OK Gang, I picked up the Penn and Teller book "How To Play In Traffic" a while back, and I enjoyed the book so darn much that I decided to hunt down the other 2 out of print P&T books. I've decided to post my review of them for the gang here.

"Cruel Tricks For Dear Friends"
This book is 1989, and long out of print. My first reaction to the book was that the other 2 were a lot better then this one. I bought and read them in reverse order, and this one didn't seem to be as good as it's brothers. To be honest I found this just a little confusing, that is until I got to a certain part and things started to click. From then on in, I went back to the beginning of the book and started over, this time the book was much better. If you wondered how P&T cut the snake in half on SNL, or how they made the 5,000 cockroaches appear on Letterman's desk, well they tip the methods, and along the way tell all kind of P&T stories. If your lucky enough to find a copy with the gimmicks, you'll have a little more fun then if you can only find the book. In all actuality though and without giving away a major secret here, even if you don't get the gimmicks, you'll still have one.....I'll give this one an 8.



"How To Play With Your Food"
Funny, Funny, Funny. This book is without a doubt for me, in fact I might buy another just so when I wear my copy down I'll have a spare. It's full of pranks, and I love pranks. The magic isn't that bad either, they even tip another Letterman moment when they vanished David's watch and made it appear inside a dead fish. If your the magician with that little evil prank streak going through your veins, this book is for you. Along with some great tricks and pranks, P&T have even included 2 little games for while your dining out, and I'm almost sure you'll play at least one of them. I've taken them both up, and eating out is much more fun then normal. I've used the fortune cookie prank with such great success that I've decided to include the story here.......

Last night Carol (my fiancee) and I ordered some Chinese food, and while I was picking up the order, I asked for an extra fortune cookie. When I got home I retired to the magic office for a moment before dinner, and I gimmicked the extra cookie with a special Penn and Teller fortune. I switched the gimmicked cookie for Carol's normal cookie using some clever misdirection (look babe, the cat is clawing the couch). When Carol opened her cookie and read her fortune, even with my ambulance experience. I've never ever seen another human being turn that pale greenish before, she looked like something from a cartoon. I'm sure the only reason she didn't taste her dinner twice was due to my falling on the floor laughing, even the hard slap didn't bother me the prank was so good. The fortune was "The Chef Spit In Your Food."
What could be more entertaining, this book is without a doubt a 10 + IMO!
"How To Play In Traffic"
This book is the first I bought, and the reason for me buying the others. Sure some of the pranks are over the top, but then again this is P&T your talking about. If your a fan of the cups and balls like myself, you'll enjoy the chapter in this book about them. Even if you don't travel much, you'll like the contents of this book. Not as many pranks in this book as in the last one, but still some good stuff in here. I've posted about the red clown nose idea in the cafe before, and I still stand firm that this is one funny gag. If you decide to pick this (or the others) up for reading purposes only, your in for a treat. I really enjoyed "the price of admission" and "Aye Jaye's mitt-camp watch dodge." This book I'd rate as 9.

The bottom line is that I love these books, they had me in tears laughing, the stories are cool, the magic is good, and the pranks are even better. If your a fan of the "Bad Boys Of Magic" then you'll just love these books. Not for the faint of heart, they contain adult language, cruel pranks, and suggestive themes, but if you can over look all that, excellent. I must be the biggest fan of these books, I just cannot speak highly enough about them. 3 books that I'm proud to have in my library, and don't even think about asking to borrow them!!!!
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I just read this post and realized that I used to have those two older P&T books. Guess what? Lost em. They were pretty darn funny though. I'll have to keep an eye out for replacements.

I too think that these are wonderful books. I really like how P&T are able to take old tricks, and through masterful presentations, breath new life into them. There aren't many tricks in them that I would do as written, but it's nice to see the power of good scripting! Some of their stories and essays are wonderful as well.

Just bought all 3 for under £10, can't see me going wrong with that one.

(is this possibly one of the oldest threads to be brought back? over NINE years old)

And THAT'S why I brought it back!