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oh no! his trademark mustache is gone! Great interview!

I bought his videos in the 90s and loved it!

I'm your Korean fan. I bought it after seeing various reviews including Ashwind's repertoire while looking at your reviews. I'm currently thinking about it, which one do you recommend more, Barry Richardson's "Theater of the mind" or "Act 2"? And as far as I know, there are two acaan versions, I wonder which one is more satisfying. Please introduce the characteristics of the two Acaan

And this episode wins the award for the best attire by a host. 😂😂 . But seriously, another great episode. As with many great discussions, I believe the answer lies somewhere in the middle. As someone who traveled the country for five years in an RV, hard copy books represented space and weight, and we were severely limited on both. I limited myself to five hard copy books and was thankful for my hard drive of ebooks. This reminds me of the never ending discussion among magicians about which tool is best for learning, books or videos. I sadly don’t remember who said it so eloquently, but it’s like arguing which tool is best for eating, a fork or a spoon.

Yep! ❤

Wow! Very nice!

Loved the ending!!!

Great review. I am now 71 years old. I began studying magic at age 15. I recall thinking the same thing Michael said in believing some of what he read had to be fantasy…until I saw someone do it. I could not help but giggle. I also saw Michael perform at the Magic Castle a few times in the day. I have high regards for Michael. Thanks for posting. I look forward to the new book.

This interview made me realize that magicians belong to one of the few artistic endeavours where many of the performers are also teachers and authors. Think about it, do most actors write books on how to act, do musicians write books on how to sing or play, do most authors write books on how to write. What famed magician hasn't written a book, I would say that number is relatively small.

Enjoyed the interview but with so many cuts in the video I just had to listen. Audio is perfect 👍. His book was the second magic book I ever owned with the first one being Mark Wilson's big black book.

How are we NOT gonna find this very interesting. So excited to watch this.

Michael Ammar looks like he's been hitting the gym 💪

Gotta love Michael Ammar! Great interview.

Wonderful interview 👏👏

I was blessed to meet Michael Ammar a few years ago when he came to do a lecture here in Miami.😊

Awesome interview! Michael Ammar is such an amazing magician and a true gentleman.

I loved the ending! Way to go Jeff! Are you going to do a show about your trip? I would love that and it would be nice to know what goes on at a session. I love Magifest, I’m guessing I would love sessions. I might have to sell a few books to go. lol.

Great review thanks.

Great review.

Great video thanks.

I don't think Harrison is addressing the right problem "Be more original" We've heard that since the 80s. The problem is our teachers. Ammar, Close, McBride, Burger and slightly Harris (Harris gets a pass for his creativity) but these guys gave birth to the Lazy magician. Boring ,shallow at times embarrassing delivery and NO misdirection. How can you be a magician without misdirection????? Its just "Bs, bs, bs, bs, EFFECT bs, bs, bs, EFFECT" David Blain is the big celebrity product of this lost and shallow community from the 80s. David Blain is our Donald Trump of magicians. Meaning the standards in our community are what made him. What we need is writers but most importantly, students of misdirection. Your not chasing "the next great effect" your chasing moments when misdirection truly works. RELY THINK ABOUT THAT LAST SENTENCE. Our "Teachers" growing up were not magicians. They were businessmen.

Food for thought.

Great review.

Nice review.

Great advice thanks.

great review.

Great recommendations.

I normally do not comment under CZcams videos but I was so happy to find this video and your channel. I am Nick’s youngest grandchild and sadly did not get to fully meet him because he passed when I was a baby. It makes me so happy to see so many people enjoying and appreciating his work! Sending my family over your channel to check out your videos!!

Although I’m not really a fan of ebooks I’m not completely sure why that is the case. While I totally acknowledge the ecological advantages as well as the convenience of ‘owning’ a searchable digital file that can literally be viewed on tablets, phones, e-readers, etc., I’m still of the opinion that there’s absolutely nothing that tops hardcopy books. I’ve purchased ebooks before and ended up printing them out to study and read. Those that weren’t printed have been quickly forgotten and will likely remain unread. I also have concerns about the potential for the ever increasing piracy of pdf files even though that’s been an ongoing issue for many years now. Thanks for another professional and thought provoking video, Jeff!

Great review thanks.

Good to discuss thanks for sharing.

Nice review.

this guy stole your thumbnail czcams.com/video/T3tBva6tVCY/video.html

thanks for the review! I just saw this on the shelf of my local magic dealer and was contemplating whether I should purchase it. For context, I am a card magician and have been slowly getting into more mentalism. I have been enjoying the (arguably) greater focus on and enrichment of theory and presentation in mentalism effects, as opposed to solely focusing on learning new methods and sleights. While I have no interest in adding a spoon bending routine to my work, it seems like many reviewers (including yourself) suggest that there is a lot more to gain from this book in terms of thoughts on presentation and mentalism as a whole apart from the spoon bending methods. To be honest, the section where you spoke about method acting and presenting oneself as a performer for the sake of the art are theoretical topics that truly intrigue me (reminds me of that old magician in Nolan's The Prestige). Would you recommend this book if I was simply looking for gaining more insights and theory as a new mentalism performer, even though I may not be interested in spoon bending? Do the scope of these presentation angles and theories that Ben and the guest interviews expand beyond spoon bending? Thanks in advance :)

I just saw on Vanishing inc website that Simon Aronson Bound to please, The Aronson Approach and Simply Simon are back in stock!!! I'll cost me a fortune $$$!!!

eBook Format is important - many magic books have images and therefore they are released as a PDF. That often means reading on an iPad/Tablet, and for someone who works on a computer all day, I don't want to then relax by reading on a screen. Unless the book is epub or mobi - then I'm unlikely to choose an ebook, even with a 25% discount (and loss of resale ability!). Large screen e-ink readers do exist but they are often in the region of $700 +

I think 75% is excessive I have a couple of L&L e-books. They usually ran $20 and if you were patient, they would run a 50% off sale and I felt that that was a very good price I wanted one trick from "The Classic Magic of Larry Jennings" and while I had notes made from watching CZcams videos. When they ran it for $10, I bought it to have the original description. I later found it in a box at a dealer's booth and now have a nice Hard Backed copy. The other was for one chapter with multiple methods for a single effect. This allows me to "Repeat" a trick when asked and since I can pick an opening, middle and reveal from several and not have to worry that I am doing the same trick several times to the same audience. My complaint is paying a hard backed price for a small perfect bound copy which will fall apart when used. I avoid buying them. The few I purchased in error seemed to be made by doing screen captures of video presentations and adding minimal text.

Hi Jeff, can you review the books of wonder by Tommy Wonder? Thank you

I’ve been into magic now for nearly 15 years. If I had to do it all again starting now, I’d probably try to avoid buying any physical book or DVD. When I close my eyes and imagine a nice clean room, I don’t see any books in my room. On the flip side I don’t currently own an E-reader, but I do have an old tablet that I’m currently using to read Genii magazine. Furthermore, there are few books and DVDs that have sentimental value, I’m gonna be stuck with those and that’s okay. Granted, they might be put into storage out of sight someday. I really appreciate the integration of text and video, and so, as you’ve brought up on this channel, where do we draw the line between making something a book or a video? Well, if you don’t have video equipment, looks like you’re stuck writing a book which is how things were done. We have the technology now to do both and Vanishing Inc. has no excuse to not do both. Let me give a critique of Vanishing Inc. that you can take or leave because it’s pretty cynical. The founders at their core have a nostalgia for magic books and rightfully so. Why shouldn’t they? They grew up reading magic books and how nice, now they have a company that can create good magic books and they have control over the quality and they can make sure nothing half baked ever comes out. Good, good, good. Excellent. Yes….however, I don’t think making a project as a book based off of nostalgia for books alone is a good basis for choosing the medium. An oversimplification perhaps, but that's how I feel. Also, if any new book was now just released only on ebook, there’d be an entire audience that would be LIVID. So, they can’t currently stop making books. Currently, that is. I feel like in today’s day and age, the intake of information on book or video is closer to the same experience than in previous years for one reason. Books are great because you can stare at the same piece of information for as long as you need. Trying to learn something through the medium of a DVD was maddening because you have to start at stop at exactly the right time. I’m sure it was worse for VHS. But if you have the correct computer set-up, which not everyone has, you can now go frame by frame and stare at the image for as long as you need. We even have technology for videos to be transcribed. On the flip side, information in a book will be absorbed at your own pace which is beneficial. I’ve fallen asleep during more than one Penguin lecture. Maybe the line isn’t so much about book or video as much as it is making a project physical or digital. But if you’re going to have a digital ebook with integrated video, then the physical book needs to have the same capabilities, which VI has proven they have the power to do and they should maintain that standard. As I look at my shelf, the main VI books I know I’d keep are The Definitive Sankey because that was a big magic purchase for me at the time and I spent a whole summer reading them. But I don’t have the same attachment to the two Daryl books, Artful Deceptions, Parlour Tricks, the Scripting Magic volumes, or The Boy Who Cried Magic. My Jamy Ian Swiss trilogy is annotated which I felt was necessary at the time and still do as I look through them. Those are mine forever. Though not VI, I’m still enjoying Sleightly Absurd, but that’s also because I attended Magic Live for the first time last summer where that was the book of the convention and I got to meet Charlie Frye and see him lecture. But I love the stuff in that book about the same that I love the Penguin Lecture. Would I own the book if I hadn’t gone to the convention? Well…it probably would not have been as close on my radar as it is now. I gonna say no, I probably would not have immediately bought the book. That would have been a shame. Whatever the case, this is my stream of consciousness on this subject. The ebook transition is a necessary step forward, but this transition will take time.

Interesting I wonder if the trick has lost popularity currently?

Yes, and already do and it is always expanding.

Great thanks.

I got VI ebooks during the premiere promo. They were at great prices! Like Jeff, I will still get physical books of select authors or featured magicians. Ultimately, I still prefer to read from a page than a screen.

What are the rights/considerations of printing a (Vanishing Inc) e-book at a pdf print service, such as Lulu?

Interesting topic, Jeff. As a book lover and collector, I favor physical books; books that I can touch, smell, and feel in my hands, no batteries required. However, when it comes to actually reading a book, I prefer the digital format, such as a searchable PDF, proprietary eBook, or Kindle. This format allows me to do a number of things a physical book can’t do, like resize the text, quickly access a dictionary and search contents, easily bookmark pages, as well as highlight details, and annotate specific passages, as I don't care to mark up physical books. Also, digital media is resilient to water damage, food stains (never eat Doritos while reading...), paper tears, etc.; and, they take up no space (other than "storage space" on media), like physical books. With digital, all those benefits are available, including the capability of linking to websites and videos, something books can’t do… yet. With that said, I don’t believe that most publishers have even grazed the surface of what’s possible in the sale and marketing of digital content. For example, I don’t agree that “eBooks”, in simple PDF format and sold as a download, should command the high prices that they often do. First, there’s nothing tangible being transacted; and, legally, you're not buying the right to sell or distribute the product - you’re essentially “leasing” the content for a fee, which is often very close to the price of getting a DVD; or, in the case of printed media, a book; both of which can be resold. Second, downloads usually contain the same content as the book, so, there’s no real advantage to purchasing the download. Of course, the main benefit of a download is that you can get it in the time it takes to process an order, which usually is a matter of minutes, it's highly portable, and if it’s a searchable PDF or eBook, so much the better. In a perfect world, all magic and mentalism books would be available in multiple formats, including a download, a DVD, and a book, all priced accordingly: the download could be $19.95; the DVD, $29.95; and the book, $49.95, which would include the download. The downloads could also be used as premiums (as some are now), with the purchase of other items, especially those that tie-in with the product. Unfortunately, the waters get really murky when we go beyond the publishing and marketing capability of a single retail entity (like Vanishing, Inc.). Magic publishing concerns, such as Caveney’s Magic Words, Kaufman & Company, and Miracle Factory, may have conflicting views on the digitization and distribution of their publications, not to mention the plethora of legacy publications for which publishing rights are at question. The growth of eBooks in the magic and mentalist communities is also hinged to the subsequent demand for these products and the availability of discretionary funds in the market; so, as long as people are willing and able to shell out the bucks, prices for media will remain high, regardless of the format. Piracy of digital media, as previously noted, is also an issue; but no less, in my opinion, than it is with the scanning of printed matter and its distribution, which is typically done from locations offshore. Do these "less-legit" downloads really impact the broader market for all downloads? Does Gresham's Law apply? Gresham's law is a mid-19th century monetary principle that addressed the difference between the face value versus the commodity value of coins in circulation. I'm not sure if those principles actually apply to online downloads for printed media from legitimate sources, who are perceived, by many, as being more "legit" - and therefore "different", as long as they're priced within reason. Providing more “value-added” content to print media and cross-over promotions of downloads with physical products might improve this… but then again, maybe not. It's really the "Wild West" in the marketing of eBook downloads at this point.

I haven't figured out how to get my ebook signed by the author!!! I DID take advantage of VI's recent ebook offering and about half were dupes of what I have in hard copy. 75% still strikes me as high considering the cost of production and shipping saved, but the market will tell....

I love ebooks (in general) so long as (1) they are MUCH cheaper than the print book and (2) fully portable by bring available in different file-types so I can choose the device I use to read them. I understand why VI have decided to go exclusively PDF but that's a big negative for me as I love using my e-reader.

I do not own an ebook and probably would not buy one. Just cant replace a bound paper volume of work IMO!

Great review thanks.

Where was this filmed? I like it!