Book Showdown!

[Mike is a BEAST]

Hey guys, I've been looking for some intermediate/advanced magic books to buy and the two I've come down to are Andrus Deals You In and By Forces Unseen. When I watched this video on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0wxinoS4eI
I was like DANG I gotta get that book!
By Forces Unseen looks like its got some great sleights and tricks, but how do you think Andrus compares, in quality and difficulty? Thanks for any help!

 

[praetoritevong]

I will be completely forthcoming with you and say first off that I do not have the Jerry Andrus book. But, I will simply say, as a partial warning, that neither have the majority of members here, and many will have the inclination to recommend By Forces Unseen - the mentalist in me predicts an overwhelming amount of recommendations for the latter - without knowledge of the former, simply because By Forces Unseen seems to be the most popular benchmark for "hard" magic these days (READ: Magicians who think that quoting the name of the book gives them respect, skill and status because they study such hard material, "hard" in their minds being synonymous with "ability"). I'm sorry I can't be more helpful - but I thought it was important to point that out. Good luck whichever you choose; from word of mouth at least, both are very good.

 

[Shodan]

I agree wholeheartedly with praetoritevong.

 

[Amane]

Go with Andrus, I'm so bored of people saying "oh get BFU! it's t3h pwn"
take the road less traveled ...

Or get them both...
can never have too many books.. haha...

 

[WilliamMckeehan]

im poor so i have the royal road to card magic and thats pretty much it also a few other cheap books i got when i was just started (i still read some of them for some ideas) even the lamest books can get u ideas i mean i use some tricks from the royal road i never see anyone ever use im sure people some where still use some of them but even if i dont use the same method its still an idea to build on. idk about the books ur talking about os im not helping with answering ur question but maybe my views might help idk? good luck

 

[TeeDee]

If getting both isn't an option, personally, I'd go for Andrus Deals You In, pretty much for the same reason as Amane. However, one issue to consider is, who will you be performing the material for? If it's to fool other magicians, then I would think you're more likely to do that with Mr Andrus' book, as I think it's probably less read. If it's to dazzle other magicians with your technical ability, then By Forces Unseen would do the job better. If it's for laypeople, then I would read reviews of both books and try and see which fits your performing style the best.