Price$55.00
Media TypeBook
CategoryGeneral, Close Up
Date AddedDec 07, 2016
Hidden Agenda
Giobbi, Roberto
Vanishing Inc.
(Based on 1 review)
It was the first of its kind, and a modern classic. Magic fans rejoice: it is a pleasure to announce a new collection, a spiritual "sequel." Hidden Agenda has arrived. Hidden Agenda contains 366 entries. Many readers will enjoy digesting one secret per day, while others will find it too difficult to stop turning the pages at each sitting. Topics range from clever deck switches to meditations on how to define the word "magic", but each day of Hidden Agenda will bring a revelation of some kind. There are more photos and trick content in Hidden Agenda than the previous volume, and all the material described is as-yet unpublished. If you are a fan of Roberto Giobbi or magic in general, this handsome hardback volume (414 pages) is a must.
414 pages in decorated hardcover binding, designed to sit perfectly alongside Secret Agenda on your bookshelf.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
RATING
I give this two out of five stars.
I'm sure others will have a different view of the book given Roberto Giobbi has such a good reputation. Maybe some will find this book very helpful and inspirational. Maybe I am being harsh in my view that this book contains a lot of half baked ideas, perhaps not unlike the dozens of half baked ideas that many people have every day.
WHAT YOU GET
You get a big hardcover book with a page for every single day of the year. The pages are dated in addition to numbered. The intent is you read a single page per day, every day of the year.
WHAT I LIKE
Well, it’s big. There are a lot of words. There are a many of good tips. The quality of the physical book is excellent… even though it doesn’t have a dust jacket. However:
WHAT I DON’T LIKE
To me, the book really reads like someone who was just trying to fill a page for every day of the year. That was my mileage. Your mileage may vary. I found many of the day’s “entries” to be shallow and not well thought out. Maybe it’s just me, but I probably have a dozen different half baked thoughts every day on a variety of subjects. If I put my mind to it, I could probably pen at least a couple magic ideas per day. However, I don’t think they would be ready or worthy of putting in a very expensive hardcover book. It seems that is exactly what he did. In one of the early January entries, it contains the year 2016. Was that entry written in January of 2016? It looks that way. The book was completed well before the end of 2016. Regardless of how long it took him to write or the timing of the writing and publishing, my point is that the book reads like it was put together in a hurry, with half thoughts.
Is the ad copy accurate and honest? Well, technically, yes. However, the ad copy says “this handsome hardback volume (414 pages) is a must.” It is “handsome”. The price is pretty “handsome” as well. Granted, saying it is “a must” is a bit of editorial, so I would say in an editorial manner that I disagree this is a "must".
AT A GLANCE
Skill level required: ? of 5. I can’t answer this. Many of the ideas presented don’t even include any discussion on how to perform them.
Audience management skill required: ? of 5.
Performance angles: ?
Reset time required: ?
DIY time involved in advance: ?
My apologies for such a terrible “At A Glance”. This book was just a very frustrating read in that most ideas presented were half baked and lacked substance.
VERDICT
To put this in terms Jeff Stone might, I do think that there are likely some gems in the book, but, in my opinion, you are going to have to dig through a lot of rubble to get to the gems.
I give this two out of five stars.
I'm sure others will have a different view of the book given Roberto Giobbi has such a good reputation. Maybe some will find this book very helpful and inspirational. Maybe I am being harsh in my view that this book contains a lot of half baked ideas, perhaps not unlike the dozens of half baked ideas that many people have every day.
WHAT YOU GET
You get a big hardcover book with a page for every single day of the year. The pages are dated in addition to numbered. The intent is you read a single page per day, every day of the year.
WHAT I LIKE
Well, it’s big. There are a lot of words. There are a many of good tips. The quality of the physical book is excellent… even though it doesn’t have a dust jacket. However:
WHAT I DON’T LIKE
To me, the book really reads like someone who was just trying to fill a page for every day of the year. That was my mileage. Your mileage may vary. I found many of the day’s “entries” to be shallow and not well thought out. Maybe it’s just me, but I probably have a dozen different half baked thoughts every day on a variety of subjects. If I put my mind to it, I could probably pen at least a couple magic ideas per day. However, I don’t think they would be ready or worthy of putting in a very expensive hardcover book. It seems that is exactly what he did. In one of the early January entries, it contains the year 2016. Was that entry written in January of 2016? It looks that way. The book was completed well before the end of 2016. Regardless of how long it took him to write or the timing of the writing and publishing, my point is that the book reads like it was put together in a hurry, with half thoughts.
Is the ad copy accurate and honest? Well, technically, yes. However, the ad copy says “this handsome hardback volume (414 pages) is a must.” It is “handsome”. The price is pretty “handsome” as well. Granted, saying it is “a must” is a bit of editorial, so I would say in an editorial manner that I disagree this is a "must".
AT A GLANCE
Skill level required: ? of 5. I can’t answer this. Many of the ideas presented don’t even include any discussion on how to perform them.
Audience management skill required: ? of 5.
Performance angles: ?
Reset time required: ?
DIY time involved in advance: ?
My apologies for such a terrible “At A Glance”. This book was just a very frustrating read in that most ideas presented were half baked and lacked substance.
VERDICT
To put this in terms Jeff Stone might, I do think that there are likely some gems in the book, but, in my opinion, you are going to have to dig through a lot of rubble to get to the gems.