Price$20.00
Media TypeBook
CategoryMentalism
Date AddedMar 14, 2008
The Secrets Of Dr. Tao
Docc Hilford
(Based on 1 review)
From the Secret Books of Dr. Tao come three original tricks of the mind. In this tome the mysterious doctor also reveals three of his innermost ancient secrets to effective mentalism. Each lesson is more than merely an outstanding original effect, it's a lesson that can be applied to mentalism students already perform.
Desire - A participant writes an item she desires on a piece of paper and leaves another paper blank. No matter how much the participant mixes the two papers; no matter how well she hides them from his sight, without even a glance in her direction, he is able to reveal which paper has the desire and where it is! This is repeated until finally the paper is burned. Although any item imagined was written on the paper and Dr. Tao never handled it, the ashes seem to form the desire in front of the participant's eyes!
Twin Swans - Dr. Tao writes a fortune for a young couple on a borrowed scrap of paper. The woman mentally chooses a card. Her partner is shown the faces of the cards and reaches out to take a card of his choice. It is the same card as that in his girlfriend's mind! And the fortune also has the name of the mentally chosen card written on it.
Bound Blossoms - Dr. Tao shows a large red envelope. A man goes through a borrowed deck of cards one at a time. A woman goes through a handful of page corners cut from a magazine. A third woman tells them both when to stop. The red envelope is opened. Inside is a sealed yellow envelope. A member of the audience removes a folded sheet of paper. Written on it in large black writing is a prediction containing the chosen page number and the chosen card! Everything is examinable! And with the exception of the prediction, can be borrowed.
Each trick is a reputation maker, specially design by Dr. Tao to be used at cocktail parties or banquets.
But there is much more to this little book than just three fine mentalistic tricks. The lessons hold ancient secrets that demonstrators of true mystery must know. Most of the secret books of Dr. Tao were lost, but in a dusty bookshop in Chinatown, Docc Hilford has uncovered Volume IX, Book 6 in this monu-MENTAL series.
"And after all is said and done, it's really all a lot of fun."
-Dr. Tao
Pages - 28 - Saddle Stitched
Reviews
(Top ▲)
I always get a kick out of seeing Docc Hilford's books. Notice I said SEEING them, not collecting them. His effect titles, and promotional graphics, have this kind of 1940's theatrical romance to them. The graphics themselves, seem to be from an earlier age, like from some WWII era magic catalogue. I'm an artist/illustrator, and my own imagination was fed repeatedly, by spooky comic books from the late sixties early seventies. That Docc 'found this volume of Dr. Tao's in a dusty bookshop in Chinatown', IS a romantic image-but clearly not to be taken literally.
I read some reviews of 'Dr. Tao' online, and eventually got the book because of the first two effects-'Desire' and 'Twin Swans'. Both effects have deeper implications and lessons-lessons to the audience, and lessons on a different level to the performer...or, 'student'. In 'Desire's' case, the principal is 'reversed value'. For the spectator,'Desire' touches upon authentic Buddhist/Taoist teachings, which I am aware of-it's a magical event, and I appreciate that Hilford wove ancient teachings into a piece of mentalism. 'Bound Blossom's', the third effect, has the most 'apparatus'- a special envelope. No doubt it works, but I was after the effects that required little to no anything, beyond some scraps of paper, a pen, deck of cards,...things just easily plucked from the environment (which the envelope is not). Since I bought this book on sale, I was not dissapointed. I would NOT however, have paid $25 for it, which is the standard price.
Now, the greater reason WHY I am not a big fan of Docc Hilford's work, is that it does seem often to be way overpriced.
Here's the best example I can think of:
'Secrets of Dr. Tao' by Docc Hilford-3 mentalism effects, at $25.00
'Master Mentalism' by Theodore Annemann-200 effects, at $9.99
Or consider this: If you own one of Hilford's booklets, look in the back and add up the cost for the entire series of twenty seven. Then consider what all you could purchase for a fraction of that total amount.
Needless to say, if you buy 'DOWN' to own Annemann's master work on mentalism, your'e actually buying UP-in terms of quantity, and, well,
it's ANNEMANN for God's sake. And then there's Banacek. At least neither of these men wrote a text/scheme on how to make 'big $$$$$$$$ selling seance shows!' Hilford DID, and David Parr reviews '1000 $ Secret Seance' elsewhere on this site. Wear safety goggles-it isn't pretty.
So as usable as Hilford's little booklet series might be, I'm about as interested in subsidizing his career as I am in signing over my bank accounts to Temple Harry Lorayne. Blindfold and bag my head, I still think I smell greed.
I read some reviews of 'Dr. Tao' online, and eventually got the book because of the first two effects-'Desire' and 'Twin Swans'. Both effects have deeper implications and lessons-lessons to the audience, and lessons on a different level to the performer...or, 'student'. In 'Desire's' case, the principal is 'reversed value'. For the spectator,'Desire' touches upon authentic Buddhist/Taoist teachings, which I am aware of-it's a magical event, and I appreciate that Hilford wove ancient teachings into a piece of mentalism. 'Bound Blossom's', the third effect, has the most 'apparatus'- a special envelope. No doubt it works, but I was after the effects that required little to no anything, beyond some scraps of paper, a pen, deck of cards,...things just easily plucked from the environment (which the envelope is not). Since I bought this book on sale, I was not dissapointed. I would NOT however, have paid $25 for it, which is the standard price.
Now, the greater reason WHY I am not a big fan of Docc Hilford's work, is that it does seem often to be way overpriced.
Here's the best example I can think of:
'Secrets of Dr. Tao' by Docc Hilford-3 mentalism effects, at $25.00
'Master Mentalism' by Theodore Annemann-200 effects, at $9.99
Or consider this: If you own one of Hilford's booklets, look in the back and add up the cost for the entire series of twenty seven. Then consider what all you could purchase for a fraction of that total amount.
Needless to say, if you buy 'DOWN' to own Annemann's master work on mentalism, your'e actually buying UP-in terms of quantity, and, well,
it's ANNEMANN for God's sake. And then there's Banacek. At least neither of these men wrote a text/scheme on how to make 'big $$$$$$$$ selling seance shows!' Hilford DID, and David Parr reviews '1000 $ Secret Seance' elsewhere on this site. Wear safety goggles-it isn't pretty.
So as usable as Hilford's little booklet series might be, I'm about as interested in subsidizing his career as I am in signing over my bank accounts to Temple Harry Lorayne. Blindfold and bag my head, I still think I smell greed.