Magic: A Very Short Introduction

Magic: A Very Short Introduction describes the many manifestations of magic — the supernatural, superstition, simple illusions, religious miracles, and fantasies of the imagination. It explores the ways in which magic, as an idea and a practice, has been understood and employed over the millennia. The controversy, conflict, and debate magic has caused is highlighted and the relationship between magic and science is examined. This VSI concludes that magic is perhaps an inherent aspect of being human, that we all have engaged at some point in ‘magical thinking’, and that magic continues to pervade the popular imagination — and will do for the foreseeable future.