My Comments

Wow! Wow! Wow! That's my first reaction to perusing this
incredible new utility product.  After further looking at
it, my enthusiasm has not been diminished in the least.

First, let's talk about the ad.  I do have some very minor,
almost insignificant, gripes that I'll mention only because
I noticed and because I have your attention.  The first one
is about the word "oversize" that's used to describe the
book.  I know that Larry needed some type of adjective here,
but this word is slightly misleading.  5 1/4 by 8 inches is
oversized when compared to a standard paperback, but I've
always considered oversized books to be about 8 x 11. The
book is about the size of a typical Fodor travel book,
though it is has less pages than most Fodor guides. It will
not fit into your pocket, but it will easily fit in a
briefcase.  Most importantly, it looks like a real
Fodor-like travel book.  The authors, incidentally, are
listed as Ecker and Berle. Cute, eh?

Another very minor gripe I have is the ad's phrase, "No
pre-show work."  This is 100% true, but, to be more
accurate, it should say, "No pre-show work NECESSARY!"  I
say this because you could use it for pre-show work and it
would work beautifully.

What you get in the package is the handsomely produced book,
which has been shrink-wrapped, and a card to register the
product and to gain access to Larry and Lee's password-only
website to view videos of their handling of the two
different peeks they discuss.  (At the time of this writing,
I have not received my password so I can't honestly review
the contents there) Not only is this a very cool addition,
but the card is postage-paid by Larry and Lee.  That's
class.

Let's move on to the instructions.  Like Lee's previous
booktests, The Hidden Agenda and Dreamtest, the instructions
have been printed in the book.  Already a few have griped
about this, but I don't find this to be a problem. The
instructions are located in the back of the book and they
are not labeled at all.  It's not a separate chapter.  The
instructions just begin at the top of the page without any
heading or chapter title, so it looks like it's just more
text continuing from the previous pages.  Since there are no
pictures or drawings on it, no one should pick any of those
pages when you ask them to select one with an illustration
on it. Any experienced performer who uses proper audience
and prop management shouldn't be worried about this at all.

Another concern is the placement of the page numbers, which
is necessary as part of the modus operandi.  The concern is
that the audience might think the performer is aware of the
page number.  Again, proper audience and prop management
should not make this a problem.

I do agree, though, that these concerns are definitely
important, but only insofar as they must be considered when
working out the staging and performance of the routine.
Once worked out, then you won't have to worry about them.

The book, quite plainly, is gaffed in many, many ways.
"Gaffed to high heaven" may be hyperbole, but I counted
eight different types of information which could be
revealed.  That's quite impressive and definitely more than
you're going to need in an actual performance.

So how does the book work?  If you're familiar with
Flashback and the peek involved with that effect, then you
basically know how you get the information.  However, with
Flashback, you get one word and that word is in a specific
place on a specific page.  And that's about all you can
reveal using this peek.  Flashback uses additional
techniques, though.  With DV (Double Vision), that word is
the "most challenging" word on the first line of the
specific page, plus it gives you the topic of the first few
lines of the page.  Truly diabolical.  And, yes, that one
move can give you information on pictures, maps, numbers and
other stuff.  Again, realistically, you'll only want to peek
specific information and not reveal everything that you can.
Don't even try.  In addition, a second peek, the Bookmark
peek, is discussed as another method to gain the
information.  I should mention that you could also cleverly
repeek the same page to reveal more info.

The downside to this -- a very minor downside, but one I
must point out -- is that it is not an "any word at any
page" book test. It's not a hands-off product.  You must
handle the book to gain a quick peek in order to perform the
miracle. And I do emphasize that what you'll be doing with
it is still a mind-blowing miracle, or series of miracles.

There is no question that this book is the most versatile
that I've ever seen in terms of what types of information
can be revealed.  And much of it can be revealed visually.
It is a prop that professional mentalists can find so much
to do with.  And it is a prop that will beautifully
complement other good booktests, such as MOAB, Final Exam,
or Flashback.

For me, this is now my second favorite book test on the
market (Those who know me know that I have a very soft spot
for Docc Hilford's Wizard Manual and my powerful
presentation with it, though I know quite well that WM is
not even close in versatility to DV.  Perhaps I should say
it ties, then.  And I don't own MOAB, but I do know that
many consider that the best).

Without question, this is an elegant, versatile, must-have
product which should have been a very limited release and
advertised as such.  For now, it's not.  So, if you don't
have it, what are you waiting for?  Larry Becker just may
agree with me, limit the production, and you'll miss out if
you wait!