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| Tricks of the Mind | 
 enlarge | Author: Derren Brown
Publisher: Channel 4 Books, a division of Transworld Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £2.99
You Save: £5.00 (63%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (111 reviews)
Sales Rank: 506
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown)
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1.2
ISBN: 1905026358
EAN: 9781905026357
ASIN: 1905026358
Publication Date: October 8, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 106 more reviews...
 A real treasure trove of a book! November 22, 2008
Every night I look at this book and am both creeped out and fascinated by it. It's like one of those 'Haunted Painting' horror stories - like 'Road Virus heads North' or 'Picture of Dorian Gray'. However, through the genius of Derren Brown, these stories have become reality, with a book that is mesmerising (derived from the word 'Frank') on the outside and even better within...
Within its pages, there is all manner of fascinating Gambits and vignettes that can be used by anyone, given enough determination. An example of this is Russell's Paradox, which I never understood b4 reading this book and now do, adding to the interest in my dinner party conversation.
The book is neatly organised in sections and is indexed for easy use meaning it can be dipped into for whatever you happen to be looking for. Further to this, Mr Brown (the one who SHOULD be Prime Minister) also puts a list of his favourite, useful books at the end, which is incredibly useful for deepening ones knowledge on any subject, without needless trial and error.
My one criticism is that this book can be a little strange in its writing. Though he acclaims Dawkins, this book isn't quite as lucid and tends to be a little difficult to fathom. However, this is typical of DB, and you wouldn't want to understand that face too much, would you...?
Anyhow, this is a fantastic book, and it is not just me saying that; this is one of the few books I have recommended to others that has borne gratitude for my suggestion! Why on Earth can't more entertainers write books as good, with indexing and good sourcing? I'm sure the world would be a happier place with books like this everywhere, even if they do scare people at night...
 Perhaps his best illusion yet! November 13, 2008
I first saw Derren Brown on British television. It was 1999 and the programme was called Derren Brown: Mind Control. It featured Brown in and around London performing various feats of mind-reading and mind-manipulation on unsuspecting members of the public.
And I have to say that I was fascinated. For example, he once caused Tube passengers to instantly forget the destinations or purposes of their journeys, and then just as instantly he returned their memories.
For me, what made it so interesting was that he stated up front that while it might appear to be psychic-related, it was in fact something very different. He claimed to have mastered how people think and how to read people. Thus, he was able to render them suggestible to the point that they would do as they were told. It appeared to be more of the realm of hypnosis than paranormal phenomenon.
So when I came across his newly published book entitled Tricks of the Mind I made a beeline for it and found myself seduced by its admittedly tall order of teaching readers how to hypnotise, read minds, improve their memory and passing on other secrets of his so-called craft.
Well, it was a long and extremely tedious slog but I got through it.
It's true that he does describe how he does some of the more mundane tricks as seen on television. But if you can follow Brown's broad-brush descriptions to the point of obtaining even basic proficiency, then please let me hear from you. Like every other magician (or as he calls himself illusionist) he actually reveals very little.
So what else is in the book? Essentially, a lot of Derren Brown. We get his views on religion, science, psychics, mediums and alternative medicine. His main assertion is that people only see what they want to see. And then he proves his own point as he progresses topic by topic with biased, emotive and one-sided considerations.
But the biggest problem with the Tricks of the Mind is its mixture of autobiographical anecdote, polemics, humour and word choice that simply doesn't work. And at too many points it deteriorates into nothing more than a childish rant.
By the time I finished the book I found myself wondering whether this was not his best illusion to date.
Smug and very disappointing November 6, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed Derren Brown's tv shows, in fact I could hardly wait to watch them. And one of the things I liked was that I thought Derren came across as being funny, kind and compassionate towards his audience. This book shattered those illusions and I haven't watched him on the television since. In this book I found that he came across as being smug, derogatory and quite offensive. I may not choose to follow a certain religion myself ... but I don't care to hear someone else deride and poke fun at another's beliefs. Apart from this, I would have really enjoyed the book ... but his arrogance and derision of others spoilt it for me.
A really enjoyable read November 6, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you are even slightly interested in the methods Derren uses in his shows then you should give this book a read, of course he doesn't reveal everything the book would be huge!
He covers simple card and coin magic, memory, hypnosis, unconscious communication and pseudo-science and branches into various categories within these chapters. He tells you everything you need to know on a basic level but then gives a reading list if you are particularly interested in finding out more information which I think is very good as my general search on here found quite a few disappointing looking books and I wasn't sure where to find reliable and decent information.
He gives you tricks to try as well as a lot of history and stories from his own life, I found the book incredibly interesting and saw myself taking time out of my day to read it until I had finished it cover to cover. He does all this with good humour and I found myself laughing out loud at certain points throughout. Ultimately you find out how hard he actually has worked in researching and developing the skills he has and how with enough effort put in other people could pick these skills up too, he isn't some sort of creepy magician always trying to read people, he is an ordinary guy who really has worked at this and has amazing talent at it.
Great start, but ultimately disappointing September 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The book is a humourous introduction to a diverse range of subjects - magic, memory, hypnosis, suggestibility, spotting lies, cognitive illusions, religion, scepticism and the paranormal.
Some sections were witty and extremely informative - magic and memory stand out in my mind - other sections can be dry and humourless. The book as a whole is certainly worth reading particularly if you're interested in Brown's areas of expertise as a performer.
The downside to the book is that Brown frequently rants about the importance of science and scepticism particularly in relation to his past life as a Christian. Despite this he seems to blindly accept the views of anyone he considers a supporter of science. Statistics about being more likely to die from a plane crashing into my house than to die in a train-crash, or the millions killed because of the banning of DDT require some backing up before I can accept them.
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