"It's not a gift at all," he'll tell you. "Any child can do it . . .With twenty years practice."

"Bob Cassidy is one of the true geniuses of mentalism and one of the most influential. Period." -Jheff

What will he teach?

Bob offers solid routines, interesting theoretical observations and straight-shooting practical advice. Even if you don't perform any mentalism at all, you will still learn a tremendous amount from his approach and professional insights.

In this Penguin LIVE lecture, Bob will be covering many of the effects from his new book, "The Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy, Volume 2: Fundamentals." He'll also be dealing extensively with Q&A routines, billet work, Fourth Dimensional Variations and Swami technique.

Bob will also go over The Ultimate Add-a-Number, Remote Viewing Variations, presentational techniques, Mentalism in the 21st Century, and just about anything else that comes to mind.

Bob's lectures tend to be very free form and are "lectures," not dealer demos or strict effect/method demonstrations.

Bob Cassidy is a repository of wisdom and this lecture will be packed with usable, real-world information that will resonate with magician and mentalist alike.

Who is he?

When asked if his ability is a gift granted to only a few, Bob Cassidy will just shake his head and smile. He knows only too well that it took nearly twenty years of hard work to develop the skills which seem to come to him so naturally on stage.

A native of Kearny, New Jersey, Cassidy entered the world of show business at the age of twelve, appearing on television’s Original Amateur Hour as a magician.

Later, while serving in the United States Navy as a communications specialist, he developed an act in which he displayed his virtually photographic memory and a remarkable sense of intuition. It was during this time that he began an in-depth study of the powers of the mind which led to the creation of the mentalism demonstration he presents today.

After his discharge from the service Bob completed his education and went to work performing for Holland America Cruises, where he honed his skills and introduced entirely new concepts to the art of mentalism. Two hundred cruises later he would write three books on the principles he developed during this period of his performing career.

Since then Bob has performed at nightclubs and showplaces throughout the country. In 1982 he shocked audiences with a telepathic version of Russian roulette in which he could detect, while blindfolded and without touching them, which of four pistols was not loaded. The selected weapon was placed to his head and fired. Of course he had chosen the empty gun.

That same year, while wearing a stainless steel blindfold and using only his memory to guide him, he drove a borrowed Mercedes at high speed through a human obstacle course at the St. Louis Playboy Club.

These stunts led to his first performance at Hollywood's famed Magic Castle, where he has lectured to his peers and entertained on a regular basis.

While his experience and educational background have made him a firm believer in psychic phenomena, he does not claim to use psychic abilities in his shows.

"ESP," he states, "is not an ability which we can rely upon to be convincingly displayed from the stage."

Instead, he claims that his startling performances of thought reading are simply the result of the applied principals of mentalism, psychology and lateral thinking.