Derren Brown - Tricks of the Mind - Everyone Should Have This Book
This is really good, funny and a little weird in places. Offering insight into both his unusual trade, and how this developed during his student days. Although sometimes coming across as enigmatically sinister in the public eye, he opens up his far more humorous side to his readers in this book. Often leading the reader through some well-versed tale of mysterious goings on only to reveal a stark reality that is often laugh out loud funny.
When it comes to explaining a card trick early on in the book, rather than simply described how it's performed he describes the thought processes the onlooker goes through to be taken in by the illusion. This encourages further study into how simple tricks work.
The section on mnemonics and memory exercise has already got me remembering the names of everyone I meet at parties and never having to write a shopping list again. I haven't tried hypnotising my girlfriend yet but his theories on this provide surprising detail on how most hypnosis seems to work.
All sections seem well-researched and backed up through various other texts he quotes. Anyone with an interest in the unusual, how our minds work and the ability to really confuse/scare/impress your friends should get this book.
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