If you want to see what modern mentalism, post-Corinda, is all about, then dip into Michael Murray's A Piece of My Mind. Therein you will find page after page of brilliant routines, principles, subtleties, and advice that range from the simple, but why-didn't-I-think-of-it, way to do a cold reading and how to make your performance memorable to startlingly original stuff like the Comparative Uncertainty Principle, Springboard, and Between the Lines. Each one of these major items is probably worth about $30, so even though the ebook is $60, it's an outrageous bargain. By the way, one of my favorite things is called Cal-ender, which is a combination reverse Add-a-Number/Divination of PINs using a bug/undocumented feature in an ungimmicked iPhone calculator. I just about fell over when I read it, a minute later tried it, and it worked! Genius. How on earth do guys like Murray discover these things?

Anyway, as you can tell I am as enthusiastic as everyone else about this book. (OK, there is some stuff using DR that isn't for me, but hey, to each his own. It worked for Dunninger.) Though not for beginners or the faint of heart, the material here, if studied and refined, will turn you into something close to being a real mindreader.

This book is a gem, and is really pushing thinking both philosophically and practically. There are such solid building blocks for you to build your own material, and also such good pieces that have been worked out and are completely performable. I almost don't want people to know about this book.

michael murray is a very respected man he is so intelegent every effect of his new book is blowing mined the book is teach very well very clear always make me want to read his book if you one who like mentalism of coure you will love this book 5 star !!!!!!!
put it in your cart with closing your eyes

If you love clever mentalism, amazing ideas innovation , and thoughtful reading this is the book for you.

The thinking is great and effects are unique. Well done

Bottomline:
There's a lot of material here and it is very clever and well-explained, unfortunately, most of the routines and principles did not appeal to me (see below). I know others will feel the same. I would recommend this to mentalists that do parlor/stage performances and perform for different people each time or hobbyists that like learning new and clever principles.

Final score: 7.5 out of 10

The Details:
With all the praise and hype surrounding this book and my previous positive experience with Michael's "Beyond ESP" products, my expectations going into this purchase were quite high: I was expecting to want to add several of the routines to my walk-around and stage mentalism acts right away. However, after reading, and re-reading, the book, I will only be working on the first two routines (Tattle Tailed - a 5 for 5 ESP matching demonstration between two participants; and ATM - a PIN number revelation). While I do believe there are routines in here for anyone who performs or is interested in performing mentalism, most of the material will appeal to the hobbyist or professional who regular uses D**l R*****y, "spectator as mind-reader," "prop-less mentalism," and psy*****ical forces. Professionals or hobbyists looking for sure-fire, bullet-proof routines that are simple in both effect and method should think twice before purchasing.

Having said that, I'm still pleased with my purchase because I got a lot of new presentational ideas, two routines I plan to use, and the book did get my creative juices flowing. I just won't be using as much of the material from the book as I had expected. Michael seems like a really clever guy who knows the field of mentalism as well as anyone - I really wish I could whole-heartedly recommend "A Piece of My Mind" and add to the 5 star reviews.

Pros:
-Great value for money: you get a lot for your money in terms of quantity of material and several of the routines are marketed separately.
-Great Production Quality: It's a well-produced softcover book in black and white on good quality paper.
-It's well-written and basically free of grammatical and spelling errors.
-A lot of clever thinking that will get your creative juices flowing.

Cons:
-While there is a lot of material, it will have limited appeal and most of the material is only for certain types of performers
-Be prepared for a lot of shameless plugs for various products and creators, including from Michael himself. Sure some of this is to be expected, but the amount in this book felt excessive.

I received my copy today. The content seems superb but the quality of the book itself is lacking. Especially the fact that it looks as though the top edge of the spine was dropped and created a dent on the top of the spine. Also the quality of the binding is lackluster. I hope Penguin ups their QC before sending their books out. Otherwise I like it.