I spent a lot of time with this book. It isn't a huge book by any definition. I have, from a young age, liked magic books that present a broad gumbo of effects and ideas. This delivers in that department. I like how Jeff "thinks aloud" in his books -- that appeals to me. He is the kind of guy who will write: "In January, I was going to perform this trick in blah-blah manner, but in March I did it a different way." A very few people do a great job in being non-terse in how they write and Jeff is one of them.

This book references his personal magic diary, a thing more of us could stand to keep. Thusly, most of these items bubbled up from that process.

While not a beginner's book, nothing here is too tough. If you've been heavily involved in magic for at least a year, the methods/thoughts/props referenced here won't scare you. This book sort of falls into the scope of 'Bizarre' magic, but not entirely...some of the material is creepy and some of it is fun. Don't let the cover fool you too much. He gets moderately heavy into his scripting and that is good. However, one bit, "Flying High Again", just reads a little odd. It is an OK trick, kinda playful, really, but the wording/patter drags a bit. He also uses this convention where he uses names (e.g. "John does this. Bill grabs that. Tommy leans into his audience.)...maybe I'm old, but that kind of stuff tires me somewhat. I just like, "performer does..." and "spectator deals..."

For the investment, this is a good book. The print version is laid out well and is professionally printed (he also has it as an eBook via his site). This item has a 'Bank Night' bit that I can 99% promise I will work into my act IMMEDIATELY! My opinion? Get it, read it, use the material!

I really didn’t know what to expect with this but I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed. This mini 28 page book is a collection of 8 very unique ideas, routines and ‘unusual’ tricks. It is chock full of great ideas, twists and turns, great patter, one liners and ‘madness’ that you can start incorporating into your show right now. You can use them as they are but Jeff explains these tricks in such a way that you can easily modify them to your own style or personality. The best thing I found is that each one of the effects in the book are based on routines implemented, tested and proved by Jeff over the years to work.

Yes, Jeff appears to be out there once you start reading and studying it but it is tricks and routines like this that will make you stand out. As Magicians and performers that is exactly what you want to do. The effects in this book include mentalism, card control, spooky voodoo magic, astrology and more. Some of you will readily recognize and understand the workings and methods as I did but he really gets you thinking outside the box of how to uniquely apply and dress them up creating something so totally different that you may have thought about on your own. The very fascinating thing about this book unlike any others you may have read is that it will challenge you to get creative with any or all of these tricks. They can be performed individually or strung together which will certainly result in a very unique and memorable act. This is a worthwhile purchase, thanks Jeff you wild and crazy guy!

Diary of a Madman is a short booklet containing eight ideas, effects and routines from Jeff Stone. In the introduction Mr. Stone explains all the items originated in his magic notebooks (which if you don’t keep one, you absolutely should) with the material running the gamut, including items suitable for kids and adults, stage and close up, magic and mentalism, impromptu as well as bizarre magic. Highlights include an interesting use of Glorpy, a great idea for when someone hears you’re a magician and asks, “Really, what instrument do you play?,” some smart ideas for the Bank Night plot, as well as a clever plot twist to the classic cards across.

Mr. Stone assumes the reader is an experienced magician, so none of the explanations are in depth. However, the methods used are relatively simple and a number of them use well worn handlings that will be familiar to most magicians. Don’t be put off by the fact that there are no brand new methods or effects. The purpose of the booklet is to be an exploration of ideas, plots and approaches, many of which I thought interesting and worth a look. And even those entries that didn’t particularly appeal to me had elements I appreciated and found appealing. (With the exception of the card control opening the book. While a great idea, it’s quite old, and while I’m sure it was a case of independent invention, the entry doesn’t really offer anything other than the control to justify its inclusion.)

For $15 you receive a number of ideas, some of which are ready for performance, and some of which will need some work. More importantly, you get interesting ideas for presentations, hooks, and alternative approaches to classic plots, all of which, in my mind, are more useful than yet another handling for yet another card trick. (And I LOVE card tricks.) If you want ideas to explore and to inspire your own creativity, for $15, Diary of a Madman will serve you well.

Jeff Stone the author of Diary of a Madman, was inspired to keep a journal of his thoughts by the movie The Prestige. I also saw The Prestige and although I wasn't inspired to keep a journal, what impressed me was the length some will go to achieve the ultimate in whatever their passion was, in the movie's case the magic effect. Diary of a Madman is a small collection of eight of those routines scrawled in moments of inspiration.

The eight routines in this booklet vary from card work to mentalism. In the booklet there is a version of Bank Night, and a strange but interesting combination of the Out To Lunch principle and a Glorpy. There is also a mix of psychic and bizarre magic performances which round out the offering.

There is no new groundbreaking handlings in the booklet itself. The moves and handlings should be known to anyone involved in magic. What the author is offering up is the concept of thinking out of the box and like in the movie The Prestige trying to take a routine to the next level and not to be satisfied with just the ordinary. The routines offered in this small journal are not the typical "find a card type" tricks but require a bit of storytelling to tie the effect together.

I found this an interesting read and thought provoking as well which was the stated goal of the author. I think this is worthy of anyone's consideration who is looking to add another dimension to their magic regardless of the type of magic one does.