I received my copy yesterday and I am very fascinated by what I've read so far. It's a great read and I give it my highest recommendations. But there's something that new magicians, and anyone who is not familiar with this course should know. It was a course from years ago. Meaning you bought the course and you were sent all the apparatus needed to do the effects. You would be able to write Mr. Tarbell and ask any questions. At the end, you would receive a diploma. It's no longer a live course in that respect. You will not be able to perform some of the effects because the apparatus is unavailable. The exception is common household items. There are some build-it-yourself effects too that you will be able to do. Also, when he gives advice on how to get into the business and how much to charge, you have to adapt it to modern times, specifically with pricing. None of this should deter you from purchasing this large volume. Just want people to know what they are getting. But there is still TONS of information that you will be able to use and there is a lot written on theory, history, attitude, etc...If you have the money, get this. If you don't, start saving and pick this up as soon as you can. You won't regret it.

As the book says..."whether u r a beginner or a pro....u ll find something informative in this book" very true. I love this book! its one of my master piece collections.

The book has all the smartest ideas on cards, coins, paper magic, mind reading etc etc....u ll have a tough time finishing this book. I already tried just 2 effects and got fantastic reactions!

One of the best parts is that the author always gives u advice on psychological subtleties. Really interesting facts along with the magic you learn here. the patter is funny. Thumbs up! worth buying a book having 100s of effects rather than buying a DVD at the same price for just 10 effects! Cheers! Tarbell rocks!!!

Loads of tricks to do here - it could last a life time. I would prefer colour photographs, but this would make it massively expensive, so understand why its just drawn.

Still a good book to work through.

Okay I gave this 3 stars but here me out first.

If you are going to study and set of books (besides Royal Road, Card College etc.) then this is the set to pick up. This is where so many of us fail being a book magician and don't study the proper texts.

This is THE set to get if you decided to only get one thing.

Now to address the three stars. The binding itself on this massive book is kind of a poor quality. Overall I see this falling apart someday soon (few pages have already started.) Instead I wish I had saved my singular volumes which are VERY sturdy and well bound. These books are meant to be read through (it was a course!) and I don't think this set handles that challenge well.

Get the other ones if you can. If not the information is still in here so it's worth it. Just be prepared for some issues down the road.

The book is HUGE! It is my understanding that it came out originally as a comprehensive course and along with it came the necessary gimmicks. I don't know if that is true, given there are literally hundreds of gimmicks described in the book. However, the effects and needed gimmicks are described in detail and I didn't see anything that wasn't pretty easy to make. This is more of the old fashioned magic of gimmicking everyday items and/or magic with ungimmicked every day items. The book is a very valuable addition to anyone. Highly recommended.

This book will last a life time and you'll always be able to come back to it for new stuff.

I think this is a must have for every magician, hundreds of routines. Just Wow I love this book.