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The Spirit is Willing
By James Auer

$6.50 from Midwest Magic.
£5.20 from Magic Books by Post (order no. 202053.00).

"Well-written book of mental effects, designed to form a completely routined show. Good variety, suitable for most occasions. Presentation, routining, patter and full instructions for Conundrum in Crystal, Numbers Game, Ultimate Miracle, Spirit is Willing, Extra ESPecial, 6th Columnist, Two for TV, and American Tel & Tel-epathy. Plus opening lecture, bibliography. All one-man routines."

The review

James Auer's The Spirit is Willing contains a complete mental act, consisting of an introductory lecture and a series of eight demonstrations. It also outlines the author's views on the presentation of such material and provides a list of items he recommends you study after his manuscript.

The eight 'tests' detailed within The Spirit is Willing are unique, engaging and encourage audience participation. Each flows well into the next and thus provides a degree of congruency throughout the act, something a number of modern performers should take note of. I also found each to be impressive in that, despite being published in 1961, not one item is used that would appear suspicious or unfamiliar to the audience. Again, this is something I feel more need to heed.

All of the eight effects taught use methods that should be familiar to most performing mentalists and are by no means mechanically difficult. Auer lists any materials and preparation that may be required for the demonstrations, and thoroughly explains how each effect is achieved.

I personally thought the real treasure of the manuscript to be not the act, but the author's opening lecture and notes on performance. I found it fascinating to see the differences between presentation now and forty years ago. Not only this, but both sections of the manuscript are home to useful suggestions and ideas, a couple of which I have taken into consideration.

If you enjoy reading original, structured and tested mental material then I would highly recommend this booklet. It is incredibly cheap and is a thoroughly interesting and thought-provoking read, regardless of whether or not you choose or are able to put to use the information it contains.

9/10.