I love the title! It tells you exactly what to expect: card magic from creators in the U.S.A. It's a little bit of clarity amongst all of the shock titles that don't give you any clue what to expect.

With over 280 pages, 80 routines and moves and 49 contributors, you would expect a hodge-podge of material. That's what you get, but in a good way. As I've said about many other products, "there's something in here for everyone."

What you're going to like and dislike is really a matter of taste. For me, the for-magicians-only, variation-of-a-variation-of-a-variation, four ace tricks bore me to tears. But if you like that stuff, you'll find a lot of it. You'll also find some easy-to-do "commercial" routines and a few knuckle-busters.

In case you're anything like me, some of my favorites were:

• Jon Armstrong's "My Opening Act" is an excellent way to start off the book. How often do you get access to a working pro's opening act? Enough said.


• "The Perfect Pick" from John Born is a seemingly impossible bit of mentalism where the magician names a card that was selected from a deck in the hands of an audience member the other side of the room.


• My favorites were the full versions of Bill Malone's card to pocket and six card repeat.


• "Cycle" from Max Maven is a sequence of four packet tricks performed with the same cards, which can be strung together into a complete act.


• Jeff Pierce turns a blackjack deal into a wonderful bit of magic with "The Blackjack Stack."


• Gary Plants' "Count Me In" is an interesting combination of "Count on It" from Paul Cummins (New York Magic Symposium, Volume 3, one of my favorite books) and Roy Walton's "Palmist Prophecy" from The Complete Walton.


• If you like the torn-and-restored-card plot, I think you'll enjoy Steve Shufton's "Co-Signed."


• Diamond Jim Tyler's "The Magic of Halitosis" is not only an excellent piece of magic, but also a brilliant marketing technique.

If you like card magic, you should have this on your shelf. If not, don't buy it. It's that simple.