Customer Reviews
A great and easy read! 
2007-05-03
I very much enjoyed this third edition of 'Muggles and Magic', and it's great to have a new, up to date issue! I disagree with reviewers who have written, 'This material is all available elsewhere'; that may be the case, but why spend hours searching for it in other volumes, websites or magazines (who has time for that??) when it's all been gathered together for you here? Mr Beahm has taken the time to compile an extensive volume which gives many interesting insights into the world of HP, the thoughts of J K Rowling and even the HP fan base and their activities! If you want a manual which covers all topics related to HP - books, collectibles et al - then this is the book for you! Kirk's illustrations are wonderful and they, together with some great photos, bring extra entertainment to the pages.
Interesting HP Resource 
2007-01-21
I'll admit that I initially bought the book because I'd heard the fan trips were highlighted in it. And when I received the book, was delighted and tickled to find a group photo that I'm in (and it's clear enough to see everyone) was in the book! How cool is that? (Though it's too bad one of my friends got cut out due to poor cropping...and the 2005 group shot was in with the 2004 trip...but we let George know that after meeting him. :) He's very nice.)
The book is interesting in its own right but at times is a little hard to follow. It doesn't seem to be in any particular order.
Having said that, I'm still glad I got the book.
I've also had the pleasure of listening to George Beahm (and illustrator Tim Kirk) speak and they both signed my book. They are both incredibly interesting to listen to, and even if you don't favour this book, give the others by George Beahm a go.
No such edition exists. 2006-12-28
I am the author and this edition doesn't exist -- it never has. At one point, there was a plan to issue a run in hardback for libraries, but that plan was never put into effect. So don't go looking for a hardback edition of this book through used booksellers because you'd be searching in vain.
PS: Amazon.com's policies require that the author "review" his book by giving it from 1 to 5 stars. I believe the author should have his say about his own book on Amazon, but there should be an option to write about it without having to give it a ranking. It has nothing to do with being a "curious bit of self-promotion" (as one reader put it) because there's nothing curious about it, and it's bad self-promotion besides. Amazon is forcing the issue and what can any author do except give himself the benefit of the doubt?
That said, if an author does write a book, he usually feels (as I do) that he's given it his best effort and, at least, in his mind it should rate pretty high on the scale. As to what you can believe on an Amazon review, I have always felt a professionally written review (from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY or LIBRARY JOURNAL) is always fair and impartial, and usually consistent, whereas fan "reviews" (in fact, opinions) vary wildly and are therefore suspect.
Great resource book! 2006-07-02
I like this book a lot, and I am dis-heartened to read all
the unfavorable reviews about it. it's a great general
resource book on the Harry Potter phenomenon.
I like having all this information at my finger tips in book
form. The book is divided into clear concise sections, and
has a wealth of information within each of them.
I especially like the merchandise section. I like to know
what products are out there. there is even a web-site guide
so you know where to go to find all the latest news at the
biggest and best HP sites around.
what this book is not is a theory book. it doesn't delve into
what things might mean in the books or films, it sticks simply
with the facts of the Harry Potter fandom.
there is a ton of information and trivia about JK Rowling
herself, along with a lot of great quotes and pictures.
as well as photos of some of the big Harry Potter events
around the world.
I find it a great resource to have around, and a lasting
tribute to the Harry Potter Phenomenon.
An incomplete and lop-sided guide to the world of Harry Potter 
2005-12-07
As an adult fan of the Harry Potter series, I am fascinated by Ms. Rowling and her talent as a writer which brought this magical world to life. When I purchased 'Muggles and Magic,' I looked forward to reading more about the author and the pop culture surrounding this phenomenon.
After reading Beahm's publication, I have to say that I'm disappointed. Essentially, this book is a collection of articles highlighting Harry Potter/J.K. Rowling facts that have been featured elsewhere. (I.e. newspapers, magazines, online, etc.) While some of the articles have good information about Rowling, there were times where reading them made me feel uncomfortable. I wondered how Ms. Rowling, a famously private person who is not afraid to speak up to defend her character, would feel about the clippings that delve into her painful past. She makes a point to dissuade such stories on her personal Web page, and reading them in this "fan" book seemed more like reading gossip than fact.
Other articles in the book simply have fraudulent and outdated information that Beahm hasn't bothered to research and update, such as that Dan Radcliffe has bowed out of all of the films after 'Goblet of Fire' (he hasn't, and is telling the press he's signed on for 'Order of the Phoenix'), and that J.K. Rowling's Web site doesn't feature a F.A.Q. (it does, here: http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/faq.cfm).
Another problem I had with this book was the higgledy-piggledy way it seems to have been put together. There's no real rhyme or reason to the selections, and the collection doesn't flow but rather jerks, such as from an article about owning owls as pets to another about Joanne's involvement in a cancer charity.
Beahm is clearly a fan and I can tell he had fun putting this little book of Potter/Rowling odds and ends together. Had a little more research been done and a bit more time spent on fashioning the information together, this would be a fleshed-out companion worthy of the world of Harry Potter.
Just ok, most info is available online 2005-10-23
With more than 50,000 copies of the first two editions in print, the popular
Muggles and Magic has been substantially revised and updated to feature more exciting, up-to-the-minute information, including a photo essay on the famous Harry Potter-themed retail store, Whimsic Alley; a first-hand account of J.K. Rowling's celebrated August 2006 book reading in New York (with full-color photos); a new section on Harry Potter fans, with an article written by Steve Van Ark, webmaster of the Harry Potter Lexicon and popular speaker at Harry Potter conventions. Edward Kern, author of
The Wisdom of Harry Potter (Prometheus Books, 2003) contributes the new introduction. Including this third edition of
Muggles and Magic, George Beahm has written more than twenty books, including
Passport to Narnia (Hampton Roads, 2005, ISBN 1-57174-465-7) and
Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter's World (Hampton Roads, 2005, ISBN 1-57174-440-1
EXCELLENT COLLECTOR ITEM! 2005-08-23
If you are an avid reader and collector of the Potter books, which you are or you wouldn't be exploring the purchase of this book, then you MUST purchase this book. It is thick with facts and interesting items and will be a collectible for your Potter shelf in the coming years. You MUST try, buy and sigh -- with happiness at this inexpensive, but informative, addition. Remember - there is ONLY one Potter book left and after it has been read we will still ache for more --- so buy this now in anticipation of the last book!
not what i thought 
2005-07-20
it is a long listing of all things you can collect from harry potter. While i enjoy the HP series, I had no idea that this book would be SO boring. I don't care what all i can collect, I wanted background and comparisons. Yuck!
Good Book 2005-07-17
I found this book to be a bit outdated, but nonetheless helpful. Written in 2004, the book does not touch upon any of the new concepts such as HBP Book 6, but this guide is a nice review to the first books in the series.
I personally consider Breahm and author Daniel Lawrence of the new ULTIMATE UNOFFICIAL HALF-BLOOD PRINCE BOOK 6 TRIVIA BOOK to be the top sources of HP info for fans. I would suggest reading this guide and then immediately reading the best-selling ULTIMATE BOOK 6 TRIVIA BOOK by Daniel Lawrence to gain even more insights and knowledge on the series and Movie 4 GOF.
A general interest book, resource guide & reference book. 2005-06-19
In 1989, I published my first literary companion, THE STEPHEN KING COMPANION. It turned out to be the blueprint for all of the author-related companion books that were subsequently published. My original inspiration was Workman Publishing's wonderful MURDER INK and MURDERESS INK, which incorporated a delightful mixture of art, text, writing, and imaginative design to cover the topic in question--mystery books. I absolutely loved those two books and wanted to do the same thing for my favorite authors, so since 1989 I've written companion books on Stephen King, Anne Rice, Patricia Cornwell, JRR Tolkien, and, with this book, JK Rowling.
Before I began writing this particular book, I looked at every other book on the market and said to myself: What is it that's missing in those books? It's a waste of time to repeat what others have done--and in some cases, done so well--and so I'm interested in doing something new and different.
I feel I have accomplished both of those objectives with this book, which focuses as much on JK Rowling as it does on her fictional creation, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, and the wizarding world. To understand Harry Potter, you MUST understand where Rowling came from, in terms of geography, in terms of literary and historical inspiration, and in terms of her grand vision as a writer: to spend five years writing the first book and plotting out the remaining books is, I think, the principal reason why her books are so much fun to read. Even at this late date, with all but two in the series published, so many questions remain unanswered; doubtless, a good number of them WILL be answered with the publication of the 6th book, but the mysteries wrapped up in the 6th and 7th novels and the many questions that have been raised about the fates of the principal characters explain the enduring popularity of the series.
My book was NOT designed merely to be a handbook to the wizarding world. There are plenty of books that already do that, and do it well -- notably Fiona Boyle's most excellent tome -- and, again, I have no desire to go down the paths that others have already trod.
In my book, I started out with a section about J.K. Rowling. The biography, written by a journalist who lives in Rowling's hometown of Edinburgh, is the best overview of her life I've seen in print, so I reprinted it in this book. I also added a chronology to her life and work, a traveler's guide in case the reader gets overseas and has the opportunity to visit what's popularly termed "Harry Potter's England," a concordance to her life (to identify the important people in her life, personally and professionally), information about Harry Potter conventions, charities, etc. In short, once you read this section, you'll know enough about Rowling and her life to understand how and why she constructed her imaginative world the way she did.
The other major sections of the book include: the writing life (for all of your wannabe writers), Movie Magic, Book-by-book looks at each novel, merchandising, websites, and an extensive reference section.
I also was fortunate to have former Disney Imagineer and fantasy book illustrator Tim Kirk as the artist on this project, so there are dozens of delightful pen-and-ink illustrations throughout. And, because I think photos are required for a book like this, there's a full color 16-page insert of photos from England, Scotland, and (of course) owls.
This is a fun and entertaining book, and it has gotten positive reviews from actual reviewers -- that is, magazines that cater to the library and book trade.
I enjoyed writing this book and am heartened by the response children have shown toward my efforts to encapsulate Rowling and Harry Potter between the covers of one book. At nearly 400 pages, this book represents years of research and work. I think it was worth it: I hope you do, too.
-- George Beahm, author
