The Magic: The Gathering Cards by Ben Bleiweiss

When I saw this book offered in the raffle at BookishFirst, I had to sign up for it. Why? Because I collected and played the cards when they very first came out.  I loved playing them. Similar to playing D&D.  Yeah, I was that geek or nerd. I was excited when I won the book.  When it arrived at my doorsteps, all I could say, WOW!

Ah, talk about reminiscence! The flood gate opened up when I turned the colorful pages.  Oh, how I missed playing them and putting some of the good ones in the pocketsleeves of my binders.  I had 4 6" ring binder notebook holding these cards.

Mr. Bleiweiss did an extraordinary job putting this beautifully illistrated book together. It must have been painstaking putting all the cards together in one book.  This book is categorized by the earliest cards when they were first produced 25 years ago up to Non-tournament Legal Cards.  

At the beginning of the book, he explains the value and anatomy of the cards.  Bleiweiss also explains how to grade the cards and even provides the guide for grading them. He makes it very simple and easy to understand especially for those were involved with the Magic cards. Then, he explains all the sets and lists each card which were produced in 25 years.

The book is very thick, 512 pages long.  As you can see from the photo of the cover I posted is gorgeous.  Each page in the book is beautifully illustrated with vibrant colors and photos of the cards.  Breathtaking! You can tell he care about this book which had to be a HUGE project for him to put together.  The results are are outstanding! I intend to keep this book with me until I die and I intend to get my cards back (another story)

I had the alpha and beta of the Core set along with The Dark, Fallen Empires, Homelands, White-Bordered sets (5th and 6th editions) and the Ice Age.  Oh, how I want to play them again.  I just have to purchase some sets and find couple of people to play with me!

Bear in mind, this is unofficial collector's guide.  However, after reading this book, which was carefully and skillfully crafted together, it should be an official guide. 

Ben, Ben, Ben, where have you been?  I would've enjoyed playing Magic with you! Give me a hollar when you get the chance!

I receieved this wonderful printed ARC from Krause Publication after winning it in Bookish First in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.   Thank you!