Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle lamented 2500 years ago that books were evil because they erode our capability to remember text. It is a proven fact that we have worse memories than ancient people. They used to memorise thousands of pages. Now that we have books, we find people lamenting the disappearance of books. Watching videos also fires the mirror neurons. Don't get me wrong, I love magic books - but lets not become like Socrates (he was put to death ;(

I was just reading the chapter on the Bill Change in Definitive Sankey toninght. Ofcourse he mentions John Lovicks Switch in this book.

I’ve been on the fence with that book. You’ve just sold me on it. Wow!

I was with you and then you said magic 😭

The book is back on sale in hardback on derren’s site!

Jeff, i wrote my comment with respect for your channel and the book. I just wonder what you think of my thoughts on the bill swith?? Gary in dreamland; have a nice dream!!🙂👍🌟

With all respect i do not consider the changing of the spectator's one dollar bill into a hundred dollar bill to be a good trick and certainly not one of the most powerful either!! Why?? It is not even logical under the conditions it must be performed under and it ends as a anticlimax for the spectator!! Not even good magic. Why would the wizard change a dollar bill to a hundred and instead of giving the hundred to the spectator performer must change it back to one dollar bill? But, the book and the bill switch is still a worthwhile buy, because i get a great result by folding spectators bill waving my hand over it then unfolding it and their bill now has many colors drawn on it and interesting designs!! Spectators wonder how the colorful added designs have suddenly become printed on their bill and they can , ofcourse keep their own dollar bill as a memento of a magical moment!! Gary in dreamland; have a nice dream!!🌟🌟🌟🌟☁️🙂☁️👍🌟

Great upload totally awesome 😊👍😊👍

I've never really had a major desire to learn a book change, but I like the idea of a book dedicated to many different methods to accomplish the same thing. The closest I have is Nancy Colwell's Theseus or Marlo's Revolutionary Card Technique (ok... maybe that one isn't exactly like this, but it probably has something like Palmed Card Replacement - 17th Method somewhere in there).

Why am I laser focusing on your hands for the entire video? :)

What a "perfect" video.

Have this book; Great book for all the reasons you stated!! I would simply say there are other ways, using another, less known gimmick, to accomplish the effect. The gimmick is even more invisible that the standard gimmick used for the 100 dollar bill change.

Book looks gorgeous but I don't care about the Bill Change. The book design work in particular looks outstanding. Also: we could see what the gimmick was when you flashed the contents page. 🙂

Funny. I have had this book for years. Picked it up off the shelf the other day and thought, “I need to suggest this for review at Erudite!”.

I would agree that for a working performer doing this particular trick,this book is an absolute must!!!!A no brainer.

*THANKS A ZILLION FOR YOUR KIND HELP AND VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION ON MAGIC* 🎉🎉🎉❤🎉🎉🎉

Been waiting for this one!

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Magic For Dummies is the book for me. Have a niece or nephew and you need a trick to entertain them? Pencil and quarter double vanish page 37. Need a trick to teach your nibling? Triple rubber band escape page 70. Want a card trick to keep in your metaphorical back pocket? Soul Mates, page 200 Want even more card tricks to keep in your back pocket? Chapter 11 starts on 223 and teaches forces and revelations. Need an effect for stage for your talent show? Walking through ropes, page 88. Need a weird, funny effect for your parlor talent show? The unforgettable cloudy toilet paper trick on page 116. Need a funny, weird effect for your parlor talent show? Give that purse a hand, page 94. Something interesting to show friends or clients at a coffee shop or restaurant? Evaporating sugar, 146. When teaching the effects, the book highlights the hard parts which require additional practice, what moments require acting, subtle touches, and general performance tips. The effects are presented with a decent script. Side note: If you hate the script, ask yourself what you hate and change the script from there to something you do like. The effects do not require a trip to your local magic shop. You'll be able to get everything from a general store. The effects were selected from a pantheon of magicians like Gregory Wilson, Michael Ammar, Jade, Chad Long, Eugene Burger, and a myriad of others. Magic For Dummies also presents what to say when you mess up a trick, lines for hecklers, responses for, "How'd you do that?", interesting stories from professional magicians, and interesting moments in magic history. It hits the FAQ and common sidebar topics.

I am a fan of Ed Marlo's Time Machine which combines the ambitious card, oil and water, and triumph. The effects are done once and simultaneously, so it reduces the repetition of a card repeatedly jumping to the top or cards repeatedly separating with no real finish.

Love your channel. Amazing. One question. The rare Cassidy Art of Mentalism book, is it one, two or three volumes or is it a big compilation of all three volumes?

Are you familiar with the hypnotist, magician Reveen? If so, he started performing in the mid 50s, what books do you he think would have studied to master stage illusions, hypnosis and mental magic.

I like summer travel with Larry Hass' book Transformations. Great content and packs really well too!

Great list! I'm glad i have most of these in my collection and have taken them on trips (one at a time). I might add some Bannon offerings, but it's hard to pick which ones.... And Ackerman's All In, but that might be because its a recent acquisition. Hope you have a set of waterproof cards!

Love your reviews! I have enjoyed reading and the magic in The Definitive Sankey, Approaching Magic, The Art of Astonishment, The Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick, The Magic Way, Theater of the Mind, Unreal, etc. ALSO, Strong Magic and Maximum Entertainment. Thank you Jeff!

I really thought this was going to be smaller format books you can throw into a backpack and take to the pool / beach with you - Astonishing Essays series, for example. It was pretty much the opposite, and format makes a big difference.

Why do you prefer Approaching Magic to Interpreting Magic? I liked Interpreting Magic much better.

I met Michael back in the 90s at a magic convention in New York

Thanks for such an inspiring video. My summer reading will most likely be the Nick Trost books. 🪄✨️✨️👏😊👍🙌

Free magic in mind is absolutely insane. Top 10 magic book for me, easily.

Great review.

Great review.

Sad to see Talk about Tricks is no longer available in hard copy. I was close to buying them but my wallet yelled at me. Do you know how much of Harry Lorayne's classic collection repeats material in his other books/dvds? Ive been meaning to buy em but I read at least one of them has a repeat from the "Best ever " dvds

You the Man! Another great post. My summer reading is: Children Love Animals, Magic for Dummies, Mental Mysteries of Hector Chadwick, The Giant Illustrated Book of Magic Tricks along with working on a new show- Maria's Musical Theatre Mind Reading Show.

Think I will take a look again at the light/ lighter/lightest books.Underrated in my opinion.

Art of astonishment would be down the list but the rest I totally agree with.I wish Harry’s books( ALL OF THEM 😂) would be republished or the rights sold to some great publishing company.Hope Penguin publish Trost’s great card book soon!Excellent content.Thanks Jeff.

Great recommendations this week Coincidentally I pulled volume three of Art of Astonishment off the shelf the other day. It’s the volume that I hadn’t visited for awhile.

Do you have the book Second Thoughts by Ramon Rioboo.? I just picked it up a week ago and so far I'm liking some of his different thoughts on card magic.

I'm selling my copy of Talk About Tricks, if anyone is interested. It's new in the same box it shipped in, never opened. I have fallen ill and need the money more than I need the books.

I love all those books, but it’s time to pull some other and read them as opposed to just thumb through to pull a trick out. Thank you for giving this perspective on these books. Have a fantastic week! I hope things are going well with Vanishing Inc.

Love the Sankey Collection

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Great review.

This sounds awesome! Does the book teach some cool ways of setting up during the performance? Apart from the spread cull I don't know many techniques to accomplish this and I haven't found many good resources on it... Great video!

Another insightful episode. And ironically, this week Chattanooga Ring 112 decided that our theme for an upcoming meeting will be “I learned from Tarbell. (And I’ll use this comment to shamelessly promote Ring 112. After several years of inactivity, it’s back and meeting on a regular basis. All magicians from this part of the country are invited to join us!)

Great review.

Great review.