Champion in Card Magic, Sweden "This is an amazing volume! Prof. Mulcahy has left one mystery for his readers to solve: Is it a really good math book, using card tricks to explain the math, or is it a really good magic book, using math to explain the magic? Either way, there's not a wrong answer to this question." -S. Brent Morris, PhD, author of Magic Tricks, Card Shuffling, and Dynamic Computer Memories "In the early 1900s there began a new blossoming of mathematical magic, via such brilliant inventors as Charles T. Jordan, Stewart James, Robert Hummer and Martin Gardner. You'll meet the above-mentioned people, plus many other worthwhile thinkers, in the book that you are about to read. Colm Mulcahy has joined those ranks. His bi-monthly Card Colm has appeared on the website of the Mathematical Association of America since 2004 ... If you have been a Card Colm reader, you already know the quality of his imaginative output. You will find much of the best material from that column here in this collection, revised and improved. You will also encounter a wide variety of previously unreleased material, with some lovely surprises." -From the Foreword by Max Maven, Magician and Mentalist "In this delightful book, the author of the bi-monthly online articles Card Colm for the Mathematical Association of America shows just how magical mathematics can be. The mathematics ranges from simple to deep and the magical effects range from subtle to stunning. Most of the mathematical principles underlying the effects are original, and many are appearing in print for the first time in this book. I'm looking forward to using this material to intrigue and inspire young people to learn both mathematics and magic!" -Neil Calkin, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Clemson University "This is an amazing book! Like a magician's well-stacked deck of playing cards, the 13 chapters are packed with 52 punchy effects guaranteed to amaze and amuse. Each chapter deals generously with mathematicians and professional magicians alike. Bursting with new effects, the chapters detail the method and Colm's favoured presentation-each is 'pick up and use' perfect-but also provide a springboard for readers' imagination to create their own presentations. Those with a more mathematical interest won't be disappointed either; reading further into each chapter is a fascinating exploration of the mathematical questions underlying the effects. This is a magic book that will get you thinking and entertaining in equal amounts, in essence a perfect shuffle." -Peter W. McOwan, Vice Principal Public Engagement and External Partnerships, Queen Mary, University of London "Colm not only provides lucid exposition of how certain mathematical principles work, but he also clearly describes subtle performance pieces that entertainingly illustrate them. Then, to boot, he drills down as to why they work. In other words, he gives you the 'body' of everything, plus its 'x-ray.' Highly recommended." -Jon Racherbaumer, Preposterist and Author
