Product Description

Derren Brown's television and stage performances have entranced and dumbfounded millions. His baffling illusions and stunning set pieces - such as "The Seance", "Russian Roulette" and "The Heist" - have set new standards of what's possible, as well as causing more than their fair share of controversy. Now, for the first time, he reveals the secrets behind his craft, what makes him tick and just why he grew that beard. "Tricks of the Mind" takes you on a journey into the structure and psychology of magic. Derren teaches you how to read clues in people's behaviour and spot liars. He discusses the whys and wherefores of hypnosis and shows you how to do it. And he investigates the powers of suggestion and how you can massively improve the power of your memory. He also takes a long hard look at the paranormal industry, and looks at why some of us feel the need to believe in it in the first place...Alternately hilarious, controversial and challenging, "Tricks ofthe Mind" is essential reading for Derren's legions of fans, and pretty bloody irresistible even if you don't like him that much...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31175 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

From the Back Cover
Derren Brown's television and stage performances have entranced and dumbfounded millions.His baffling illusions and stunning set pieces– such as the Séance, Russian Roulette and the Heist – have set new standards of what's possible, as well as causing more than their fair share of controversy.Now, for the first time, he reveals the secrets behind his craft, what makes him tick and just why he grew that beard...

Tricks of the Mind takes you on a journey into the structure andpsychology of magic.Derren teaches you how to read clues in people'sbehaviour and spot liars.He discusses the whys and wherefores of hypnosis and shows you how to do it.And he investigates the power of suggestion and how you can massively improve your memory.He also takes a long hard look at the paranormal industry and why some of usfeel the need to believe in it in the first place...

Alternately hilarious, controversial and challenging, Tricks of the Mind is essential reading for Derren's legions of fans, and pretty bloody irresistible even if you don't like him that much...

'Clearly the best dinner-party guest in history - he's either a
balls-out con artist or the scariest man in Britain.' Guardian

About the Author
Derren was born in 1971 in Croydon. It was a difficult birth - his mother was in Devon at the time. A precocious and puzzling only child, he liked to paint, foster obsessive habits and once set fire to a neighbour's boat by accident. Later, after his brother was born, Derren went to study Law and German at Bristol University and fell in love with the city. This was a time when marriage between man and city was still frowned upon, so rather than face public derision Derren decided just to live there forever instead. During this time he didn't have two pennies to rub together, which was a shame as it was his only way of keeping warm. He began to perform magic in bars and restaurants, and gave occasional hypnosis shows. Then in 1999 he was asked by Channel 4 to put a mind-reading programme together for television. Their first choice - Cheryl from Buck's Fizz - had turned out to be shit at it. One year later, Derren and his family gathered round a fuzzy grey picture in the corner of their living room. It was of the popular actress Nerys Hughes and this had become something of a festive tradition. Later, Derren Brown: Mind Control quite literally aired. It was an immediate success and gained Derren a cool underground kudos which he described as 'not enough'. Mind Controls 2 and 3 followed, then a series, then a brief spell in prison, and then in October 2003 Derren caused an international furore by playing Russian Roulette live on television. This secured his notoriety with the public and his big apartment in London. 'Bristol can shove itself', he said. Further specials have followed - the Seance and Messiah. He now gets several letters of complaint a week from psychics and Christians. He is sensitive to everyone's objections but knows at least the latter group will forgive him. His workload keeps him exhausted and irritable 52 weeks a year and he continues to live in London with a large collection of taxidermy and two fatalistic parrots. He spends any free weekends painting and likes to receive gifts.

Customer Reviews

Well, of course he doesn't reveal ALL...
Needless to say, anyone in Derren Brown's profession who wrote a book reavealing everything about how they work wouldn't last very long. What is remarkable about this book is that it actually reveals quite a lot. No, he doesn't explain how each trick works (as if!) but there is plenty here to interest the curious among us.

If you want some tips on hypnotism, which he describes as the product of effective suggestion rather than a unique trance-like state, feats of memory or straightforward conjuring (something I suspect he uses much more of in his routines than he'd like you to think), there is a great deal of information provided. If we read it and practise what it reveals (that's the bit most of us are not prepared to do because it takes for ever), any of us could invent some pretty neat tricks of our own. Insofar as anyone will write a 'how to' guide on hypnotising your friends, this is probably as close as we're going to get.

Some may not like the book's mixture of tips, autobiographical anecdotes and polemic about how easily fooled people are and how they really will believe almost anything. Admittedly, these elements don't always come together all that smoothly, but they do all reveal a lot about the man, his view of the world and what he thinks of the whole school of 'you can fool most of the people a lot of the time' opportunists (hucksters, charlatans, salesmen and camp Northern psychics of every stripe).

The book's structure may be flawed, but its honesty is the ace up its sleeve - not bad in a profession based on fooling people.

Opens up a little (but not a lot!)

On TV he does come across as a slightly smug character, and some of the sarcastic asides in here just reinforce that opinion. But he is an expert in his field, so I picked this up interested in hearing what he had to say.

And he does open a bit, but you only really get the tip of the iceburg. A couple of card tricks, some lie detection, some basic hypnosis tricks, plus a whole chunk debunking anything in this world that relies on faith basically. Christianity, spirituality - Derren has read the Dawkins book and wants his say too. Now, his views and explanation are interesting, and I did laugh at some of his little comments (for eg, why have braille labels in an aquarium), but I'd rather have had some more solid content about some of the stunts that he does. Having six or seven pages of crank letters is amusing first time through, but I would rather have had the same space with more insight into his act.

It's an easy read though, and he does know his stuff. The NLP section is very interesting. So I'd recommend it.

Not the masterpiece it could have been, but still better than most
Pure Effect and Absolute Magic were very excellent reads about the subtleties of performance, suggestion and psychology. Writing "Tricks of the Mind" for a wider audience then poses something of a threat - will Derren bail out to keep the shoppers of Sainsbury's happy? Fortunately not. Tricks of the Mind is a strange book - its an autobiography, a collection of thoughts, a series of essays about various psychologies, and a self-help guide to think more efficiently. Although there are a few sections which seem thrown in for the sake of it, Derren's personal perceptions on everything are endlessly fascinating and often lough-out-loud witty. I particularly enjoyed the refreshingly honest and candid views of NLP. However, the hypnosis section is incongruently biased, debunking hypnosis with narrow thinking before attempting to teach you how to do it. Anyone who believes his negative views of hypnosis would be guilty of the Bad Thinking he illustrates later in the book. Indeed the last section (Anti-Science, Pseudo Science and Bad Thinking) is where the books true identity really shines through - its a work about human thinking, with all the traps, pitfalls, and vulnerabilities that thinking encapsulates. Its a great chapter, and could (should?) have easily been expanded into a full, more congruent book of its own. Perhaps a follow up could be called "Tricks for the Mind", with more psychology gimmicks and cognitive illusions (a modern version of Chan Canasta's Book of Oopses). I enjoy Derrens honest stance on his TV work being magic, suggestion, misdirection and showmanship, providing a game for the audience to figure out. This, as well as the messages behind Seance, Messiah, and elements of the Heist are all in line with the themes of Tricks of the Mind - think for yourself, and make sure your thoughts are balanced. This is certainly not ground breaking stuff, and other books (e.g. Malcolm Gladwell's Blink) cover similar ground in a fuller, deeper way. Tricks of the Mind's value lies in Derrens candid insight: interesting, intuitive and funny as hell. Overall a very good read - it will make you feel like you have just spent an afternoon with Derren Brown. Just remember to check for your wallet before you leave.