I just gave this my first read-through. A wonderful unified blend of philosophy that is elegantly stated, great story ideas, and non-knuckle-busting effects (and no juggling of dozens of props under impossible black-out conditions). In fact, you probably already know how to do most of the effects, but this is no dissapointment at all because there is so much more, really important stuff, to be gleaned from this work. Although Michael cites that many of his notions are rooted in Magic and Meaning by Burger and Neale, this fellow has an eloquence with words that really gets his ideas to hit home. I , also, really like the philosophy outlined in Richard Osterlind's ebooks and have mentioned it before on the Café. If you like that kind of thinking like I do, I think you will want to read this, too. You will walk away invigorated and motivated to engross yourself further into making your magic real. If I didn't get a single "trick" out of this, it would still be well worth the price of $30 because Michael comes across with ideas that, I know, will influence my performance. I think this is a great find and wanted to share this gem with others.