I just found the Jack McMillen book at Lybrary.com. Does anyone know if there will be a hard copy of the book or is it only an e-book release? It's large, 263 pages, for an e-book.

I have it already. I think it will not be published as a hard copy soon. It is without illustrations, so it is quite comfortable to read even on an ebook reader.

I found the SPIN of this statement interesting in the description:

One note of caution: This ebook does not have illustrations. We believe that the meticulous textual description allows for a more detailed
and more accurate communication of method and their nuances than illustrations could provide. If you are the kind of person that quickly flies through a book
glancing at a few illustrations to pick out what you think are the main nuggets of information, you will be disappointed.
This is a book for the serious student of card magic. Take a deck of cards and follow along the descriptions of what you will find
to be some of the most efficient and clever techniques with cards ever created.

I just bought this and so far it's a great read! Would have loved to have met a guy like Jack.

S

Guys, any favourite items in this book?

I am still going through it. My favorite stuff so far is the stories and his thinking about how important it is to really go slower when performing. His attitude really comes through when you read this and you get the feeling of what he must have been like and how good he must have been.

S

Thanks Sean for sharing.

Yes, I understood that this book has no illustration at all. Should be a great "mystery" journey while reading and trying out the routine.

ALSH

I am convinced once the experts read it the Jack McMillen ebook by Michael Landes will become one of the best card magic publications in recent memory. As an example Roberto Giobbi is reading it right now and emailed me that it is fascinating.

I wish it was a real book. Id buy it in a heartbeat.

I understand that some 'demand' it as a printed book, however, you should also contemplate the advantages of the digital format. Any error corrections, additions and updates will be immediately available to you in a digital edition - free of charge. With a printed book you would have to purchase a later edition if such an edition is published at all. It is a real benefit that many of my customers enjoy. Also the author, Michael Landes, does like this characteristic of the digital format a lot.

I don't want to go into a long sermon of the values of the digital format. I did that ten years ago The times have changed. Just look around yourself. Ebook sales grow leaps and bounds. Many people have iPads, Android tablets, netbooks, Kindles, Nooks, SonyReader, and a myriad of other reading devices. Particularly for a niche market such as magic, you will see more and more publications not being offered in print but only digital. It makes a lot more sense in my opinion. I would not say that the printed book will vanish over night, but give it another 10 or 20 years and the decline of the printed book is inevitable.

" I would not say that the printed book will vanish over night, but give it another 10 or 20 years and the decline of the printed book is inevitable."

Sorry, Chris, but I really don't think paper is going away. At the end of the day, without power an e-device is just a paperweight. Books will be around for a looooong time

Ian, yes printed books will not go away, just as LP records haven't gone away either. I have two stores here in Cambridge alone that sell LPs. The real question is economical. My prediction from 12 years ago was the following: "I am convinced that in a generation (that is ~30 years) ebooks will generate more revenue than printed books." That means that the digital format will have overtaken print and publishers will first and foremost worry about the digital format and then print as an afterthought.

I am still convinced that this will take place. Now almost half way into my prediction Amazon is making 20-30% of their 'book' sales on ebooks. I think it might not even take another 18 years for my prediction to come true. Some say in less than 3-5 years books will be the second class citizen in the publishing world. I don't think it will be that fast but in another decade it most likely will have flipped towards digital media.

It is in fact,over 110,000 words.
To answer your question, there is no plan to put out a hardbound at this time.
I continue to drag my feet (the book was completed in 1998, although revised
significantly since then) in the continued hope of getting my video record back
so that the illustrations and photos can be taken directly from Jack's work.
After Jack's passing, in 1990, Paul Chosse borrowed much of the video record I
made of Jack and left the area with them, never to return. The illustrations
were to be drawn derived from stills from the video. I only recently found out
that most likely the video does still exist as Dorian Rhondell a few days ago
admitted to having seen them. Where they are I don't know. When Dorian was
asked about them he did not reply (see the thread DPS in Workers section).
I suspect that both he and Steven Youell know their location, unless they are destroyed,
as they were apparently Mr. Chosse's chief acolytes. Perhaps they are in Mr. Youell's
possession. I have no way of knowing, of course, but it would make perfect sense.
Hopefully, he will see fit to return them to me (or aid in their return) and a hard copy
of the book can be considered.

Michael,

Check your pm's and I will correspond privately with you.

Dorian Rhodell

Hi Mr. Rhodell,

I'm very pleased to find you've responded on this matter.
I look forward to correspondence. I'm new to this forum.
Will p.m.'s appear via the email address I supplied when registering?

M

I can't help but wondering if a printed version of this book will ever come out.
I love this ebook and its philosophy had quite an impact on me.
I'd love to own a print copy.

This is one of my favorike "books" in my library

You can email the pdf file to an online printer and get the book printed off, bound and posted back to you.

I have done this from time to time with ebooks which I wanted in a physical format.

I would recommend it for anybody who wants to preserve a favourite ebook in a paper format.

I was thinking about doing that using Lulu, but then I read their members agreement, which clearly states that I need to be authorised to sell the product (even though I only set it to be available for me). So I quit the process...
Do you think its OK to use their service to print a copy for myself anyway?

Plus I have some ebooks which specifically state that I'm not allowed to print them, so presumably the printers wouldn't print those?

I have used online companies like this.

http://www.doxprint.com/info/doc/main.php

I just want them in paper and comb bound for easy reading. Nothing fancy.

You upload a pdf file and they will post you back the finished product.

These companies are pretty relaxed about printing off pdf files.