I bought this book about a year ago and just happened to see how few reviews it had by chance, so I felt I should review it as well.

This is an amazing book, which covers some amazing effects very thoroughly. There are quite a few effects in the book and they all seem great - nothing seems purely like filler.
(Also Mr. Cassidy always keeps it entertaining to read!)

Only downside: Spelling errors. There should never be errors in spelling in a book and in this one there is a few. One can always understand what is meant, so they pose no real issue.

Amazing book - buy it! Also if you buy his (in my opinion INCREDIBLE) lecture with this you are standing with an entire (great) act.

Face it: Bob Cassidy is a legendary performer. This book, Fundamentals, is not a sequel to VOL. 1. It is it's own work, and is invaluable to those developing a mentalism show. What makes it classic is that you can apply Bob's advice to mentalism or anywhere else. This is an easy read & a gold mine of advice on stagecraft, character development, blocking, audience management & just about any other aspect of performing live. Must read.

The Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy VOL. 2 is destined to become a classic in mentalism, right up there with Practical Mental Magic by Theodore Annemann and 13 Steps to Mentalism by Corinda. It contains numerous effects and routines, but it is far more than just a book about effects. It covers presentation, staging, psychology and more. Bob Cassidy's knowledge of his craft is encyclopedic and his reputation is well deserved. Plus, Bob share's his real working material and the way he thinks. It is a must read for anyone serious about performing mentalism. Is it worth $65? No, it is a priceless beautifully bound modern day classic. Bob could have priced it at $100's and it still would be worth every penny. I highly recommend you get it and read it. I think it is possible to create a complete mentalism act using just the material from this book.

If you do not have it, then get it NOW!!!! From bottom of my heart.

Years ago, I bought this book instead of my textbooks for college. I also have Vol. 1. Vol 2 is a compliation of his later works (2000s-2013) and Vol 1 is his earlier. Unlike Vl, this is printed on glossy paper making for a heavier book but the illustrations are clearer. The first booklet, Fundamentals is a great starting point for any mentalist. The tricks are thoroughly explained and contains elements of psychology, theater, and everything in between and comes with a reading list. The other booklet chapters cover Bob's refined and final thought and developments on his routines in the his last years. Along with his thoughts on stagecraft and being a better artiist such as preshow and confidence. Overall, I read the first chapter of this book every year; that's how good it is.

I'm only halfway through the book, but I already know, I will come back to this volume regularly. I've bought this because I was interested in presentation and showmanship, but I've got much more. As a hobbyist performing for friends and family, several mentalism books disappointed me, because they only contain effects that just don't work for me. (I cannot impress my friends by knowing their birthdays, for example.) This book however, besides the invaluable theoretical essays, contain effects that are practical for me. An example is the improved presentation of the Princess card trick. I've learned a lot about presentation just by comparing the usual performance with the added subtleties recommended by the author. And my favorite effect so far is the Name/place routine, which is mentioned only as a note and described briefly. When I performed it to my family, they were completely astonished. I was surprised, because they reacted much better than to some other tricks which were theoretically stronger than this one. But because instead of an abstract playing card, I revealed things that were emotionally important to them and we could recall some mutual memories, they enjoyed it very much.

If I wanted to write something negative, I would mention that the quality of the paper is too good. It is not easy to write notes or highlight the most important sentences on this glossy paper, so I have to use a lot of post-it notes.

Read everything you can written by Bob Cassidy. That's all I can say. Great book with tons of information and funny, too. He always had a sense of humor.

This book is designed to set you out on your path in mentalism on the right foot, and it does so with eloquently. There is some really strong material in here, the mentalism effects and routines are exceptional, however, even more importantly, there is powerful theory and applications of Cassidy's personal system of making mentalism look real. Its been said already but I'll say it again, this book really is an instant classic.

Bob has done it again! His way of thinking and explanation great as always. In this book Mr. Cassidy starts with basics and then goes to the more advance stuff showing us why he is one of the bests and most respected performers in our art. To all those who think that they need to read vol 1 first, well... good news. You don't need Vol. 1 to understand vol 2 and actually you could benefit from reading this book (vol 2) first. Won't say why, because I don't want to spoil the secret, although "Fundamentas" is quite self-explanatory!