"Without doubt, this is one of the greatest and most important magic books of the 20th Century"
Yes. In a nutshell.
The book is a complete goldmine, even if you don't perform many of the routines therein. The first two chapters should be required reading for everyone who hopes to be a magician, and after that there is the wealth of information that Ganson managed to pry from Vernon. Reading through the routines, from the seminal Cups and Balls to coin routines, cards, rope, knots, cones and rings, you can spend many fascinating and engrossing hours examining the construction of the magic, and see how true obsession mixed with more than average aptitude can produce wonders.
The routines are not self working, not by a long shot. The book demands concerted and diligent practice to both understand and master, but if you do invest the time you will have a depth of knowledge that the modern MTV/DVD crowd will never have.
Get this book, and the recently rereleased Stars of Magic, and you will have before you a collection of the best magic from one of magic's most fertile periods.
Take care, Ian