Phill Smith is a great thinker and writer on mentalism, the follow-up to his "Mitox Triology." "Theory" is a collection of essays designed to educate and inspire. This is not a book for the armchair mentalist or someone who does a trick or two at the Christmas party, but rather an entertaining exploration into the theory of the art for the pro.

Many of the chapters are instantly useable and will open your eyes, like "So What?" and "Universal Principles: Crashing and Burning." (Smith has a cute out if something goes awry.) A few are just existential musings like "Life Before Death," and then there's "Power in Speech," which is well written but will mystify anyone who has seen Smith's Penguine Live Lecture. (How can someone with such good advice to teach be such a weak performer? I hope that it was just a bad day.)

Overall, this is a tremendous value for the thoughtful, philosophical content you get. I've been thinking a lot about the things Smith has to say, and I find myself re-evaluating my own methods and performance. It's not a book for everyone (Warning 14-year-olds: There are no tricks here. Move along.), but for those who understand its value, it's pretty priceless.