Tricks of the Mind - Derren Brown

When Derren Brown first appeared on channel 4 with his mind reading programme 'Derren Brown - Mind Control' I was quickly hooked, and watched with awe and facination everything he did after that, so when I saw his book 'Derren Brown - Tricks of the Mind' which promised to go into everything he does (as described at the start of every show, as a mixture of 'magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship') in detail, I didn't have to think for too long before buying it. The book begins with Derren talking about his early obsession with magic and his facination with trickery and fraudulence in the world of the paranormal. He discribes his ...  Read the complete review

After seeing his shows and seeing how instantly he can put some of his tricks to use I became quite fascinated and decided to check this book out to see how informative it really is. It covers a wide range of topics including magic, hypnosis, unconscious communication and cold reading. The book also covers these in areas in quite a lot of depth without going into things too deeply and remaining understandable enough for a beginner to read. This book holds some fascinating information which cannot really be found elsewhere and can be put to some good uses including self help, giving up smoking and overcoming your phobias. Some of the information I found shockingly ...  Read the complete review

What started out as a christmas gift very quickly became my favourite book and started me out as a fan of the puzzle that is Derren Brown and this book gives you, as opposed to a in depth guide to hypnosis, a glimpse of the psyche of the man who has turned it into an art form. The book is witty, well-written and very much absorbing as you get drawn into the mystery of the man and how his undeniably strange mind. Containing anecdotes from his life and no more than the most rudimentry of tricks, Derren succeeds in telling you everything and yet nothing of his art at the same time, and that is, very much what fans of his enjoy. It is the thrill of the unknown, ...  Read the complete review

After watching Derren Brown'sTV show on Channel 4. I was intrigued to know more as I believe he is no ordinary magician but a showman who uses such mind tricks as power of suggestion. Some of the stuff he does on his shows borders the insanely disturbing (see the episode where he gets a poor punter playing a zombie style shoot-em up video game to have a catatonic fit, only to awake him in a real life version of his Zombie horror!) and I suppose this is what made him an intriguing enough character to read his book. Firstly I would like to say that by reading this you wont suddenly be able to guess your friend's pin number! Secondly it is also the case that much ...  Read the complete review

In his introduction, Derren Brown does actually write that he won't be telling you all his secrets. If you think at that point he's joking, he isn't. This book is not a behind the scenes expose of Derren's act, rather a collection of musings about what techniques work to blind-side and misdirect you. After reading the book, I came away with the sense that all was not as it seemed and that there was a much, much bigger picture that I couldn't possibly understand. If you want to be left with that feeling, and are happy to mull over it for weeks after, you'll love this book. I did. It's challenging, laugh out loud funny and enigmatic. For weeks I was pondering how to put ...  Read the complete review