13 Steps to Mentalism PLUS Encyclopedia of Mentalism and Mentalists

I love it! Nicely made, got here really fast, and it’s full of amazing information!

This book is so amazing that when you start reading you can't stop until you have finished the entire book. It teaches so many of the must now basics in magic from the dual telepathy to cold reading to billets. All in one book. I have fooled everybody around me with the help of this book.

This is a must purchase if you have any interest in mentalism. I was pleasantly surprised at how much information you get for the price of this hardback book.

Half way through the book and I can't wait to read the other half cuz there is so much information it takes time to absorb it all since it is so good. The book goes back and let the snow all about these magicians we never knew existed and what talents they had or unbelievable you will find many new directions for some of your new Magic by looking back at some of the old magic I definitely recommend this book 21 was serious and loves looking back at history at what some of these talented entertainers had to go through to succeed. Tom Williams

Ladies and gentlemen, I have to admit, that was one of the best books I bought from this site. It is very well written,as a matter of fact there are two books in one, with a lot of useful information and material about mentalism and mentalists, and all these in a very- very affordable price, to say the least. I highly recommend it to any magician of any other kind. For people who want to really study mental magic,if you don't already have it, just buy it, without question. You will not regret it,I can guarantee that...

This is it...that particular niche I've been looking for, and I'd have to say this book covers all the basics with a tip of the hat to mentalists of the past. In the first part, "Mindreaders, Masters of Deception" by Rauscher, I ran across a mentalist I had the lucky pleasure of seeing on a live broadcast in Colorado when I was a kid. He completely covered his eyes in LAYERS of wet dough, tape, and gauze, then a layer of towel over all that. Someone wrote a long addition problem on a blackboard, handed him the chalk, and off he went, calling out the numbers as he added them up, FAST. That left an impression on me that's lasted my entire life...I had no idea who he was, and when i tried to describe what i saw, adults laughed me off... And now, here he is, one Mr. Kuda Bux, with his own little section on pages 70-71... The book is fantastic! As for "13 Secrets of Mentalism" by Corinda, count me in! THIS is that one thing I've been seeking, and didn't even know it! These ideas, secrets, routines, and hand-drawn *gimmick plans (*is this the correct word?) can be employed alone, or incorporated with other, existing routines to give them a different feel. Step Seven of the 13 completely changed my mind about what a 'Book Test' could be..."Zarkamorta II (The Ceremony of Reincarnation)" is outstanding! Not typical of what I've encountered. This volume is easily worth twice the price, GREAT read, and looks excellent on the shelf. Get it, and start blowing people's minds...that's what I intend to do!

The price would be fair if it were only "13 Steps to Mentalism." And anyone interested in exploring mentalism should probably consider studying Tony Corinda's classic. The inclusion of "Encyclopedia of Mentalism and Mentalists" is a cool bonus that covers the history of notable Mentalists and their acts. With today's technology there are certainly other ways to fool people with feats of mentalism and those certainly have their place. But I love exploring these classic non-digital means to which Mentalists have leaned on for years and find them ultimately more fascinating.

“13 Steps to Mentalism” is a large book (424 pages) that aims to provide step-by-step instructions to Performing a mentalist act. Although the book appears a bit dated - in appearance and print, it’s still considered a classic and a must-have for anyone interested in mentalism.
In this edition, There are an additional twelve chapters of short biographies famous Mind Readers and Psychics past and present.

This is a staple book for anyone who is serious about understanding mentalism techniques.

Beautiful, to start. But within these pages is THE classic on Mentalism, plus a very diverting rundown of every classic performer!

This is a beautiful book, with the kind of cover like textbooks often have, which somehow adds to the feeling you're going to be doing some serious learning here. Of course, its content is without equal, since it contains *the* book on Mentalism, 13 Steps. But the included encyclopedia of classic mentalists is very diverting and gives us something to shoot for!

Corinda's 13 steps is one of the bibles of mentalism! If you're a mentalist, you should already have this one your shelf. Presented in this tome are the fundamental building blocks which serve as the foundation for everything mentalism. Q&A, billet handling, blindfold effects, card effects, predictions, mind reading, muscle reading- the list goes on. This book is a tool chest, not just a list of routines to be followed to the letter. As an added bonus you get a comprehensive, biographical list of the most prominent mentalists and bizarre magicians which provides a fascinating history of the development of mentalism and bizarre magic throughout time. I don't just recommend this book- I say outright- Buy this!

This is a great book, or should I say "books" the first book or section comprises of any short biographies of mentalists past and present. The second section is Corinda's thirteen steps. This is a great book for anyone's collection. You will always find something to practice in here.

This is a must read for anyone wanting to become a mentalist. Some of the info may be a little dated but the rest is still relevant now!!

This is a must buy.

A good read to get a handle on the basics and classical methods. Descriptions of actual effects are well done and easy to follow; however, the scripting is dated as one might expect by the original publication dates. I didn't find this to be a negative as it generally encourages you to get creative and re-invent to make it your own. I loved the old pictures and the bios - again, giving lots of fuel to get the creative processes working.

Ask anybody where you should start if you're wanting to get into mentalism and they'll point you to 2 resources - Corinda and Annemann.

If you're going to buy 13 Steps anyways, you could do worse than getting this volume.

For 1 - it's slightly larger format that the original hardback of 13 Steps. That makes reading it a little easier and seeing the diagrams, drawings, and pictures much easier.

And 2 - The whole first section of this volume - where it goes through a whole assortment of mentalist and mediums is very cool. There were a lot of names in here that I've never heard of before - leaving me to spend additional time searching on the internet about these people. It was really cool to see how Mentalism has evolved over the years and changed - what was once popular and what is popular now. There were a few mentalist that I will he would have spent a little more time on, and there were a few I feel he spent too much time with. But overall it was just really cool getting a brief history.

Funny that he didn't spend much time on Corinda and actually had a pretty lengthy write up on Annemann...

Fantastic book. A must have for every magic library.

Excellent, Excellent book! The book is basically divided into two sections. One section provides a great resource for the history of an extensive list of mentalists. The second section is the "13 Steps to Mentalism" which is a book unto itself. The information provided by the "13 Steps to Mentalism" is invaluable. The book is extremely well priced. I highly recommend the purchase of this book.

I wonder what use a review of a product like this has. What am I reviewing? I hate when people leave Amazon reviews with low scores due to shipping, package handling, damage, or...you know. I don't find that particularly helpful as I am more interested in the product. I take as part of the deal shipping and handling misadventures, and the product in question has nothing to do with that...I digress. The issue here is that "13 Steps" is foundational reading. Its longevity seems to suggest that my personal opinion has no relevance on the matter, which is to say that if you are an aspiring mentalist, you should read this book regardless of my opinion. I landed ultimately on production. That, to me, seems the most helpful. As this hefty tome speeds towards its 100th birthday, innumerable versions could land in your possession. The fit and finish of this edition are particularly worthy of a place on a magician's bookshelf. It's large, but in the best way, impressive but not cumbersome; the pages lay flat when learning incantations. The pages have a quality feel and are not glossy, making them perfect for margin notes. My single comment on the text is that I am not sure the first half, the encyclopedia of performers, is needed for anything other than to inflate the page count and maybe different numerical values. That said, this book has downright value as far as magic/mentalism goes, as these books are not cheap, generally speaking; in any case, I enjoyed the history lesson. Ultimately, if this is a subject of interest to you, absolutely, 100% this is a "BUY." The value here is not often matched, particularly in our beloved hobby. As a bone to those who came here to find the REAL important info, it arrived earlier than promised, was shipped with great care, and wrapped entirely in bubble wrap in an oversized box. It's fun for the whole family as kids like boxes almost as much as cats do or as much as magicians love books.

I bought the original 13 Steps to Mentalism book about 20 years ago when I first got into magic.

Although I wasn't into mentalism back then, I thought it would be a good to get some basic knowledge on the subject and see how it can be applied to close up magic. The book is a classic for a reason.

Recently I ran into this new and expanded version and although I was a bit hesitant to add a second copy to my magic library I'm so happy that I did. The larger format and new layout and typography makes studying the book so much easier and the new expanded sections are terrific with some very clever ideas and thinking. Add it, as a first or second copy to your own library. You won't be disapointed!

Fantastic book. I didn't know much about mentalism, but this book gave me the history and also the technical part to get started. 100% recommended for any mentalist or someone who would like to learn some of the principles (steps) to get started with mind-reading skills!

This is an excellent book, especially for beginners in mentalism.

This book is essential learning for all magicians and mentalists. The instructions are easy to follow and it includes a lot of good mentalism. This is a must-read if you haven't read it already! Thanks so much Vanishing Inc. I highly, highly recommend this book for anyone who likes magic.

This two-books-in-one volume contains more than 400 pages of fascinating reading for newcomers to mentalism or anyone interested in its history from the mid-nineteenth century on. There are hundreds of black-and-white photographs and illustrations. So far, I've focused mostly on Rauscher's "Mindreaders: Masters of Deception," so I will limit my review to that book.

While it might be a stretch to call it an "encyclopedia" of mentalists, that's not necessarily a bad thing. MMD is organized by category of performer (versus alphabetically) and can easily be read from beginning to end or by category topic. There is also a name index with page numbers if you just want to look up particular mentalists.

William V. Rauscher was both a magician and Episcopal priest. In MMD, he shares interesting personal anecdotes about some of the mentalists he knew and frequently delves into ethical issues regarding specific individuals. For the most part, he doesn't reveal any performer's "secrets," and he appears surprisingly open to the possibility that some mentalists' abilities could be genuine despite seeming impossible.

This hardbound volume is well-constructed and arrived in perfect condition (unlike books from some other e-tailers). The text and photos are razor sharp and large enough to be legible. The pages are rather thin, but not so much that they bleed through front-to-back. I would expect this volume to hold up well for many years and after many readings.