Ian Rowland has written an incredible book for any magician or mentalist.
The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading is one of those texts that you wish someone would write. It is complete, practical and filled with exactly the type of material that you can use no matter your specialty.
We know this may give you subtle clues as to our review of the book — it is a must read — but in case your sensibilities are not yet focused sufficiently to detect our true feelings, we'll give you the full review.
If you are like us, you've probably read the title of a magic book and thought "wow, from the title that sounds exactly like what I need. I have always wanted to learn how to do precisely that which is described so thoughtfully in the title and, therefore, I am delighted to spend my hard-earned cash on this book."
Then you thought, "I know this is the right book for me based solely because the title tells me so. I will finally learn how to do that which I have always desired to learn; to do what I have always desired to do."
If you are not like us, you probably have never thought such foolishness. You probably put stock in the adage about telling a book by its cover.
Whatever! So you're smarter than us. You never got burned by buying a book based on the title and been disappointed.
We've been burned. Take us for an example. Please note, however, that if you do take us for an example or for any reason and don't call when you say you will, we'll stalk you and pout in a pathetic manner.
We purchased the following in the vain hope of learning:
How to Be a Ventriloquist;
How to Impress Your Friends with Ventriloquism;
How to Sell Your Ventriloquism Dummies for Big Profits;
Balloon Animals Made Simple;
Balloon Animals – Your Path to Profit and Bigger Cheeks;
How to Do Balloon Animals for Big Cash, Rubber Recycling – Never Bounce Another Check;
Expert at the Card Table;
101 Card Sleights You Can Learn in 20 Minutes;
How to Do Knuckle-Busting Card Magic;
Perform Card Magic for Big Money;
20 Self-Working Card Tricks;
101 Self-Working Card Tricks;
Card Throwing for Profit;
Make Big Cash as a Freelance Proctologist;
Make Big Money with Used Rubber Gloves;
Be Your Own Lawyer;
How To Make Friends in Prison;
How to Make Gang-Friendly Balloon Animals;
How to Use Ventriloquism to Amuse Your Cell-Mates;
101 Uses for Balloon Animals in Prison;
How to Make Your Relationship New;
How to Use Internet Gambling to Improve Your Marriage;
Bankruptcy Made Simple;
How to Win at Strip Solitaire;
How to Tell If Your Ex-Spouse Has a Concealed Weapon;
An Ex-Con's Guide to the Single Life
Surprisingly, none of these books taught what we thought we would learn.
Each sounded great but delivered less than the proverbial FedEx guy on crack-rock.
And so we became jaundiced.
At first, we attributed this to our besotted liver from years of drinking Sterno in the Joint. We never even considered our pale yellow complexion could be the result of being lied to by magic authors and publishers.
Then we read about Ian Rowland and his new books.
We wanted to believe again. We wanted to assume that this man would sell the first book to deliver the goods promised on the cover.
We wanted to learn everything about cold-reading: the ability to give the impression that you can actually read another person's mind without trickery or gimmicks.
His book received great praise from people like Banachek and Teller precisely because it delivered what was promised.
Mr. Rowland's writing style is great, if you're a sarcastic, wise-guy like us.
Check out Mr. Rowland's web site where you can purchase this great book — even without reading our full-review — by clicking here.
He is very witty and, at times, we were laughing while while reading. (This caused the patrons in the other stalls to hiss at us but we didn't care).
We never laughed once reading John Scarne's treatise on card magic.
We only giggled at Bobo's Coin Magic and that was only because we are immature and "Bobo" sounds funny.
(We also thought the name Ching Ling Soo was funny but that was before we knew it wasn't "Ching Sling Poo").
Mr. Rowland writes with an easy conversational style unburdened by pretention.
He wastes no time in describing what he intends to teach in the chapter, teaching it, showing how to use it, providing suggestions on how to practice it, and then reviewing it.
Mr. Rowland begins by explaining the setup for a cold reading session, the atmosphere that needs to be set either through the circumstances by which you meet your subject or your subject's understanding of what is to be accomplished.
If your subject is sent by a friend with the recommendation that "The Great Al Apecia (our old stage name) is one of the most amazing psychics ever and he told me so much that has really helped me," you are so much better off than no recommendation at all.
Mr. Rowland then takes the reader through exactly how to perform your first cold reading.
He holds the reader's paw to describe what can and should be said and how to recover from a stumble.
He gives you 38 items from which you will be able to do a Cold Reading and even tells you how to handle skeptics.
We think Mr. Rowland shows the depth of his intellect and understanding, though, when he discusses the moral/ethical implications of performing a cold reading.
Performed improperly, you can endanger your subject's faith or mental health.
Performed with avarice, you can steal from your innocent and trusting subject.
Mr. Rowland is very clear in his instructions and admonitions.He is also clear in his criticism of those who would use cold reading improperly.
This is not a work by a magician/psychic unfamiliar with the realities of performing.
In fact, his practical approach reminds us of Bob Cassidy or Banachek's.He is teaching from what he knows intimately and yet he does not gloss over the details simply because they may be so obvious to him.
The cost is about $58.00 or whatever the current USD equivalent for the £32.00 GBP, plus postage.The price will likely discourage those who do not have a serious interest in learning this art and that is good.
If you buy the book, you will have a true guide to the way professionals in this field work.It is so much better to keep that kind of knowledge among the very few.
You can purchase the book and read a great website by visiting www.ianrowland.com.
INSIDE MAGIC RATING: Five out of Five – Perfect!
Continue reading The Cold Facts About Mind Reading – Must Buy!
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