Twenty Years of Magic. Most of you clicked on this, but you don't know what it is! It is my hope that after my review, you will do yourself a favour and buy it.

Well, it is sorta a book. It was advertised as "Four of Jay's most popular sets of lecture notes in one volume! Including "Memorable Images", "Tricks of the Trade", "Amazing Magic Tricks", and "Sankedelic Magic". Much of this material has never apeared in print or on video! Over 30 routines!"

The book itself is a 64 page flimsy paperback, I think is only available from his website, and is bound with one of those plasticy coil things.

However, regardless of the quality of the book, the tricks are what matter, so lets get to them!

The Price of Admission: Everyone has heard of or seen this trick somewhere! The method is obvious to us, but to laymen, this is killer. (Yeah, I use this a lot.) A movie theater ticket is torn up, squeezed and impossibly restored. It does require two movie tickets, but I feel that it is worth it. In terms of what the trick looks like, I rate it a 9, but in terms of handling, 8.5. So... 8.7!

A Short Fuse: A very wierd sandwitch effect with a really, really complicated and fishy handling. A few cards fuse. The plot is old, and if you can pull this off, then go for it. It is better in terms of what it looks like than any other. I just can't pull off the handling.... SO... I rate this one a 8.0

The Tragicomic Keys: A nice effect, handling is easy, requires really only three things, and has a great story. I like this one a lot, but I probbably won't perform it that often. 8.5

Sugarless Gum: The first version of Wrap It Up! that the world got to see! It of course is the snap handling, and in the notes, he says that the idea first came from Tom Mullica, and then his girlfriend (at the time) had helped him with a few things. 9.6

A match by any other name: The story has been repeated in his other tricks, but the teaching on this one is a little... iffy. I can't really do this for I don't understand what he wants me to do! But the plot and the main method are really neat, and the solution he came up with to lighting a whole book of matches without actually doing so surprised me. Meh... 8.0

Unscrewed: The story makes no sense, and the trick is kinda, well, screwy. It is another wierd idea, sort of like a bill switch but it isn't... You have to see it to understand. Oh well, the trick gets an 8.0

Forbidden Fruit: Man do I love this walkaround routine! He marketed this item seperatly for years, but this is a great routine. A stick of bubble gum changes into a selected card. You do waist one card every time, but the change is very visual and the trick is great. 9.4

Broken English: This is on TVBO, as a chopstick changes into a selected card. People, stick with your number two pencils. 7.0

Transference: The magican has someone think of a card, and he names it. Then they think of a different one, and their friend names it. Eh... It is ok. I don't think that it will get the reaction that he put in the book (Ohmygod, I gots t'get home. Me pants iz soaked!) but it is pretty strong. I think the handling leaves something to be desired. 8.5

Unholy: A piece of paper is torn out of a memo pad. Well, the performer heals all the holes at the top of the paper. The wow factor isn't that big, but the trick is really easy, so... 8.5

Voodoo: A demonstration of voodoo! I like this routine a lot. It really makes people believe you can do voodoo! It is also easy as crap! So, yeah, I rate this a 9.5

Skin Deep: A midget gives birth to eleven chocolate chip cookies... Naw... I'm just kidding, but it would be cool.
The above is what is written in the manual. I am not kidding. It's just another two card transpo, except this one really gets the audience involved. I think I will stick with my Le Monte Transpo though. 8.5

Revival: This is a really, really scary trick but unfortunatly, you need a gimmick and you have to buy it from a store. He says he has never performed this, but I think that the payout will be well worth it. 9.0

The Changeling: This seems like a trick that was taken and put on ITBTWC, because he said something at the end of the demo like, "Me and my buddy Luke Jermay also..." and it seemed a lot like this. It is a signed coin transposition. I like this handling and it is practically impromptu. 9.0

Special Delivery: This is almost identical to the effect listed later, Pandora's Envelope. I still feel that this is a good routine, it just takes a lot of set-up. The routine I feel is worth it though. 8.8

Guaranteed: Another card transposition! Make it stop! If there is one thing I hate about Sankey, it is his over use of transpositions. Anyway, this is a good two card transpo with a good presentational hook, but... Meh, again, I shall stick with Le Monte Transpo. 8.3

The Pen Is Mightier: Super easy, great reactions. It is almost more like a gag though! This did inspire one of my recent creations which I will have a video of soon, but a pen cap is proven to be magnetic and then when handed to a spectator, it is glued on to the pen. 9.0

Saved by the Bell: An ancient trick, with a not really refined handling. I think that this one was taken straight from an old Svengali book. 7.0

Bloodhound: A quarter finds a selected card visually. It does and the moves are easy. This routine is pretty cool. 9.0

BINGO: Who keeps bingo cards or who has readily acess to bingo cards? Well, you need one for this trick. The spectator stamps the bingo card at a predicted number. A really simple trick but it would get strong reactions. 8.0

Psychic Silver: This is really hard to prepare for. You almost would have to go to a coin shop if you don't want to wait for about a year going thru change. The effect isn't that great either... Eh, I rate this a 8.0

Cornered: A bill switch idea. I don't like the trick, or the premise. 6.0.

Nothing Moved: Another bill switch idea. This one was pretty much on 45. It has been explained in a thousand other places. (I relize that this came out long before his other stuff.) 8.0

Instabank: Great premise, might have me actually using the hundred dollar bill switch. 9.0

Stuck Up: An easy routine that was on SGH!. A selected card is found stapled between two other cards. 9.0

The Sleeves Up Pass: It is a pass from who I consider to be the leading expert on passes in the world of magic. But teaching a pass in a book... Well... Not that helpful. It is helpful to learn it, but watching it in action is what helps me most with passes. This is kinda a way to get out of doing a pass though. A lazy man's pass, if you will. I can't say more without exposure. 8.5

Raising Sugar Cane: This, as he said in the manual, is not original. He says that he knows he can't be the first to think this up, but he hasn't seen it anywhere else, so he put it in here. The method is super simple, it is a torn and restored sugar packet. 9.0

What's In A Name: Graffiti... With a different name. It is a great trick, no matter where it is taught. 22 blows to the head or in this manual, it is still great. 9.5

Pandora's Envelope: A little prep for a great trick. A signed card appears and vanishes visually from a little emvelope more than once. 9.0

Extended Credit: Taught on two of his other DVDs that I know of. A great trick, one that you will smile at the method of. A spectators credit card is broken and restored. It is heartstopping to the spectators. 9.5

Sweet Bread: Was on Sankey's Secret Files. An in the spectators hands sugar packet transpo. I prefer the one that was taught first on Sankey 1999, but this one doesn't require a table, so... 9.0

Mental Breakdown: Mentalism!!! This is a really nice concept, but I don't like the structure. If you can do a pass, you can do this. It never gets that good reactions though... Kinda more like, "Hey, that was cool." Never "OMG! HE READ MY FREAKING MIND!!!". It does have the potential, with a little tweaking... to become great though. 8.5

Chop Suey Subterfuge: A chop cup move. Just a chop cup move. A spectator feels the ball arive. After this was printed, this move appeared several other places. I am sure that after hearing all that, all of you have a method for this. I am sure it isn't original, but it is good and can enhance any chop cup routine. 9.0

Ring A Ding: Appeared on Sankey's Greatest Hits as Boxing Ring. I like it, but I don't have the materials to do it. You need two identical rings that look like wedding rings. If I had the income of Sankey, yeah, I could do this. 8.0

Break and Entry: I love this. So simple. So great. Only downside, a lot of prep. Other than that, it is great all around. A quarter penetrates the bottom of a salt shaker visually. 9.5

This is a FANTASTIC book with a LOT of great tricks and insight into some old Sankey gems. PLEASE pick this up!

I like it.

This is stuff I will use.
One on the best card mentalism bits I've seen ever!!!!!

Lave ya Sankey!!!

Peace will rain like cats and dogs when I'm president.

Hazza

I love this booklet, it's very easy to understand and the tricks are very good to the best set of lecture notes I've ever read. It's easy to carry around because it is just a paperback booklet too!

This book is a must have for any performer. There are tons of tricks that after reading them I now do on a regular basis. There are ripped and restored tricks, there are tricks with keys changing places and even one that is really really similar to wrap it up. All in all (even though you might not get a signed copy) buy it now!
p.s. I got a signed copy!

This is a great book, it's full of great tricks plus I got an autograph on the cover :)

Pick this up now! This is by far Jay's best work. I love his crazy humor and his ingenious mind! I will cherish this book forever! JAY ROCKS!

I purchased '20 Years of Magic' earlier this year from another source. The best way to describe it is a Greatest Hits from Sankey's lecture notes, the very best of his very best lectures. Don't let the fact that it is 'only 65 pages long' disuade you from adding it to your library. The genius lies in the simplicity of the routines he presents in this book, so he doesn't need to take up a lot of space teaching you them. I just read a few comments on the discussion board expressing doubts about how good this can be, it is very good. I wish I had known Penguin was gonna offer the autographed copies, I would have waited. Then again, I am glad I already have it on my shelf. Just killer stuff, like all of Sankey's offerings. Get it!