I started with Bobo and got nowhere fast. I picked up David Roth's tapes and really started to improve. One must be realistic about what Bobo is and is not. It is a very large and cheap resource based on a rather idiosyncratic set of routines pulled together by Mr Bobo (note there is only 1 - yes 1 - reference to Dai Vernon in the index!). The sleight explanations are poor, and the diagrammes are poor even for the time that in which it was first published.
Once you have seen David Roth in action and can understand the timing and grace of movement of the man you will understand that if you read Bobo for a million years you will never understand what someone like David Roth can do. I feel that Bobo is more like a sheet of music - you will never understand or feel the beauty of a Johnny Hodges solo, or the subtle movements around the beat of a 1930's Lester Young solo, by reading the sheet music (sorry for the younger ones here but I don't know anything about Poo Doggy Poo or the hip-hop generation).
Bobo I feel is for the intermediate and advanced coin worker.

Phedonbilek
I know what you mean by getting stones thrown at you. I have found that there are 3 things in life (in the UK) which people seem unable to challenge, which are that:
Bobo is the greatest book ever written (magicians only)
Hendrix was the greatest guitar player ever (obviously never heard Django Reinhardt or Charlie Christian)
Guinness is the greatest beer in the world (obviously never been to Belgium).
Regards
Bob

Ah ah ah... Bob my friend, I hear you there... And your post on Bobo above explains exactly what I've been trying to explain everytime I read people receommending Bobo to beginners... I think there are other ways to keep people away from magic...

By far NOT my best investment in magic. But you know how things are... Being a magician without owning this "must-have", Bible-Torah-Kuran of coin magic, is like going to England without eating Marmite, to Greece without trying Souvlaki, to Germany without having potato salad... It just doesn't feel right...

Phedon

I've found that Bobo is recommended for a number of reasons, and sadly they are not always for the best. Firstly, and probably most obviously, is fits in with the 'books are better' arguement, and there are precious few books solely about basic coin technique (before I get the slings and arrows, I would say that tomes such as Coinmagic and the Roth book do not teach the basics).

Secondly, twenty years ago, Bobo was the best resource for learning coin magic.

However, most of the time it is put forward because someone else put it forward first, and it's safe to agree with the consensus. Sooner or later it becomes fact. It's a bit like Erdnase to card magic - a 'required' read, but not one that is easily understood by the neophyte.

When it comes to learning coin magic, there are a large number of interpretations out there, and I use that word advisedly. What you will get with any of them is the teacher's personal take on the moves, and each teacher will have a slightly different idea of how a move should be approached. One defining variable then becomes the level of teaching, and how well the information is imparted to the student. As long as you are willing to study the information and adapt the moves to your own style (which is pretty much essential) then any of the cited resources would do you well.

Take care, Ian

David Roth stars of magic - good bang for buck beginners DVD?

The book of Bobo is often referred as "Modern Coins magic" or "NEW Modern Coins magic". Is there any difference in content ?

Roth's Stars of Magic don't cover the basic techniques and passes for coin magic, they show a great deal of the arsenal David Roth has in coins, which is undoubtetly amazing.

If you want to learn the basics from Roth, get his Expert Coin Magic Made Easy set (which include a couple of his most famous routines, like Winged Silver, Chink a Chink and Hanging Coins). This is an amazing DVD, which covers the basic and more advanced techniques, Roth is a great teacher and his technique is flawless.

After studying that, get Stars of Magic. Even if you can't use the routines in Stars of Magic, they're fun to watch and show his amazing routines. His routining, changed coin magic at the moment and along with other pioneers and outstanding coin magicians such as Kenner, Townsend, Kurtz, etc.

Antonio