I have been trying to write a review of "Unspeakable Acts" for several days and I am still having trouble doing it. Most of the book was so joyful in reading about the antics of Tom/Tony and his friends. (However the last year of Tony's life was so sad.) My biggest block is as I told Necromancer is that over the years I had missed several opportunities to meet Tony and attend his drunkard parties(Invocations) I guess it's "I wish I was there" Syndrome. I will continue to try and write this review. Don't get me wrong--this is one of the best magic biographies I have read in years. It is very easy to read through and fairly well-written. The book exposes some of the myths about Tony but replaces them with new ones--stuff I didn't know especially his relations with Jack Ruby. Anyway I'll keep trying to write this review.

I am thoroughly enjoying this! Thank you Jim (and Terry in the great beyond) for assembling this formidable amount of material and assembling it into something for us. I can't even fathom the amount of work this entailed. Thank you for preserving our Bizarre History! We should get to know the giants on whose shoulders we stand.

Jim and Terry have done a tremendous job, and Lary Kuehn should also be singled out for being instrumental in driving the project forward. I'm just honored to have been part of it all.

Best,
Neil

BTW, this also includes the extensive transcript of the FBI interview with Tom after the Kennedy Assassination. Some of his commentary was deemed classified and deleted from the Warren Commission Report. His connection with the characters involved was far more extensive than I realized and he raises many questions. Fascinating stuff!

Oh absolutely! Thank you and thanks to Lary as well. The amount of work involved to get this into our hot little hands is staggering. Everyone involved deserves a medal!

"Magicians do unspeakable acts." Tony was a friend, and I think he would have been pleased with his biography. There are surprises even for people who think they knew him well. The audio correspondence Tony sent friends from the mid 70s until just prior to his death capture his thoughts on events as they occurred. Those, along with the audio interviews Terry made with Tony for the project in the last year of Tony's life, along with the video of the Invocationals, allow much of the book to be in Tony's own words.

It's been about a week since I finished the book and passed it along to a friend to read. I sometimes stop and think back to a "Tony" antic or episode in the book and smile!

I hope you really trust that friend. Your memory of the book might be all you have

Best,
Neil

It's okay, I'm holding his wife for Ransom until he returns the book!

Careful now. Depending on the wife, that can be a tough choice.

Best,
Neil

You're Right! I'm getting to the point where I might let him keep the Book!

I almost finish my first read. It is so good!

Actually, I´m thinking this book can make a great story for a movie.

You're right: it would make a great movie. But nobody would believe it

News flash --

Unspeakable Acts: Three Lives and Countless Legends of Tom Palmer/Tony Andruzzi/Masklyn ye Mage is now available from Lulu.com and your favorite magic shop (via worldwide distribution from Stevens Magic).

Best,
Neil

It's been reviewed in Genii magazine!

Jamy Ian Swiss has this to say in his review of Unspeakable Acts: Three Lives and Countless Legends of Tom Palmer/Tony Andruzzi/Masklyn ye Mage in the May 2011 issue:

"It's challenging if not impossible to do justice to a life and personality as complex as that of Tony Andruzzi. Fortunately, the author was a personal friend and longtime colleague, and was assisted by the work of other similar friends and associates of ye Mage. The result is a readable tome that...really does manage to do some justice to the memory of a truly extraordinary character."

"I was fortunate to know him personally...and now, thanks to this enjoyable book, those who had the pleasure along with those who missed the privilege, have the chance to get to know a genuine man of mystery."

Here's your direct link to the book:
http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/un......15146020

Best,
Neil

I receive the book this morning and I'm halfway in, it's a funny and fascinating read.
Congratulation for your work.

We're a hit in Belgium!

Christian, on behalf of Jim, Terry and myself, thank you kindly.

Best,
Neil

Congrats Terry, Neil and of course Jim for another terrific review in this months MUM!

And a nice deserved spotlight on Neil as well.

Thanks, Eddie!

Favorite quotes from the enthusiastic review by Joshua Kane in the August 2011 issue of M-U-M:

"Unspeakable Acts is this year's guilty pleasure read. It is a witty and salacious roller coaster ride through the life of one of magic's most complicated and creative individuals; a man whose legacy has left three distinct identities for historians and friends alike to contend with, be confused by, and miss seeing at the bar or hospitality suite."

"If there ever was a performer whose life was stranger than fiction and suited for a mad bio-pic, it was Tony. If it were not for the careful documentation of newspaper articles and references to primary sources included in the volume, no one would believe even half of the tales that have been collected and published."

"Jim Magus, Terry Nosek, and Neil Tobin...are to be commended and thanked for compiling and editing so much material into a volume whose momentum and page-turning energy never flags...I thoroughly enjoyed the read and know that I will return to it often."

Here's that ordering link again:
http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/un......15146020

Best,
Neil

In perusing this June 2012 issue of Genii, I unexpectedly encountered a recommendation by Max Maven of Unspeakable Acts!

Attests Mr. Maven: "It is a most enjoyable read."

https://midwestmagic.net/shop/item.asp?itemid=12976

Most enjoyable read, indeed!!