13 STEPS TO MENTALISM BEST TRICKS HOW TO
The ethics of such knowledge, and how to use it, is largely left up to the individual reader. More broadly, what is interesting about this book is the ways it demonstrates how easily people can be fooled, how ready they are to be fooled, and how a smart individual can take advantage of that. The last two chapters are also interesting, in terms of the advice he gives on publicity and self-promotion, though of course he is dealing with a different level of communications technology than is normal today. It’s interesting in part, because the whole conceit of his act, and everyone else involved in this business, is to pretend that mind reading really is possible, and that these staged tricks demonstrate it, while throughout the book he is clearly telling you it isn’t, and how you can guess a card or number without being a real mind reader. It’s also interesting, from an ethical standpoint, how disapproving he is of “phony mediums” and others who use these techniques to rip people off instead of entertain them. If you’re not interested in the history of stage magic, this book still has a few interesting sections, especially those in which he reveals how “phony mediums” put on their performances.
13 STEPS TO MENTALISM BEST TRICKS SERIES
Probably because of its history as a series of booklets, the front end of the book is heavily weighted toward practical advice, and the back is where most of the theory is covered. There are also many typos and writing errors of various kinds, although the editors have done a good job of making page references consistent to the book’s pagination, instead of for example referring you to “page 8 of step three.” Most of these pamphlets were originally written in the late 1950s or early 1960s, and as the author is British, there are some interesting (at times confusing) anachronisms or foreign terms to grapple with, for example when he speaks of any trick involving currency. The book explains, mostly in very practical terms, the array or “tricks,” “gimmicks” or “swindles” (!) one can perform on stage in order to appear to be a mind reader in order to entertain an audience. I should point out here, to avoid confusion, that in this case “magic” refers exclusively to stage magic and not such Magic (or Magick) as people like Aleister Crowley discuss. This book was originally written as a series of pamphlets for sale in “magic shops” all over the English-speaking world. "This cult book was a good reason to learn German. Help a spectator meet the girl of his dreams!Ĭonvict a gruesome slasher of beautiful blondes!Ī brand new take on the classic add-a-number. Florian Severin's approach is perhaps a little different to most mentalists and we think that his book will offer a brand new perspective to presenting mentalism. With a foreword by Ken Weber and an introduction by the publishers (Andi Gladwin and Joshua Jay), this is a beautiful, thick hardback book that will delight magicians and mentalists alike. And thanks to Florian's casual, witty style, you will enjoy the journey. You'll find a balance of methodological ingenuity, presentational inspiration, and technical innovation. His opinions and material are often shocking and always insightful. In this acclaimed collection, he details sixteen chapters of mentalism effects and theory. Florian Severin is a respected mentalist in his native Germany. What Lies Inside is the greatly expanded, updated English edition of a best-selling German book on mentalism (originally titled 13 Steps to Vandalism!) Published by Vanishing Inc.
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