Professional Reviews

Reading "Need for Magic" as a teacher of psychology, I was inspired with ways to use the charm of the story to engage my students in discussions and discovery of the fundamental attribution error, the bystander effect, obedience, conformity,

Dr. Jerry Bockoven, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Psychology
Reader - AP Psychology exam
Nebraska Wesleyan College


Joe Swope's Need for Magic explores the world of fantasy and psychology in a truly unique way. Through the use of allegory and deft prose, Joe tells a tale touching on a variety of aspects of social psychology in a way that is engaging and informative.

Craig Gruber
Co author of the textbook "Psychology - AP edition"
Lecturer, Northeastern University
Professor, Mt. Ida College


Need for Magic is a perfect mixture of fantasy and social psychology brewed by the magician and teacher, Joseph Swope, to interest and educate introductory psychology students. Having taught high school Psychology for over twenty years and AP Psychology for ten, I enjoyed this engrossing book and predict that students will be won over by the heroic characters.

Deborah DiFranco
Nationally Board Certified Teacher
Reader - AP Psychology exam
Orange Park High School


Joseph Swope wrote Need for Magic for his high school psychology students and I'm so glad that he did. To help his students understand many of the social psychology concepts he teaches, Swope created a fantasy land of well developed characters and magical creatures who pit good against evil as they battle one another for power.

Faye Johnson
Psychology Teacher
Paint Branch High School
Burtonsville, MD

Every so often, some creative soul produces an original idea that is born of the merging of two previously parallel realities, leaving the rest of us marveling at the offspring of their insights.

Joseph Swope is one of those souls. His book "Need for Magic" is the triumphant child of his vision for bringing together the recent fervor for fantasy literature and the ever elusive goal of engaging students in the process of understanding psychology.

Following the exploits of a young stable boy (Kevin) through an imaginary world filled with wizards, dragons, dwarfs and elves, Swope subtly integrates principles of social psychology into the story line. For those on whom subtly is lost, Swope includes an appendix indexing the principles being illustrated in the narrative.

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