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Max Maven
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Max Maven

Cover of Genii (2007)
Born Philip T. Goldstein
December 21, 1950
Died November 1, 2022 (age 71)
Categories Books by Max Maven
Max Maven (b.1950-d.2022), who legally changed his name from Philip Goldstein, was an American magician and mentalist. He often appeared on television magic shows to perform "interactive" mind reading tricks that work for the television audience.

Maven occasionally played a magician character (often as himself) on various television series, such as, "Magic," "The Art of Magic," "Something Strange with Max Maven," "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," and "The MAXimum Dimension."


Contents
1 Biography
2 Quotes
3 Awards
4 Contributions
5 Books
6 Videos
6.1 As Phil Goldstein
7 References
Biography
While his public persona and performances fell squarely within the genre of mentalism, Maven's contributions to the magic community span far wider. He was respected within the industry for being a prolific author and innovating many of the magical and mentalist effects that are used by other magicians. He has been a magic consultant for such performers as David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy, and Doug Henning, and was a frequent contributor to industry journals such as Genii, The Linking Ring, and MUM. He has also been the featured magician at the annual conventions of both the Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Having performed often in Japan, he was quite fluent in Japanese, although by his own admission, his literacy in the language wasn't as proficient.

His name was legally changed to Max Maven but still used "Phil Goldstein" as a pen name for technical writings.

Quotes
"There is nothing miraculous about puzzles. Competent mentalism is miraculous." March 1977, The Red Book of Mentalism.
Awards
The Magic Woods Award for Best Teaching Video for his mentalism DVD "Nothing." (2007)
Contributions
See Genii 1981 March, Vol. 45, No. 3, page 167 for a list of all published works in print from 1965 to 1980.
Phil Goldstein in Genii (Index).
Phil Goldstein in The Linking Ring (Index)
Phil Goldstein in MUM (Index)
Books
Max Maven's Book of Fortunetelling, 1992, Prentice Hall General. ISBN 0-13-564121-7
Prism (2005) A compilation of five books of mentalism ("the color series")
The "Lisp" series:
Thunday (1982)
Thequal (1984)
Amperthand (1986)
Doth (1987)
Fifth (1989)
Thavant (1991)
Thabbatical (1994)
Redivider (2002)
The Protocols of the Elders of Magic (2005)
The Art of Magic (book co-written with James Randi) ???? I think there is a confusion with a TV documentary named The Art of Magic in 1998. Who can confirm or infirm?
Videos
Max Maven's Mindgames (video) (1984)
Max Maven's VideoMind Phase One: Parlor Mentalism (1997)
Max Maven's VideoMind Phase Two: Close-Up Mentalism (1997)
Max Maven's VideoMind Phase Three: Stage Mentalism (1997)
VideoMind - Phases 1-3: Mentalism (3 volumes DVD 2004)
Nothing (2006)
As Phil Goldstein
Verbal Control (1976)
Classic Tackler (1976)
Scattershot (1977)
Goldstein's Gallery (1979)
Silentwe (1982)
Majorminor (1983)
New Magic of Japan (with Richard Kaufman - 1988)
Focus (1990)
References
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Cover Genii 1981 March
Cover Genii 1983 October
Cover Genii 2007 November
Max Maven's Home Page


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We all know Phil Goldstein for Monkey in the Middle, Mo’ Monte, and Shrinkhasen, to name a few. We also know that he doubles as Max Maven, world renowned Mentalist.

If you think you’re getting a book about packet tricks that only magicians will appreciate, think again! This book is chuck full of tricks for laymen, restaurant workers, bar magicians, close-up workers, etc. One of the best parts of the book is the explanations. Goldstein explains EVERYTHING in crystal clear detail.

The only thing he left out when writing this book is the effects that would get 9.5 stars instead of 10 out of 10. Yes, they are THAT good!

Since 1965, Phil Goldstein has published over 1000 ingenious tricks and routines. From this huge body of work he has chosen 60 of his best card tricks, the cream of the bountiful crop. His criteria were clarity of plot, entertainment value, and high magical content. Focus contains all 60 of these choice effects, the very best from one of today's most acclaimed creators.

Among the many excellent tricks in this volume, Mr. Goldstein has finally parted with "Impressions," a routine with which he has baffled the world's leading magicians. A joker transforms itself time after time into a duplicate of any card picked from the deck, including an imaginary card!

This is just one of the 60 astonishing and professional effects explained in Focus, an important work by one of the most extraordinarily creative talents in magic.