This book was amazing. I literally knew almost nothing about bill magic. It's been on my mind for a long time and I finally got it this year for Christmas. When I first started reading it, I really liked the way it was written from the start. Tim Trono and John Lovick as well as everyone who contributed are all great. It;s funny and they really do a great job and hooking the reader
As for the material goes, the stuff really varies. I found that I might not actually perform most of the stuff, but I will definitely take account a lot of it. I might work on some things and change them up to fit my personal preference, and you might too. There are a ton of great subtelties that I never considered before. Some stuff that you see but never realise before is in here too. Like how to hold a bill the right way, how to turn it the right way, how to hide it etc.
The teaching in here was pretty top notch. It was simply laid out into 2 columns per page which made it look a lot nicer to read and sort of inspires you to read it all. John is a great teacher and everything is in as much detail as you need.
All in all, I highly recommend this book to anybody hoping to start in bill magic. There is a TON of excellent material in here that I'm sure you will love as much as I did. It was a fun read and a really smooth read.

WARNING: if all you are looking for is a good, dollar-change, this book is way too much for you. Don't buy this book and just follow these four steps:
1) decide on the effect you want
2) decide if you want to go with a gimmick or gimmickless
3) decide if you want to go with one that uses a thumbtip or one that lets your thumb go commando
4) buy said effect--there are plenty of acceptable variations you can buy on Penguin magic and elsewhere--and be done with it.

HOWEVER, for magicians who are truly dollar-change obsessed, Switch, by John Lovick, is about as perfect a book as you could buy.

Full disclosure: when I bought Switch, I thought I was simply interested in looking into a few good dollar bill switch tricks. When this nearly encyclopedic, 345 page, elegant, large format, coffee-table-worthy book, expertly printed on heavy acid-free paper arrived, I was a bit in shock. This was not just a book with a few different variations of the $100 bill switch. This was the $100 bill switch bible.

That said, after digging in, I was absolutely blown away!

John Lovick has pulled out the stops and produced a book that thoroughly covers all the bases. Part I recounts the history and theory of the bill change. Part II is a thorough look at basic thumbtip handlings (7 in all), complete with a review of appropriate thumbtip techniques, utility moves, and finesses. Part III gives you three different, basic tipless variations (3) with its own section on utility moves, techniques, and finesses. Part IV gives you numerous handlings and methods including palm up handlings, switch methods, and other miscellaneous methods. And if all that were not enough Part V gives you numerous, successful routines used by magicians you know and love and some great stuff from lesser known mages who you may be meeting for the first time. Rounding things out, in Part VI you will get additional ideas, including variations on the bill change, vanishes, and non-bill ideas using slips of paper that change places or seemingly morph. Part VII is the coda of this magnum opus, with interesting facts about money, U.S. laws about defacing, reproducing, and counterfeiting currency (caveat emptor), and a final section which is a rundown of commercially available stuff that either didn't make the book or couldn't be included for some reason and important books, routines, and gimmicks not found elsewhere in the book.

If you are thinking that that's a lot of book to devote to the lowly bill change, than you are right. It's pretty much everything about the bill change that was available up to 2006 when the book was published. There may be some strays that eluded Lovick, but I can't imagine there were many. There are certainly innovations that may have come up since 2006, but there's more than enough material here to ponder. And if you can't find a bill change that suits you after going through 345 pages of them, you need to find another hobby...

The breadth is pretty amazing. We're talking everything from the classic bill change, to torn and restored bills, to transformations, impossible location routines, mis-made bill routines, multiple switches. With and without thumbtips and gimmicks and a lot of incredible advice along the way.

Illustrations are simple, line drawings but incredibly clear and have a very cool vintage quality to them. There are far more ways to fold a bill than I could have imagined and far more presentations than I ever could have guessed. I'm not by any means an advanced magician--this is a hobby I've picked up over the past year--but my inner technique nerd has been unmasked and I was riveted to this book cover to cover.

Those who are not interested in such an in depth going over of the bill switch are going to wonder why the heck anyone would spend so much time on this kind of stuff. Again, if you're just looking to do a simple, bill change effect, go out, purchase it, and be done. If you are interested in shake changing wads of $1s to $100s, this is not your book either. It really is focused on changing a single bill, although it does include some routines to change a single bill multiple times. The large format of the book can be a bit cumbersome, but it does serve a purpose, allowing for larger, clearer illustrations. It's also a bit of a shame that this beautiful book is so suitable for the coffee table, as you generally don't want your guests poring over magic books and discovering your secrets.

Handsome Jack has given us a handsome book that is a real winner for those magic geeks among us who like to dive deep into the history, philosophy, and subtle variations of a given effect. Lots of wow here. Recommended.

Good book albeit largely repetitive. A worthy study if you are new to bill switching, however, it is far from complete. There are dozens and dozens of bill switch presentations that aren't in the book, including my three favorites, but there are plenty of variations (including a bunch by Gregory Wilson) to keep you busy. Often an incredibly boring read, but a good resource none the less.

I LOVE this book! When I first saw it, I couldn't believe such a large book had been dedicated to "one" trick. After reading a glowing review shortly after it was published, I figured it was worth a look; since I had a bill switch in my show and figured it could only improve. Now this is one of my favorite magic books in my library! Nothing is left out of this book! History, routines and various means of performing the bill switch are all in this book - and more! This isn't just a magic book you can use as reference for handling and routines. This is an interesting read from cover to cover! Think you know the bill switch?! Think again! Whether you've been performing it for years or are thinking of performing it in any capacity - this book is for you!

Great book,alot of great variations for the bill switch and much more..

the writing is excellent, the magic and routines are excellent and well described, the whole book, which is just about a bill switch, is great.

This is a great book if you want to learn about switching bills, and only switching bills. It is well written and a beautiful book!

Did I say it looks beautiful on my bookshelf? :)

All I have to say is this: If you don't own this book yet, there is seriously something wrong with you. Not only is this a compendium of bill change/switches by the best magicians like Klause, Kozlowski and Ammar but tips on thumb tip use, the History of the creator of the trick Vladimirov, torn and restore, routines, handling, and techniques. This is a very exhausting and packed book of over 300 pages. The instructions are easy and the art work amazing, better than the latter magicians books on the trick. Over a hundred magicians included here as well with over a hundred or so tricks. And it has what other books don't have: an INDEX. This book is worth way more than the price they sell it for.

In my magic man-cave, on my magic man-cave shelf, I have this book. This book is right next to my complete Tarbell Course in Magic book. The Switch is extremely well-written, and I consult it before I do a show, or show someone 'how' I can change one denomination to another, I consult this book. There is nothing better than 'showing' someone how to double their money...but I consult it, so I don't show someone the same switch twice.

I started magic with cards and now getting into coins. Therefore I had no knowledge whatsoever on Bill Switch before getting the book. However even for a newbie like me, after reading it, it has been easy to follow with detailed descriptions and clear illustrations. It has been a pleasant reading so far.

Everything you need about Bill Switch are written in the book. History, Thought-provoking theories, Different Handling (W/ or W/O TT) and Variations, Loads and Steals, etc., and the list goes on. There are too much content for $37! : ) Thank you PENGUINMAGIC for the generosity.

If you want to thoroughly study Bill Switch, this book should be on your shelf. Although I am sure there are other eye-opening switches, this is a true gem that stands out in the realm of Bill Switch. You just cannot go wrong with this book. I just cannot stop saying good things. As you can see, I am madly in love with this book.