Just a note to let all of the people emailing in about where to find out more information or books on “how to develop various techniques” – well we do have a recommended reading section here that is the best starting point for anyone – further reading lists will be available soon and you can always click here for a back catalogue of recommended books.
Also remember you can also follow the wonderful @lordcoopy on twitter for DB Art updates, insider info and nice pictures – otherwise you can follow @phillisdorris for further reading, stuff and a nice helping of sillyness.
I am getting the ‘tricks of the mind’ book
hopefully soon…
:> cool
The category links in the Recommended Reading post (friends of, recommended reading, etc) Aren’t working, at least in Firefox.
Message from Abeo: Can you be more specific? Which exact link clicked on which page?
oh dear phillis there’s just no telling some ppl is there! I think we’re just all desperate for some of your more indepth reviews.
I’ve just ordered Derren’s very own “Tricks of the Mind”. Hopefully should be here tomorrow. I can’t wait.
I have just finished Tricks of the Mind and it was so good I turned back to the beginning and started again. It is one of the most thought provoking books I have read . . . and that is saying something.
Abeo: Same here, in firefox and chrome, nothing shown just the titles: Sreenshot: http://img515.imageshack.us/i/recommendedreadingderre.png/
Msg from Abeo: Hmm interesting, I’d try emptying your cache and reloading the page. Just tried it in all 4 main browsers (IE/Chrome/Safari/Firefox – default settings) and it shows in each of them for me. You could have a setting or plugin on that’s blocking it. It’s code provided by amazon to show the following click here
Does that show for you?
EDIT: I’ve just tested this in Firefox with ad blocked turned on and it makes them all disappear. – I’ll add some standard links to the page for people using plugins that are blocking them. Thanks all
When is Derren going to activate his pineal gland?
Hi, I just wanted to contribute something, But have nothing to contribute, I’ll return if and when I do
Well, have read everything of Derren’s (no, tell a lie, am still in the midst of Absolute Magic) and I can’t recommend them enough, esp Tricks of the Mind which I thought was a blinding read. Indeed I suggested it to a friend in America who has since bought it (and who I’ve now converted into a big Derren fan!
)
LC x
it seems that tricks of the mind is very popular.well i got mine a few days ago, and i haven’t put it down since.i’m reviewing it for English speaking. don’t worry Derren, only good reviews for you =)
also, i probably have the only copy in Malta, which is being lent to about 4 of my friends and my English teacher. Malta now has heard of the great Derren Brown
I’d like to recommend the biography “The Secret Life of Houdini” by William Kalush & Larry Sloman, 590 pages,
ISBN-13: 978-1-8473-9082-0.
This is a very detailed biography of Houdini and decribes his incredible focus to his stunts and showmanship. The efforts and energy that Houdini goes to is mirrored today by DB in order to perfect a stunt or act and perform for the stage and home audience.
The book goes on to detail Houdinis almost obsessive near-crusade against the spiritualist of the time which he debunks as fraudsters and con merchants (another similarity with DB).
It\’s well worth reading if you enjoyed DBs Seance perfomance or Messiah.
Ok the pages should be fixed now for anyone that was having issues
I am about half way through Tricks of the Mind I think its brilliant and would definatley recommend it, I am going to get my father in law to read it as he is studying to become a psychologist or pyschiatrist cant remember which i want to know what he thinks.. Brilliant book, thank you for giving us the pleasure Derren x
Hi Phillis – I think I might just have clocked you. Anyone who really identified with their name wouldn’t spell it differently on Facebook and Twitter! The wig is a marevellous flourish, I love it!
I think we might need to contemplate the real identity of Phillis Dorris.
Now – the question is, are you going to let my comment through and alert the other posters, or moderate it and confirm my suspicion?
- I am – I’ll also draw you to my dyslexia which I’m sure most of you are aware of. – Phillis
I think people would learn more about what you do if you point them in the direction of Banachek or Kenton Knepper etc… Derren.
If people are more interested in the nitty gritty technical side of “mentalism”, they should look in to Tony Corinda’s “13 Steps to Mentalism”. It’s a pretty good catalogue and primer on the tricks of the trade that both gypsies and magicians have used for centuries. Don’t expect to pick it up and become an instant Derren clone. DB does a great job of mixing in skills from other fields (notably hypnotism, theatrical pick-pocketing and escapology), his own semi-biographical patter, his own gimmicks etc. Take it as a textbook on very solid ways you can achieve similar effects and start to build your own performances or perhaps as a shopping list of common things to look out for when debunking would-be mindreaders.
I’m dyslexic.. Derren’s techiques for memory help a great deal!
Lots of good books on there. Bought a few lately. Good variety of subject matter. Worth a butchers.
I’m terribly sorry Phillis, I didn’t take your dyslexia into account. I apologise unreservedly.
- neither do I – it’s no excuse, people like me shouldn’t be allowed on the internet. – Phillis
I work in a large reference library and in a flagrant abuse of power I’ve just nabbed half of these books from the stacks. Perks of the job etc…. I will give them back of course! x
I’ve just finished reading a fantastic book by Prof. Stanley Feldman and Prof. Vincent Marks called “Global Warming and Other Bollocks
“>Global Warming and other Boll*cks”… sans asterisk. It covers a few science scare stories, and is a great example of how easily people can be influenced.
@lucepuss – Bet you’ll be late back with them too!
@codifier – Phillis does seem to have Derren’s tone of voice at times…
@codifier – and Abeo’s. And Coops’s..?
What no Persuasion Engineering or Frogs Into Prices?
And also, a note to everyone. Irrationality
is one the finest intellectual self help books there is. A must read before you read anything else. Allows you to see things a lot more, well, rationally.
@JayKay – I’m starting to think Brown Towers might be staffed by highly intelligent mice who are secretly performing behavioural experiments on us.
@codifier – oh that’s a given! We are being assessed alright. But I don’t mind, do you?
Its a great book lots of little tricks and treats, great stories and genuinely amusing. Its helped me in my line of work, getting gigs has become very interesting.
Haydn@blueradiorecords
It seems very interesting. I’ll definitely read this.
Thanks for sharing. I just wanted to say good job. I really enjoy reading your posts and comments.
Any recommendations for accelerated learning? I see specific recommendations for memory techniques (which never fail to impress me) but I’m wondering if there is anything that I can put into practice while going to college?
AF
“13 steps to mentalism” by Corinda is a very nice reference point for budding “mentalists”, just bought it and is still a classic.
Excellent choice of social psy books if I may say so! (only missing Dan Gilberts stumbling upon happiness)
I was wondering though, is there any popular-scientific stuff on hypnothesis? I can only find books that teach you how to do it and I don’t want to learn it, I just want to learn about it.
Am close to finishing Tricks of the Mind and I just wanted to write and say what a fantastic read it has been – having difficulty putting it down. I must say I am particularly taken with the chapter on science – it makes me want to scream a loud ‘Hurrah!’ -well done Sir, thank you.
I also have to say that I thought the Shawshank Redemption was dreadful too!
Honestly, I am speechless. The Shawshank Redemption is remarkable. I’am quite young movie fan, actually, this film is realised whenI was very young, and hence I’am to a greater extent accustomed movies with incredible special effects, edge-of-your-seat action, et cetera. This film has none of that, and however, it attracts me really much . The way Frank Darabont uses the story of Red to drive on the story, the excellent the soundtrack used (note the harmonica used merely before Red receiving the letter close to the end). The entire film, from start to finish, from actions to music, is a lighthouse of hope, assessment, and redemption. The cast is perfect, Morgan Freeman(Red) actually brings about a refreshing feel to the tale, and that’s precisely what the movie is, what a film should be. Highly recommended for each viewer.