Best beginner book for Mentalism?

Sep 25, 2018
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19
Hi All,

I have been doing magic for about 4 months now, specifically card magic. However, I’d like to get more into mentalism, as I feel like those tricks get some of the best reactions. So I was wondering which Mentalism book you guys would recommend as a starting point to get into this form of magic?
 
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WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
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First - stop thinking of them as tricks. You will not get the reactions you are expecting if you treat them like a magician doing a trick.

Check out Bob Cassidy's Fundamentals.
 
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Sep 25, 2018
32
19
First - stop thinking of them as tricks. You will not get the reactions you are expecting if you treat them like a magician doing a trick.

Check out Bob Cassidy's Fundamentals.
My bad, that was not my intended message. It is simply the word I am used to using, not the way I intend to use effects:)
 

Josh Burch

Elite Member
Aug 11, 2011
2,966
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My favorite book for beginners is Prism by Max Maven. There is a wide variety of mentalism effects in the book and a good portion of the effects provided are of a professional caliber. You do need some knowledge of magic in general for reference but this book is a solid collection for those who are new to mentalism.
 
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Dec 1, 2012
697
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TX
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PRISM (Mentioned above) is great

I liked the Psychological Subtleties series from Banacheck - there are 3 volumes and present very easy to accomplish tricks.

Those books should be on every mentalist book shelf, but they also start at $45 and go up from there.

Practical Mental Magic from Theodore Annemann is going to be your MOST AFFORDABLE ($14) but the language is going to be much older and several of the tricks won't be possible due to living in the 20th century.

A total beginner book just to get your feet wet with very little cost investment would be Self Working Mental Magic by Karl Fulves it's $9 on Amazon right now.
 
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RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
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New Jersey
Check out Bob Cassidy's Fundamentals.

Best starting point.

Practical Mental Magic from Theodore Annemann is going to be your MOST AFFORDABLE ($14) but the language is going to be much older and several of the tricks won't be possible due to living in the 20th century.

A total beginner book just to get your feet wet with very little cost investment would be Self Working Mental Magic by Karl Fulves it's $9 on Amazon right now.

If you put in the effort and thought, you can make most of the effects in both of these books into a complete show.

My favorite book for beginners is Prism by Max Maven.

Good book. More of a mental magic feel but some really good stuff that could be incorporated in a true mentalism show.

I liked the Psychological Subtleties series from Banacheck - there are 3 volumes and present very easy to accomplish tricks.

I think you need a basis in mentalism for Banachek's books to make sense. Otherwise, it looks like "tricks" rather than truly understanding how to use the subtleties.

However, I’d like to get more into mentalism, as I feel like those tricks get some of the best reactions. So I was wondering which Mentalism book you guys would recommend as a starting point to get into this form of magic?

There is a distinction between mentalism and mental magic. Mental magic is doing a card trick with a presentation that claims the powers of the mind are what cause the effect to happen. Mental magic entails the suspension of disbelief. Mentalism is the demonstration of powers of the mind which requires the encouragement of belief. Mental magic is using your mind to find a selected card. Mentalism is using your ability to read people's thoughts to discern the name of their childhood friend. The difference tends to be in the props used (e.g. deck of cards for mental magic) and the purpose (suspend disbelief or encourage belief).
 
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