Long before Harry Potter became a household name, real-life wizards were making their mark in history. It's widely believed that many are still performing their magic today. Robert Curran's intriguing new book summarizes the known facts about wizards, sorcerers, and the various practitioners of the magic arts, while also describing the arcane societies devoted to sorcery. Among the most famous of all magicians was Merlin, advisor to England's legendary King Arthur. Others described in this absorbing volume include Nicholas Flamel, a fifteenth-century alchemist who discovered the "philosopher's stone," the Templars, founded in the twelfth century by knights of the First Crusade, and the Illuminati of Bavaria, an eighteenth-century occult society dedicated to taking control of the world by combining science with magic. Readers who are interested in experimenting with magic as well as all who are fascinated by the history of sorcerers and wizardry will find hours of entertaining and informative reading in this book. Color illustrations are on most pages, and an elastic place marker is bound into the back cover.