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This is an OLD publication (1940) but is still available in download format for $1.95 from www.trickshop.com (for you Brits, that's less than a quid!)-- CORRECTION Just over a quid!

I decided to review Outs, Precautions and Challenges after following a discussion in the Miscellaneous section titled Very annoying person!. Mr. Hopkins agrees with the majority in that thread that "getting one over" on the customer is not the best way to handle the situation. Neither does he suggest that you just roll over. He offers several suggestions on how to recover.

The book covers more than just hecklers. He discusses how to handle the situation when the trick goes wrong. He starts out with a brief discussion on Whose Fault When Things go Wrong and The Psychology of Failure. However, he quickly moves to teaching some advanced sleights and handlings which can be used to help recover (an OUT) from a bad situation. He also has some fairly simply ideas. One is to have a card index that can be used to turn a failed illusion into a most satisfying conclusion.

He says at the end that in preparation for this book he gathered enough material for two other books on the same subject. My view is that he had so much material he lost his way. I thought that he could have been more focused. He spends time teaching several sleights, etc. that seemed to me to get in the way of the real purpose of the book.

The book is 60 years old, it is curious to see that in his discussion on mentalism he refers to billet switching, thumb writers and the Brainwave deck! Then he refers to an "older gimmicked deck", the New Era Instanto Deck. I did a web search and this "older gimmicked deck" is still available for $49.95.

In conclusion I rate the book 7/10 for content, but an huge 10/10 for value.

TerryC wrote:This is an OLD publication (1940) but is still available in download format for $1.95 from www.trickshop.com (for you Brits, that's less than a quid!)

Not any more.

Thanks for the review though - it's now on my shopping list!

I reviewed this some time ago - here:
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic17602. ... recautions
(Though it took me three stabs to find it using TM's famously taciturn Search function.)

I didn't mention a .pdf version, however, as I didn't know about one. Also, I gave it 7/10 as well. Great minds, eh, TerryC? Great minds.

Oh, I didn't realize that it had been reviewed before. I always use the search engine (which usually produces too many hits to be of value), but your review isn't even included in the index of tricks in this section.

I have now read your review..I wish I had read it before preparing mine--it's very clear, and I might simply have added a thought or two.

No, no, I'm glad you reviewed it, TerryC. I reviewed it because it was mentioned from time to time but there was no review. As you (and I) say, finding my review with Search will generally not work for some reason. A review that can't be found is no better than no review, really, is it? So, it's good that you popped up a new review; plus you mention that it's available as a .pdf now. (I greatly prefer physical books myself, but it can't be denied that it's often useful to be able to search a text.)

I believe this is one of the greatest books ever written.