Reviews of products by Ted Annemann
1 ★★★★★ reviews
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by David Hughes (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 15 September, 2025)
It's hard not to love this collection. There are a lot of great effects in here, and the writing is really good too. Even if you just read it for historical reasons, I think this is worth the price of admission.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Steve Christian (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 12 January, 2025)
I'd like to expand on my earlier review. I just took a look at Chris Washuber's new Jinx index. I also read about the history and inclusion of Walter Gibson's Popular Card Tricks. There is no better version of the Jinx—a voluminous riddle of the Sphinx—than this one.
Thank you Chris for all your hard work!
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Steve Christian (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 12 January, 2025)
The Jinx has been widely praised, dissected, and vaunted. It’s doubtful my opinion would lend any more insight to the prospective buyer. In that light, I’d like to use this space to show my appreciation for Lybrary.com. Quite like the Jinx—The Lybrary is rich with hidden treasures, one-offs from magic stars, and long-forgotten creators. How fortunate we are to have such a resource.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Gregg Webb (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 19 December, 2024)
Probably whatever can be said has already been said about the Jinx. Ted Annemann was certainly ahead of his time. And so prolific. The ideas flow. A lot of mental effects with cards, effects with folded paper 'billets', trick envelopes, and more. Even some regular magic tricks with cigarettes and other items. Headline predictions, all kinds of mentalism in fact. I read this compilation of issues of the Jinx many years ago, when I knew next to nothing. Then again later on. This time I am going slowly through it and can absorb only a few articles per day. At this rate it will be a companion for quite some time. Don't expect this to be a quick read, but more like a post-graduate course in the art of deception. 4 years on this and you'll be an expert for sure.
Practical Mental Effects
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Joel Brondos (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 15 December, 2024)
These effects are MENTAL! They blow peoples' minds. I really appreciate the fact that these have been made available to novices like myself.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Rick Sandberg (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 09 October, 2024)
Excellent! Best deal in magic too! As a skilled amateur, I appreciate delving into some of the history and best effects Jinx records, I appreciate the encouragement to take the information, innovate and deliver unique magic with excellence.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Dominik Dlabacek (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 12 April, 2024)
Worth every penny.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by John Yost (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 11 April, 2024)
I was interested in a few items and not the card tricks so much. There is A LOT to read and I haven't looked at it all but what I have read is interesting. Having a bit of trouble re-locating index after finding it initially. My fault I'm sure. I am not a pro magician.
Annemann's Mental Bargain Effects
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Thomas Jones (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 25 January, 2024)
If you’re a Mentalist (or magician) you want this in your collection. There are a number of great routines in here.
202 Methods of Forcing
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Thomas Jones (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 25 January, 2024)
This is a classic. Many good number forces in here. Some are outdated but can be tweaked for a modern audience.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Andre Magic (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 20 November, 2023)
I have the hard version original 3-book set, this PDF copy is exactly what I was hoping for. I am so glad that I was referred to this site.
Practical Mental Effects
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Robert Herdman (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 22 July, 2023)
Amazing book. So much information and as I am new to mentalism this is a perfect start.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Peter Vattimo (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 10 April, 2023)
Classic magic ... A fun historical read. Well presented as an ebook at a cost that is incredibly low. There is stuff here that is dated ... But also material that may be updated. Well worth the price.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Cheryl Michalson (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 09 March, 2023)
This really is a bargain at less than the cost of one of the hardcover books when they were published. There are some gems here. Skill level I would say is easy in most cases. I like the index, one of the reasons I purchased it as I already have the hardcover books.
I consider myself a hobbyist to a serious amateur.
I would give this 5 stars
202 Methods of Forcing
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Scott Reed (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 21 November, 2022)
There is a ton of useful information in here! As you may have expected, some of it is a bit dated and may be something you don't wish to try. But I can assure you that you will find plenty of gold in the pages of this book!
Annemann's Card Magic
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christopher Reynolds (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 27 October, 2022)
While visiting Disneyland in the early 1980s, I bought the Dover Books edition of Annemann's Card Magic at the Main Street magic shop. It was one of the first "grown-up" books of card tricks I had ever purchased.
I've had this copy on my bookshelf for almost four decades, and it's been a constant source of inspiration. I've read it so often that the pages are held together with Scotch Tape and staples.
When I saw it available on lybrary.com, I decided to put my physical copy out to pasture and purchased the ebook version.
That's how great this book is; it's good enough for me to purchase twice.
There's no preface, foreword, or general discussion about performing magic, just step-by-step instructions for over 100 brilliant, easy-to-manage effects. The roster of tricks included in this book is culled from The Jinx magazine's files. It contains two separate publications: Ted Annemann's Full Deck of Impromptu Card Tricks and Annemann's Miracles of Card Magic.
The book is bursting at the seams with a wealth of first-rate material that magicians will revere for generations, including contributions from some of the most recognized names in conjuring literature: Dai Vernon, Dr. Daley, Jean Hugard, Al Baker, Audley Walsh, Stewart Judah, and others.
Annemann, who gained notoriety as a mentalist (and tenor singer), was also a gifted card man, relying on his mastery of subtlety and misdirection to make up for his lack of sleight-of-hand chops, which he never felt comfortable performing in public.
The late comedy magician Harry Anderson was a rabid fan of Annemann's act. In his book, Wise Guy, magician and Anderson biographer Mike Caveney writes, "What Harry appreciated most about Annemann's magic was that it cut right to the bone. Everything unnecessary was stripped away, and the simplest methods carried you straight to the effect."
Sleight-of-hand is one way of performing magic, but it's not the only way. That's why most of the tricks in this collection don't require any tricky moves, substituting shrewdness for skill.
The successful presentation of the many brilliant feats on these pages depends upon the card magician's hidden allies: short cards, double-faced cards, stranger cards, duplicates, simple prearrangements, and other ingenious methods that provide the means for creating otherwise elusive miracles.
Annemann's Card Magic contains illustrations by artist Nelson Hahne that didn't appear in the original versions of The Jinx and help add clarity to the text. Also included are two complete, original routines performed by Ted Annemann. These alone are worth the entire price of this volume.
The search is now over if you've been looking for a few simple (yet not simplistic), easy-to-master effects. Whether you're seeking card tricks for close-up work or stage presentations, you'll find a whole array of solid performance pieces here that won't disappoint.
Annemann's Card Magic is a classic book every magician should add to their library. I highly recommend it.
202 Methods of Forcing
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Sean Hoade (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 24 July, 2022)
As brilliant as you would expect -- forcing ideas and outright instructions for forces in almost every situation you're likely to need in designing your own routines.
Annemann's Buried Treasures
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Sean Hoade (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 24 July, 2022)
Great, great information and material here. You can also never go wrong with the versions offered by Lybrary.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Sean Hoade (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 01 July, 2022)
What else is there to say that hasn't already been said? 908 pages of amazement EVERYONE needs to read if they're interested in anything to do with mentalism!
Annemann's Complete One Man Mental and Psychic Routine
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Jon Bowne (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 23 January, 2022)
This is a gold mine. There are effects almost 100 years old in here that you can easily adapt to today. If you can do a billet switch (it's taught in here), you can do the mentalism in this book. I watched a talented peer do the bonus material "Master Mind" almost exactly as written and he killed. It is a complete 20-minute act. At $3.50, this is a steal.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Alexander Wolf (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 25 June, 2020)
This is full of great ideas. I love it.
202 Methods of Forcing
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Christian Fisanick
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 26 May, 2016)
This oldie-but-goodie is absolutely a must have, whether you are a card or coin worker or mentalist. And this annotated edition is wonderful because even though the annotations are concise, they will add to your knowledge of the principles and steer you away from stuff in the original manuscript that was too cryptically described. For half the price of a latte at Four-Bucks, you can download in a flash an essential text. Go for it now!
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Matteo Filippini (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 04 March, 2016)
One of the very best investments that a serious student of Magic could do...and for 15 bucks it's really a bargain!
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Howard Port (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 29 May, 2014)
For $15, this is a true bargain. Many of the excellent items here are so old that they are new; that is, little seen yet effective tricks. It is also interesting to see the origins of many of today's "latest" ideas.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Grandpa Chet Cox (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 24 May, 2014)
Oh my goodness! You haven't bought this yet? Annemann practically invented the principles of mentalism and collected the most powerful and SIMPLE card magic. All in a magazine/newsletter that didn't last nearly long enough.
At least three books (two on card magic; one on mentalism) were drawn from the material herein. Yet you may just find Annemann's editorials the most valuable material - I certainly have. And you'll be drawing from this stock for years yet.
It's this simple: You want to be a mentalist? Buy and study the Jinx. You want to have a zillion card effects at hand that won't break your hands but will stupefy your audiences? For fifteen bucks, you have the strongest effects yet - and the principles upon which almost all mentalism has been built.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Phil Reda (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 13 May, 2014)
$15 - What a bargain. I have this download on my IPAD and read it while relaxing at Starbucks or odd moments through out the day. There is so much material and tid bits buried between the covers. Even if you do not like the effect there are little nuggets that can be used elsewhere. I am a firm believer in what is old is new - there is so many items here that are begging to be re-worked. So roll-up your sleeves and dive in. I would also highly recommend "Swami Mantra" also available as a download.
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Paul Hallas
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 24 December, 2012)
Well worth having, Annemann's Practical Mental Effects was culled from these pages as was his card magic book. I actually own the hardcover versions rather than this e-edition book, but truthfully, anyone interested in mentalism or card magic should have The Jinx to refer to and at $15 it may be one of the best purchases you'll make all year.
202 Methods of Forcing
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by David Bilan
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 31 October, 2012)
less than a penny a method! Seriously, you proprably will find 3 or 4 methods that will become your "go to" forces. What about the other 198 forces? This classic will help put you in the thinking mode. Annemenn's work is a must-have.
Practical Mental Effects
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Peter Turner
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 26 November, 2011)
This book is a fantastic resource for anyone in the mentalism industry, I have been performing proffessionally for several years and a huge part of the way I perform is down to this book. I always reference this book everytime I think about creating a new effect, after what seems like a million times of reading the book I still find something new and interesting in here!
The material is often slated as being out of date, but take it from me when I say the material and principles are only a stones throw away from being rejuvinated and turning into clean mental miracles!
If you don't already have this in your collection, you need purchase it, lock yourself away into a room d study it and get out and try it!
Peter Turner
Jinx
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by McAig
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 07 December, 2009)
This is quite incredible value. You get an absolute ton of information, a lot of which is first-rate, it's an interesting read, it's a small piece of social history, it's searchable, and all for an extremely low price. I'm trying to be restrained here, but for me, this is the best download of the year, by a long, long, LONG way.
Practical Mental Effects
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Feras A. Alkharboush (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 10 November, 2006)
6$ .. and you get one of the best mentalism books out there.
This book is FILLED with material, which are all clever and practical.
It has sections on bullets, cards, large mental stunts, and lots of other categories. I highly recommend getting this book. The best mentalism book I have.
By the way, if you have the brainwave deck, this book will teach you killer routines with it. Plus, it will teach you how to make your own deck.
Annemann's Card Magic
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Feras A. Alkharboush (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 10 November, 2006)
Simply, a GEM. You get 155 card effects. Not all are anywhere anytime. But most of them are ( the ones contained in the second book ).
I read all the effects. Some of them are of those little pieces that you do when asked for a trick. Others. however, are very good, and worth the price of this book alone, or even more.
Go for it. You will enjoy performing these effects. I did.