INTRODUCTION [Excerpt]

As I write the introduction to this book I am on a flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. I am presented with exactly forty-five minutes to sum up my feelings about the book.

A lot has contributed to the style in which this book has been written; among other things a recent transatlantic relocation from the UK to the USA to make a home in Las Vegas. I now find myself a married man, and to top it all off I have even begun work on that traveling freak show I have been dreaming about for oh so long. As I write this I am currently on my way out of Las Vegas--the magical capital of the world--feeling very ill from the extreme turbulence on an otherwise uninteresting flight. Vegas is a town that has in the short while I have lived here already deeply affected my approach to magic and mentalism. Las Vegas really is the best place in the world to see both great and terrible magic. From the best of the best to the worst of the worst, Vegas is your place.

The bulk of this b