I'm absolutely loving the Meant To Be system, and ReBorn effect. I've spent about 60+ hours both memorizing the Mnemonica deck and perfecting ReBorn. After that much time, I can casually whip out my custom deck that uses White-Out for the marks (invisible to any spectator) and casually hand it over for the count without hardly thinking about the math or positioning at all.

I borrowed (stole?) the "old gambler" story from Darwin Ortiz and modified it to this particular effect. The retired gunfighter turns to gambling for a living since it's less risk. He meets a younger guy, talks about fate - then the younger cowboy counts the cards out, with the gambler's life in the balance. Strong Magic at its best, IMHO.

Great, great, great book, and well worth the $60 to me. Needless to say, it leaves behind some speechless, befuddled spectators. Staring at the cards and not saying a word for several seconds.

This is a wonderful book with some great Ideas from an all around great guy. Thanks John! His essay on creativity should be required reading for any of us interested in elevating magic as Art.

I would like to respond to a few comments in this thread that question whether the method of John's 'ACAAN' number is too difficult, highly fiddly, etc.

I am far - VERY far - from a sleight of hand master, and I have found this effect perfectly practical after a decent amount of practice. It's a fabulous effect which totally stuns people - well worth the effort.

Hey guys!

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for coming to my lectures at the Midwest Magic Jubilee and the Magicelebration! Awesome times!

Yes, the rumors are true. My upcoming book has INSANE work on the ACAAN plot, among many many others. More to come...

Best,

John B. Born

Your lecture - great as always. I really appreciate your theory behind the tricks and building up a plot. This is so overlooked with many many performers. It truly is the difference between a trickster and a magician.

Hey guys,

The reprint is in! Meant To Be is now available again.

Best,

John Born

Hi all,

I was at Stevens Magic last Sat. and they had roughly a half dozen copies of this in.

Bob Phillips

http://www.stevensmagic.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=9088

ACAAN is as good a mentalism card effect as they come.

I don't have the skill/dexterity to do card tricks but I'm sure this book is gold for those who do. I was mainly interested in the contributions by Banachek and Luke Jermay.

I thought the introductory "magician as artiste" stuff was a bit pretentious. Those who diagree are probably also bothered by my use of the term "card tricks." I'm not up on the politically correct artiste-approved term.

It's a book with very good prouction values. Looks and feels very good. If you're into that sort of thing.

Old thread I know but I saw this at the local magic shop, before I buy id like to know if the full deck stack is a memorized stack and if so can any be used? I already have and use a memorized full deck order and I'm not interested currently in learning another

Yes, any mem deck will do

I recently ordered the "Meant To Be" book from John and I have to say that it's one of the most inspiring books I've ever read. And, although many methods for the ACAAN plot are discussed (among them, John's brilliant solution), without any doubt, the best part of it is the first 40 pages or so, which contain an in-depth essay on creativity.

Thanks, John

Try the Mike Powers version in the book...very clever (non-mem deck)

Any comparisons on this with Alain Nu's "Any Card" manuscript?

cool, ill have to get on in a few weeks or so then. thank you

Received this, and one word, amazing. I always thought ACAAN is all about prediction and possibilities, but when I saw john's work.. it's magic. I love the way he presented ACAAN.

One of the best books I ever read

Is this available in pdf form anywhere?

I only offer this in book form.

Best,

John

You wouldn't want this in pdf form. It's beautifully bound and put together, on heavy quality paper. You would lose all the charm.

I just received this book (like 2 days ago!) and have been devouring it. It's got some great thinking, and a lot of historical background/additional sources to check out.

It contains the best mem-deck versions I have seen, and some of the best impromptu work on the subject as well (Paul Cummins, Barrie Richardson, etc).

Yes, there are some methods missing, but as John mentioned, the intent wasn't to chronicle every version in print- it was to describe what John felt were the best methods available (to accomplish his specific goals).

Definitely worth checking out!
Ben

I think the book is terrific -- not just the effect, but for the focus on trying to gain as much impact with your effects as possible. Reading and thinking about techniques are fine, but I thoroughly enjoy reading and thinking about "thinking" and structure and presentation and impact. Well done John.

Regarding the "finger work", like someone mentioned earlier, I came upon the idea of rubber bands around the card case. I have one length wise and one width wise. I remove the length wise one first, then with my right hand in position, I use my left thumb on one side and left middle finger on the other to roll the rubber band off of the case. It takes 3 or 4 rolls to get the rubber band off - a perfectly natural action, a perfectly natural way to hold your right hand while this is going on -- providing you not only a little extra time, but also justifies looking at the case for a few brief glances (while you check your accuracy).

This book is not a quick read -- and that's good, because it's filled with plenty of interesting material from John and others. If I were to figure out the price versus the number of hours I've spent reading the material, well -- for me at least it's quite a bargain.