Reading minds has never been this easy . . . people will
really think you can read minds!

“I wish I would have had these videos by a master teacher 40
years ago when I first started in mentalism!”
— Barrie Richardson
“A great collection of some of the finest mentalism ever
invented performed by one of the genuine masters of our
craft!”
— Tim Conover
“Like King Midas, Richard Osterlind puts the golden touch
back into these gems from the Golden Age of Magic. An
updated treasure, richly done!”
— Richard Busch
“Brilliant! Finally, a first-class performer has taken the
time to show that the classics of mentalism still work.”
— Banachek

VOLUME 1

SWAMI OPENER (Corinda): The performer enters holding a
business card. A spectator calls out a two-digit number.
That number is predicted on the business card! This is a
perfect opener guaranteed to catch the attention of the
audience.
MAGIC VS. MINDREADING (Annemann): The performer causes a
deck of cards to spell to a mentally chosen card, then shows
a remarkable coincidence with a second deck and finally
shows the card was actually predicted long before the show!
A QUESTION AND THE ANSWER (Annemann): One of Theo Annemann’s
greatest routines! The mentalist answers a secret question
in the most direct manner possible! This is a monster effect
using only a pencil and a few pieces of paper!
EXTRA-SENSORY PERCEPTION (Annemann): You can duplicate
chosen designs in the fairest possible way using this
classic method! Make this up in just half an hour!
A WORD IN THOUSANDS (Koran): A spectator chooses any word
from any page in a huge book. Without any pumping, the
mentalist reveals the chosen word on the back of a
blackboard! This mind-boggling effect is fully explained
along with complete directions for the construction of the
apparatus!
EL NUMERO (Bergson): Using a few index cards and an
envelope, the mentalist causes a spectator to choose the
very number he has predicted on the back of the envelope.
This is direct, simple and awesome - the fairest version of
this effect yet!
SYD BERGSON CENTER READ (Bergson): This utility technique
will enable you to gain any information written on an index
card without any tearing or burning. Osterlind’s touches
make this a masterpiece!
TELEPHONE DIRECTORY (Tong): Anyone freely chooses a page in
a legitimate telephone directory. The mentalist reads his
mind and writes down the telephone number the person is
thinking of! This is clean, clear and direct!
SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE (Annemann): This is the original (and
best!) version of the classic effect. Only one key out of
seven opens a lock. Audience members freely choose the keys
and the mentalist determines who has the right key! Both the
lock and keys are legitimate!
MARKED THOUGHT (Mason): The mentalist causes a spectator to
find the only matching pairs of ESP symbols while they are
face down. This method allows for a completely free choice
and an ordinary deck of ESP cards!

VOLUME 2

MAGIC MEDALLION (Koran): Three spectators call out a single
digit number. The mentalist removes a case with a medallion
inside and shows the number to be inscribed on the back!
Osterlind considers this one of the strongest effects in all
of mentalism!
FIVE STAR PREDICTION (Koran): This has to be the strongest
mentalism card effect ever created! The mentalist shows an
envelope containing one card. The spectator deals cards face
up from a deck and stops whenever he wants. A duplicate of
that card is found inside the envelope!
CLIP LINE (Spackman): This mind-blower is a classic piece of
mentalism. A spectator tells the mentalist when to cut a
news column. Although every line is different, the exact
words at the spot the paper was cut is predicted! You can
make this masterpiece up in minutes!
HOY BOOK TEST (Hoy): David Hoy’s classic book test is fully
explained with Osterlind’s handling secrets that make the
working simple and foolproof. Read the spectator’s mind with
ungimmicked, borrowed books!
BLINDFOLD ROUTINE (Classic/Gann): Richard demonstrates the
classic blindfold routine with professional touches learned
from the late Ronnie Gann. This is one of the best blindfold
acts and uses nothing but household articles.
FLIP FLOP FLUSH (Becker): This delightful routine by Larry
Becker allows you to let a spectator choose a poker hand
from a face-up deck while your hand is determined by chance.
Still, you end up with a Royal Straight Flush in Spades! An
ungimmicked deck is all that is necessary.
ULTIMATE MATRIX (Becker): Another routine by Larry Becker
has an apparent mistake turn into a great climax. Freely
chosen cards form numbers which open a locked combination
lock that is trapping the spectators’ borrowed rings!
THE TRICK THAT FOOLED EINSTEIN (Koran): The mentalist
predicts the amount of money a spectator removes from a bowl
of coins. This is repeated a second time under even fairer
conditions. You’ll marvel at the ingenuity of this!
MENTAL NUMBERS (Dalban): Vincent Dalban created this
wonderful effect where the mentalist reads the minds of two
spectators at the same time! The number cards can be made up
from normal index or business cards in minutes.
HEADLINE PREDICTION (Koran): This effect is a killer! The
mentalist tears an ordinary sheet of paper into sixteen
pieces. A spectator chooses a piece and a headline. The
information is found already predicted in a sealed envelope!

VOLUME 3

PAR-OPTIC VISION (Annemann): A spectator pockets three cards
from a deck in his possession. Even though he is thoroughly
blindfolded, the mentalist names the cards as they are
withdrawn. This card masterpiece is unbelievable!
FOURTH DIMENSIONAL TELEPATHY (Annemann): This classic
routine allows you to read the minds of three assistants who
have written information on papers and sealed them in
envelopes themselves. No special apparatus is needed for
this incredibly fair routine!
THE THIRD CHOICE (Corinda): Five ESP cards are shown all
different and sealed in normal envelopes. Still, the
mentalist cleanly predicts which one will be chosen. The
secret is simple and diabolical!
LOCKED EYE TEST (Classic): The mentalist locks the eyes of a
spectator! Osterlind shows how to make this foolproof.
LOCKED HANDS TEST (Classic): A continuation of the above in
which the mentalist causes all the spectators’ hands to
become locked! Again, this is a foolproof method!
THE ABNORMAL LIFT (Classic): If you’ve never seen this
before, you’re in for a treat! Four spectators lift a fifth
adult with nothing but their fingertips! One of the
highlights of the series!
TERVIL (Meyers): In this bold routine, the mentalist makes a
prediction and lays it aside. A spectator writes down a
number, a color and a name. The performer’s slip is read and
he is exactly right! Osterlind shows you how to make this
routine work.
IMPROMPTU BOOK TEST (Corinda): This delightfully simple
routine will enable you to perform a book test that is
second to none. The book is ungimmicked and borrowed and the
gimmick is something you have in your pocket right now!
SLATE WRITING (Classic): A spectator thinks of the name of a
departed individual. The mentalist shows both sides of two
ungimmicked slates and numbers each side. A piece of chalk
vanishes and the name appears on the slates! This routine
was one of the highlights of the video shoot!
LIVING AND DEAD (Corinda): The classic routine is
demonstrated using the simplest of methods. Not only is this
a wonderful routine, but it will enable you to learn a
valuable tool in mentalism!
ENCORE CARD STABBING (Koran): This was Al Koran’s encore
closer! The mate of a pocketed playing card is found in a
daring way with a knife! The routine is as simple as they
come.

VOLUME 4

ACIDUS PLUS (Mann): This is one of Al Mann’s finest
creations. Nothing but an index card is used to read the
spectator’s mind three times! You will marvel at the
incredible, fair-looking method.
MAGAZINE TEST (Annemann): You will be able to read the minds
of your audience in a straightforward way with the simple
preparation in this test. You can name pictures, words and
even whole lines with this method!
PATEO FORCE (Classic): The mentalist makes a prediction.
Spectators place objects on the table and all but one are
eliminated. The prediction is shown and it matches! This
wonderful principle can be used in many different ways.
PSEUDO PSYCHOMETRY (Annemann): Members of the audience seal
personal objects in envelopes. The mentalist gives a reading
for each spectator and returns each object to the proper
person. Many consider this to be the greatest effect in
mentalism! Osterlind demonstrates the original method with a
wonderful update.
PREDICT-TAC-TOE (Gardner/Thompson/Osterlind): This wonderful
routine allows the mentalist to predict the outcome of a
game of tic-tac-toe. Osterlind’s ending will delight you!
SYNONYMENTAL (Mellon): Twenty-one cards are shown to each
have a different object on them. Spectators place objects on
three cards. These cards are shown to name those very
objects!
ORIGINAL CENTER TEAR (Corinda): Osterlind demonstrates how
the original center tear method is still a very viable tool.
A very clever idea will enable you to do this anywhere!
VIEWED ESP PREDICTION (Osterlind): Osterlind’s own ESP card
effect where the spectators can see the assistant matching
the mentalist’s prediction as it is being fulfilled! Nothing
is required but a normal deck of ESP cards.
SPOON BENDING (Harris): A classic method of bending a spoon
that can be performed while your hands are being burned! You
will use this all the time.
KEY BENDING (Classic): Bend keys just like Uri Geller with
this easy and sure-fire method!
PHANTOM ARTIST (Annemann): One of Theo Annemann’s forgotten
miracles! A spectator freely chooses the name of a
president. The mentalist cuts out a perfect silhouette of
the chosen president!

MY COMMENTS:
This series has been controversial from the start, mostly
because top-notch, professional material is being gathered
and presented as material that is easy to do.  Michael Ammar
took a lot of heat for this series when he started the
series many years ago with card effects and continued it
with coin and thread miracles.

The controversy has some merit.  Certainly the title is the
cause of most of it.  And the headings on the back of each
DVD claim that "READING MINDS HAS NEVER BEEN THIS EASY." Oh,
sure, the mental effects are indeed easy to do on a purely
technical level.  Mental effects often are.  The difficulty
lies in the performance.  A poor performance by a
technically adept magician can result, at best, in the
audience being entertained because of the visual "wow", but
the act being ultimately forgettable. Mentalism doesn't have
any visual "wow," so a poor performance is reduced to being
both forgettable and boring.  The experience and knowledge
one needs to overcome these issues is extremely hard work.
Thus, the title of these DVDS should really be "Easy to
Master Mental Miracles; Difficult to Perform Mental
Miracles."  Of course, that last part I added won't help
sell DVDs, which is another controversial goal of this
series.

As expected, the material on these DVDs rank as classic
stuff and each is performed by Richard Osterlind, who is one
of the world's top mentalists.  Each DVD contains
approximately ten effects, split into two complete sets.
After each set is performed, Richard and Jim Sisti explain
the workings of each set.  Also, there are bonus "Real
Secrets" bits in which Richard gives some additional
insights and tips into the workings of a mentalist.

Aside from the controversy, the bottom line is that these
DVDs contain essential material which is performed and
explained by a master of the art.  Richard has even added
some wonderful touches to the classics to update them.
Years from now, a new generation of mentalists will crop up
and these DVDs will not only have visually taught that group
how to perform these classics but hopefully have instilled a
respect for the material and an enthusiasm to have sought
out the older and classic works.  Too many of the newer
generation of mentalists have been ignoring this material
and "reinventing" classic effects that already exist.