Win a free copy of Hocus Pocus
Drawing on May 1st, 2024
Details

M.I.N.D.

Earle, Lee

(Based on 1 review)
Lee Earle has spent a lifetime in the trade. He has earned his 'chops' as a performer, author of multiple books, columnist for the Society of American Magician's M-U-M magazine, editor of SYZYGY-The Journal of Contemporary Mentalism, publisher of books by authors Richard Mark and Larry Becker, creator and medium for Manifestations-The Ultimate Seance and originator of trademark Mentalism props, routines and concepts.
As recipient of the Psychic Entertainers Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Art of Mentalism, Lee Earle is acknowledged as one of the men who have changed the face of Mentalism forever. Now, the bulk of his creativity is assembled in this single, significant book. Over two decades of "outside the box" thinking from one of the most prolific minds in mentalism plus nearly all of Lee's published writings from the past twenty years-more than fifty routines, including many of his limited release commercial items-are literally within your grasp.
Included with each copy is a CD-Rom (Windows and Macintosh compatible) containing the necessary Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF files for producing a number of full-color, professionally designed props and promotional materials on your personal inkjet or laser printer. You get multiple templates for Sun Signs, more ready-to-print masters for the complete SuperScript materials and cards, Topologo's colorful single-page layout, color photographs and enlarged 'newspaper clipping' for Bascom Jones' Dark Memory, celebrity handwriting samples to use with an evocative Pretellus presentation, and full-size color copes of genuine stock certificates for the very contemporary Taking Stock.

BONUS: The CD-Rom also contains a thought-provoking interview with Lee Earle, conducted by the esteemed Dr. Juris, in which Lee discusses the distinctions between mental magic and Mentalism, the critical elements necessary for a successful performance, tips on how to present Mentalism to skeptical audiences and much, much more.
Softbound, 264 pages

Reviews

Brian Reaves

Jul 08, 2009

If you're into mentalism, "M.I.N.D." is a great book to work with. It is a collection of Lee Earle's writings, along with a bonus CD that has a lot of nice extras on it. Lee does a nice job here of presenting a lot of different effects, and also of explaining the motivation behind them and updating some of his earlier stuff with a sentence or two of new handlings or thoughts.

Unfortunately, if you're not using a special clipboard prop Lee describes, the first section of the book might not mean a lot to you. It can be adapted to other types of readers that use carbon paper or the like, but the beginning of the book is geared that direction. Stick with it though, as there are a lot of great effects still to come in those pages.

Lee goes into detail about his billet work, and he makes an excellent case for its importance in mental magic. One effect he uses involving his photographs and different ladies from the audience leaving a kiss on them as he figures out who is who is particularly nice. The method isn't brand new, but his handling is great and I can honestly say I probably would never have caught it (he includes a couple of the photos in the text so you can see how it's done). His reasoning behind choosing this method rather than gathering items from the audience is especially sound in today's litigious society.

Earle's earlier work is actually some of his most versatile for the average performer. There are several headline prediction variations, and they each have a strength and weakness. I think this allows the individual performer to figure out what's best for him. Earle also includes everything you'll need to print out for some great performances involving fake stock certificates, headline predictions matching a seemingly innocent photograph, and handwriting samples.

The price is a little steep, but for the vast range of material it's a good investment, even for the beginning mentalist.
(Top ▲)