Description

“I consider this my best and most favorite ebook I ever wrote.” – Bob Cassidy

The foundations of mentalism. Acclaimed as “a definitive resource for all who are interested in mentalism and probably for most in magic generally.” Bob’s list of 39 most important books to read, which is included in this ebook, is by itself hugely valuable, because you not only get a list of books but the reasons why each one of them is so important. This allows you to judge for yourself if you should read a particular book or not. Fundamentals can be seen as Bob’s extraction of the most important concepts from these 39 books.

This list of 39 books, or as Bob calls it “The 39 Steps to Mentalism” can be read here.

Bob mentioned during an interview that this ebook has an unfortunate name, because many will look at it and think: “Fundamentals – oh I already know all the basics.” However, these are not just the fundamentals for beginners, these are primarily the fundamentals that intermediate level and advanced level mentalists need to understand and internalize. Most questions mentalists have are answered in this ebook.

1st edition 2002; updated 2005; 89 pages

PrefaceIntroductionHow it All BeganA Few Members of the Original Cast of CharactersOverviewThe Psychology of MentalismPlausibilityThe Path to MasteryA Note on RehearsalFundamental StructuresCommon MisunderstandingsThe Opening Effect Comes SecondSome Fundamental PrinciplesThe Bulldog Deck and The Scary Movie RoutineA Fundamental Psychological PloyA Thought to PonderThe Shuttled Newspaper TestGet the Lead OutThree Canisters and a BillAn Essential SecretHandlingQuizAn Introduction to the Interaction of Physical, Psychological and Presentational Principles in the Performance of Mentalism”A Startling Thought Reading Effect”An Interesting FactActivity Time with Dr. BobA Startling Thought Reading EffectCommercially Available Effects and GimmicksPersona and Subscript – the Keys to BelievabilityThe SubscriptRiding the WebThe Thirty-Nine StepsSome Thoughts on Performing
word count: 32314 which is equivalent to 129 standard pages of text