The Good:

Extremely valuable information, including methods for Canasta's most popular card routines and his infamous book test. Contains detailed history about 3 televised series he did, and insight into the man who is considered the first "psychological mentalist" that would inspire the likes of Derren Brown. You won't be disappointed in the QUALITY of the information contained.

The book is beautifully bound and will sit on your book shelf for many years. If you're serious about mentalism, particularly in the use of applied psychology in your routines then this book is one you will probably go back to.

The Bad:

It's a very SHORT read for $80+. I read it in ONE NIGHT.

$80 is also down from the list price of $110. At it's full list price the book would be $1 per page, including the table of contents.

I do appreciate the effort and cost that goes into researching the information. I also appreciate that the market for this book is probably very limited and so recouping the cost is difficult. That helps explain the price. However, it is still WAY overpriced in my opinion, given the amount of content in the book.

When I purchased this book I expected something similar to "The Mind and Magic of David Berglas" (written by the same author) or the massive hardcover book "Maurice Fogel - In Search of the Sensational" (by different authors). But I read this book in one night. It does not contain a lot of biographical information. In fact, the author admits that Canasta was not very well known and information about him is hard to find. His repertoire was limited (which is not a bad thing but it limits the content of the book).

The book also contains a lot of spelling mistakes and typos, which really rubs salt in the wound when you consider how small this book is for it's price. For the price I would expect flawless writing.

I would have been glad to pay $40 for this book given the effort required to research the content as well as it's limited market. $80 feels like a rip-off. With that said, I'm still glad that I own it and I will return to it.

I give it 3 stars. I wish I could give 2.5. It's a 5/5 for the QUALITY of content but 1/5 for the QUANTITY of content in relation to the price.

When I read this book, I am literally transported back in time to the live demonstrations of this fabulous mentalist. I am right there at his performances

I also own the DVD showing some of his television show. What a treat to have his routines analyzed with an eye toward how he accomplished his truly remarkable feats.

This book is a must read for everyone interested in the specialty area of magic known as "mentalism".