“Magic Magic and Mind Magic” reminds Lucas of two sports-related movie blockbusters, “Hoosiers” and “Remember the Titans,” he said.
The book centers around the 1955-56 Middie team that won the first of back-to-back state championships when Lucas was a sophomore and how he hopes to change the way students are taught.
Lucas, nicknamed Dr. Memory because he’s the leading authority on memory training and learning systems, has worked on the book for years and self-published it without a major marketing campaign. Plus, he said, it’s difficult to hold book signings during the coronavirus pandemic.
Through the years, Lucas has taught his memory retention and learning system to millions through seminars, appearances and sales of his books and CDs.
He said the hardback book should appeal to young and older readers, those who “won’t believe what life was like” 65 years ago and people who lived through that period of American history.
“It was a unique time,” Lucas, 80, said during a phone interview. “It’s more than a sports book. It’s about the very unique things that happened in America and Middletown.”
Unlike today when news travels instantly, during the 1950s life was much slower, he said. As a young basketball player, Lucas practiced 12 to 15 hours a day and no one knew about his talent. His Roosevelt Junior High School games were played at 3:30 p.m. on Thursdays and since most parents worked, there were other a few people in the stands.
“That wouldn’t happen today,” he said. “People around the world know about great players today. Back then, I didn’t know what was happening the next street over.”
But once Lucas reached high school, and the winning streak started, “things exploded in Middletown,” he said. And at the same time, the “spirit was unbelievable” and the city was “totally successful” in everything, he said.
The book also touches on who Lucas called “really great characters” on those teams and his classmates. He mentioned the late Bob Cole and JB Deaton.
“There is so much humor,” he said. “People will love it. It will bring great smiles and laughter in their hearts.”
There have been at least four books recently written about Middletown.
Here is a look at those books:
“The Blue View: The uncut journal of an Ohio police chief” chronicles the 30-year career of Rodney Muterspaw, who retired as police chief.
“History of the Middletown Division of Police, Middletown, Ohio” is a historical look at the police department written by longtime Middletown resident Ann Mort.
“Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” looks at the life of J.D. Vance, who grew up in Middletown and graduated from Yale Law School. The book was turned into a movie that was directed by Ron Howard.
“Middie Magic, Mind Magic,” written by Middletown great and noted memory expert Jerry Lucas. Available at www.middiemagic.com for $29.95, autographed copies $49.95.
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