Over a period of years Thomas Baxter has published a number of startling and innovative contributions for creating mysteries with Playing Cards. These ideas have appeared in places such as Trapdoor and Antimony Magazines, and in books such as Ariel Frailich's CARD STORIES; Allan Slaight's THE JAMES FILE and his own books, THE ACTION COP and A CARD MERELY THOUGHT OF...
Some of these works are now out of print and no longer available. This book is a response to requests from the magic fraternity to have several of Thomas's favorite routines and techniques compiled into one single, readily available collection.
These are routines that have delighted lay audiences and magicians alike in 31 countries around the world. In this manuscript you'll find out why Steve Beam of Trapdoor Magazine fame said: "Thomas Baxter does Super Magic!" You'll see what he means by one of Tom's effects - BREATHLESS - having the power to elicit the "wet-shorts response!"
With an Introduction by famed close-up Magician Doc Eason, also included in this 220 page book are over 120 illustrations by renowned portrait artist Cassidy Alexander.
What people are saying about Not A Dianoetic Rage:
"I have only met Thomas Baxter once, during a very memorable lunch. In between bites, Tom fried me with a few tricks and delighted me with some moves that I had never seen before. This unassuming gentleman repeatedly fooled me with the things that are in this book."
- Doc Eason
"Tom's new book is quite simply excellent; full of original, powerful and direct card magic. And best of all, every single effect has been thoroughly audience-tested and honed to perfection over years of performance. These aren't tricks to merely read, these are tricks to learn and use for the rest of your life."
- Mark Elsdon
"Tom Baxter is one of the best in the business who has honed this content over decades of professional performance, and it shows. "Not A Dianoetic Rage" is exactly my kind of magic book: chock full of wonderful moves, subtleties, and plots that are succinctly explained and clearly illustrated. It reads like a classic and will surely become one."
- Stephen Long
"A few years ago I was fortunate enough to spend a day with Tom when he visited Manchester. He showed me some of his card work and fooled me over and over again. Even when he shared the mechanics of some of the effects and repeated them, I still couldn't see what he was doing.
Tom is highly skilled and his book is for the serious student in the intermediate to advanced range. But there is much here as well for the working professional as Tom understands audience psychology, misdirection, and most importantly, clarity of effect. The fact that some of his previous books are out of print and much sought after should be all you need to know. If good card magic is up your alley, this book should be on your 'To Buy' list."
- Quentin Reynolds
"I found Thomas Baxter's new book, 'Not a Dianoetic Rage' to be of great value and it sports some absolutely tremendous routines. The writing style is clear and concise, the sleights included are wonderful and highly useful, plus there are plenty of knock-out performance pieces contained therein that leave very little to be desired. From fairly complex to practically 'self working', there is something here for everyone and I'd highly recommend this work. A few ideas alone are worth plenty more than the asking price. Thank you, Thomas. What more can I say? I REALLY enjoyed your work and offering! (No surprise there - everything I've got from Baxter has been very clever, very useful material.)"
- Jerome Finley
Pages: 209 - 6.5" x 9.5" - Hardcover with Dust jacket - Black and white illustrations
