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Agatha Reader

Better than expected!

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2017

I bought this (from Book Depository UK) and A Journey Through a History of Magic (from Amazon). Both books are awesome! However, between the two, I prefer this book than the latter because it is hardbound, whereas Journey is an oversized paperback. Also, this book has more pages, illustrations and details. Of course, it cost almost thrice as much as Journey. But, believe me, it is worth the extra dollars!

Jake

Beautiful Companion to the British Library Exhibition

Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2018

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This beautiful volume is one of two official books published in conjunction with the Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition that was held at the British Library in London between October 2017–February 2018.

A collaboration between the British Library, Bloomsbury (the UK publisher of the Harry Potter series), and J.K. Rowling, the exhibition was created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first Harry Potter book. Featured were documents and artifacts from the development of the Harry Potter series along with real-world magical artifacts.

The book, like the exhibition, includes various sections based on classes taught at Hogwarts (e.g. herbology, divination, care of magical creatures, and so forth). The chapters have images of the artifacts and documents from the exhibition, including a few pages of Harry Potter book drafts, a map of the grounds around Hogwarts, and drawings of characters from the Wizarding World (all created by Rowling)! The documents from Rowling are my favorite; I enjoy being able to see how Rowling herself envisioned Hogwarts and the characters, as the artwork featured in most Harry Potter books was created by artists working for the various book publishers. Just FYI, the number of pages devoted to the history of real-word magic and artifacts does outnumber the Harry Potter stuff.

Harry Potter: A History of Magic (ISBN 9781408890769) is the larger of the two books published by Bloomsbury for the exhibition. It is hardcover, geared towards older readers, and because of its size contains more of what was shown in the exhibition. Bloomsbury's second book, Harry Potter - A Journey Through A History of Magic (ISBN 9781408890776) is paperback, smaller, and geared towards families.

When the exhibition opened in London, Scholastic (the US publisher of the Harry Potter series) published the smaller family oriented Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic (ISBN 9781338267105) in the United States. I believe the only major difference between the Bloomsbury edition and the Scholastic edition is different cover artwork. The exhibition is going to be opening in New York City in October 2018, and Scholastic will be displaying some of their collection related to publishing the Harry Potter series in the United States. When that exhibition opens, Scholastic will be publishing their own version of the larger Harry Potter: A History of Magic.

Because Scholastic will be adapting the larger book for American audiences—more so than they did with the smaller book—I chose to purchase the Bloomsbury edition of the larger book here on Amazon and will purchase the Scholastic edition once it is published as well. I didn't feel I was missing out on any new content by purchasing only the Scholastic edition of the smaller book.

M. roberts

Excellent Book For HP Fans!

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2018

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So I purchased this book in order to understand some of the background and history behind the gigantic, full of folklore world of HP and I wasn’t disappointed. The book is very well written with accompanying photographs, manuscripts and detailed illustrations from various artists including extremely rare pieces of art made by J.K Rowling before she became the world’s most notable children’s writer (except that HP books are pretty much for everyone regardless of age lol)
The printing quality of the pages is also spot on and the colors are very good.
The book is organized very well and gives you a glimpse into the magical world in separated chapters (Herbals, Divination, Dark Arts etc)
So if you’re a Harry Potter fan, Don’t hesitate too much and get it for yourself - definitely worth it.

Kelso

Wonderful read and Beautiful Book!

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2018

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This is a wonderful book for any Harry Potter fan. The American version is paperback and made for kids with activities and less info. This one however, is hardback, with a gorgeous cover, and is full of wonderful insights and information about the world of Harry Potter. It's worth the extra money to buy! It has extra art of artifacts, essays and is worth it!

ELF

Kindle is not a good format for this book.

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2018

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Kindle is not a good format for this book. If you have poor eyesight, beware this isn't an actual book with printed words, but rather copies of "maps", and "documents", which I think do not lend themselves well to the e-reader format. Exchanging it for a physical copie.

Bay Quet

Any Harry Potter fan would find it beautiful and informational.

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2018

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WOW! This book is incredible! I didn't expect this much detail, this much beauty. This book really acts a museum exhibit, showing the overlap of the Harry Potter world and the history of magic and science as we know it. The inclusions of character profiles, JK Rowling's notes and drafts, and Jim Kay and Olivia --'s drawings from the illustrated book really add the last tough. This is gorgeous and any Harry Potter fan would find it beautiful and informational.

I reviewed the other History of Magic book here: https://www.amazon.com/review/R3MFND9Q8YWFX4/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 It's more for people who enjoy Harry Potter, taking you through the Hogwarts curriculum. There's some overlap but both books are great reads, separately.

T. Ferrin

Beautiful hardcover addition to my Harry Potter library. Get it!

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2018

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This is an absolutely awesome book. Make sure to buy this one...it's the hardcover British version. I saw the paperback version this weekend in a store and it is no where near as great as this version.

The stories are so intriguing. I love how it threads reality, rumor, mythology etc. to show how J.K. Rowling was impacted in her story telling.

Buy this book. You will not regret it. Will be buying as gifts for other Harry Potter fans.

sandyg3

Beautiful book

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2018

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Beautifully illustrated book full of interesting facts and anecdotes about the creation and world of Harry Potter. It combines Harry’s world with the larger world of magic down through history. The magic continues with this book and the genius of JK Rowling is well represented. The British Museum celebrated the 20th year anniversary of the publication of the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. This book is a companion to that exhibition. If you couldn’t travel to London to see the exhibit for yourself this book will take you there. Just like magic!
This book was loving packaged and arrrived in pristine condition from India. Transit time was faster than anticipated. Well done.

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Blaze

Go for it guys!!!

Reviewed in India on January 22, 2018

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Hello everyone!!
Today I am reviewing Harry Potter :A History of magic
First of all its a must buy!!! I have each and every harry potter book and i must say its a grab for potterheads!! Its worth every penny... It has a great look with amazing pictures and information... It is like our big encyclopedia... The paper quality is the best.. Glossy and smooth... Its a collective book and i think every fan must keep it as a memorial of harry potter's 20th anniversary.. I have included the pictures with my review!
Just go for it everyone!!
Plz click on the helpful button if you like my review :)

Bex

Superficial Look At The History Of Harry Potter Artefacts.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2019

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To commemorate 20 years of Harry Potter, the British Library hosted a Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition and this book is essentially a behind the scenes look at some of the manuscripts, artefacts and history of the magical or mythical creatures or items featured within Harry Potter.

The collection is divided into sections, such as “Charms”, “Herbology” or “Magical Creatures” and each of the sections delves slightly deeper into the mythology or folklore surrounding some of these themes. I particularly enjoyed the artwork included by Jim Kay, who illustrated the special hardback editions of (at present) the first three books; the artwork is really beautiful, authentic and captures the intentions of Rowling’s characters perfectly – there are even a few specific clues within the character portraits if you look close enough.

A number of original drawings of Rowling’s are also included, which showcase how she initially envisaged her characters would look – complete with buckteeth for Hermione and freckles for Ron. It was also interesting to see how some of these drawings differed from the eventual product, for example a secondary character named Gary was later, we know, named Dean. These might seem like trivial changes, but the progression into the published works is something readers wouldn’t usually be so privy to. Original manuscripts are also included to similar effect.

The exhibitions showcased in here were likely truly impressive in person, but in book format they were often superficial. Very little information was actually provided in the book, choosing to present very limited text and large images or extracted quotes from the books relevant to the item on show. I was expecting a more in-depth look at some of the mythology or lore surrounding some well-known Harry Potter related creatures or objects, but sadly for the most part this consisted of a brief paragraph at best.

In all honesty, this felt like a useful marketing tool for the British Library to demonstrate the items they have for the public to view rather than a genuinely detailed look at any of them. Whilst I can appreciate this might be a nice addition for a fan, particularly one who wanted to attend the exhibition and perhaps couldn’t, it’s far too superficial and contains a lot of information (including the aforementioned artwork and manuscripts by Rowling) already available on the Pottermore website. Incidentally, the font was really tiny too even for perfectly good eyesight.

After finishing this book I’m left feeling a little bit underwhelmed but mostly disappointed that my expectations of what this collection might teach me about the world of Harry Potter and the history of its magic were far too high.

Jane B

Beautifully Illustrated

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2018

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This is a beautiful book which shows the depths and magnitude of J.K. Rowling's imagination which seems to know no bounds. This book not only looks at the history of magic but is accompanied by J.K. Rowling's writing journey of Harry Potter. I wish I had been to see the exhibition (no excuse as it is an 1hr train journey away😔) but Google have created this online version which goes brilliantly with the book. A must for all Harry Potter fans!

Marysol

Una auténtica maravilla audiovisual

Reviewed in Spain on November 15, 2017

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Como dice el título, este libro es una maravilla audiovisual, una verdadera obra de arte, en la cual se ha cuidado hasta el más mínimo detalle. Posee nueve capítulos (herbología, defensa contra las artes oscuras, hechizos...) más un prólogo y, a diferencia del otro volumen ("Harry Potter. A Journey Through A History of Magic"), este incluye antes de cada capítulo una introducción de personas involucradas con la saga y la exposición. A lo largo de las páginas se pueden encontrar dibujos y notas originales de J.K. Rowling. Yo compré la versión en inglés y desconozco si existe su traducción al castellano.

[Si te resultó interesante mi comentario me ayudarías mucho votando "sí" en la pregunta de abajo sobre si te resultó útil mi opinión, gracias]

Amazon Customer

Better than I thought!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2017

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Amazing view into the magical mind and world of Joanne K. Rowling. Richly illustrated and quite (veeery) heavy book - with lots of pages. Not to compare it with the Order of the Phoenix, but almost. A must-have if you are a fan, or simply just a gift for the interested - it is filled with facts from the muggle world (my world, sadly).

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