Christmas Carol Book Test – Josh Zandman
$49.95
http://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=58880

The Hype:

An incredibly simple and powerful book test for the professional or casual performer. 

Here's exactly what happens: 
The performer riffles through the pages of the book. 
The participant at any time, says stop and looks at the first word on the page. 
The performer knows the word without asking a single question or having anything written down. 

Highlights: 
Nothing to memorize 
No duplicate words 
No questions asked 
Nothing is written down 
Completely examinable 

Christmas Carol Book Test gives you the freedom to perform a powerful mind reading miracle, anywhere at any time, without the need to memorize a single thing. You can also hand out the book before, after, or during the performance without worries of revealing the secret. The method is so cleverly disguised and practically undetectable, even under close examination. 

For over ten years, many of the world's most talented magicians and mentalists have included Christmas Carol Book Test in their paying shows and performances. 
The same method is also featured in Ted Karmilovich's, Mother of All Book Tests - Pocket Edition. 

4.25" x 7" paperback with 168 pages

My Take:

This is a great idea for a book test. I have seen so many published using book titles that no one has ever heard of. The best, in my opinion, use something familiar. This is a handsome book that can easily pass for a mass-market release. The cover has a bar code and the only thing that could make it look more legit was if a price was listed also.

This is very easy to perform so you can concentrate on presentation. Everyone is familiar with the story of Scrooge and the Christmas spirits. The book can actually be handed to your volunteer to check out before the page is chosen. They will see nothing.

This does use a method utilized in Mother of All Book Tests – Pocket Edition but you can only do the first phase. Still, in comparing prices, this is a good deal. MOAB is currently selling for $350.00 and A Christmas Carol is only $49.95. Now just about anyone can afford to add a quality book test to their show. And, while the book is considered seasonal, in addition to Christmas shows, I would feel comfortable using this year round as it is considered classic literature.

If you are a mentalist or just want to add this type of item to your show, you can’t go wrong. Recommended.

Now, for a little background on the effect as a lot of crediting is not done. This is a genesis of how this effect came to be.

The original effect was called Tele-Tact and was created by Dan Tong on Okinawa in 1958. It was first published in the New Jinx, #11, March 1963, page 45. It was published again in The Linking Ring, Vol 44, #9, Sept. 1964 (Dan Tong cover). The name was changed to Peek-a-Book and published in Magick Mag #143, 1977, page 711. In 1979, Larry Becker suggested having the books printed. Magico Magazine did the job and Flashback was born. This next part I have been told but I have been unable to confirm. Lar (Laurence Hookway), a British mentalist came up with the idea that was used in the new edition of MOAB. He published the book Shadows for his own use which used not only his idea but the whole MOAB principle. As it was only for his use, Ted Karmilovich gave him permission to use the principle. In return, he allowed Ted to use his method in the Pocket Edition of MOAB.

So, you can see that this is an effect with a rich history. And with the Christmas Carol, Josh has done the principle proud.

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