Kreskin Confidential: The World's Greatest Mentalist Speaks Out

The chance to meet Kreskin recently came up and we spoke for a minute or two. I recounted my story of first seeing his TV show on visits to Toronto in the early 1970s when I was a kid. He inscribed a copy of his book to me and gave me his business card. He's a friendly man and it was a delight to meet him in person. Kreskin's narrative takes us back to his childhood when he was inspired to a career in mentalism by the Mandrake the Magician comic books. He somehow found a hidden penny as a kid without help, and performed several times for his classmates. Houdini, Kreskin tells us, was the greatest escape artist, but merely a second- or third-rate magician. Magic as seen on TV nowadays is mostly illegitimate, as it involves scripting, editing, trick photography, and paid or volunteer "people on the street" who have been coached by the producers how to act for best effect. This is more theater than magic, and is dishonest with the viewers. His first late night TV appearance was on the Steve Allen Show, March 30, 1964 (billed as "George Kreskin"). As Kreskin tells it, this is the show where he stumbled during his entrance because he was blinded by the studio lights. He claims this inspired Johnny Carson to create the "Carnac the Magnificent" character (who always stumbles upon his entrance) from seeing him on the Allen show. A severe chapter on Orson Welles recounts his blundering attempts at mentalism on Johnny Carson's show. He exposes some chicanery surrounding Jean Dixon's "predictions" as well. There is no such thing as a hypnotic trance, he reminds us again, and Kreskin offers a reward for anyone who can contradict him. Hypnotism involves the power of suggestion, not an altered state. Kreskin's trademark stunt is finding his own paycheck hidden by the audience. Over his career, he has failed to find it 9 times, and if he fails again, he will retire that part of his show. Considering how many times he has searched for his check, it seems remarkable he has failed (whether legitimately or didn't want to find it) only 9 times--especially when one realizes he isn't cheating. A major point of the book is to drive home Kreskin's belief that there is a legitimate way to perform mentalism and an illegitimate method. The dishonest way involves the use of audience plants or secret electronic devices and other types of chicanery. Legitimate mentalism uses only those techniques and skills possessed by the performer himself, along with his props. Kreskin isn't talking about psychic mind reading, as if a person could really tune into the thought broadcasts of another person like turning on a radio, but rather the traditional performing skills related to stage magic. Playing "fair" with the audience using these guidelines means a lot to him and I can't see him violating this code of trust. Kreskin has always said he uses no electronic devices or confederates in his show, and like the great pioneering mentalist Joseph Dunninger (1892-1975) before him,

It is always good to hear from The Amazing Kreskin, everyone's favorite mentalist. This volume, Kreskin Confidential, is a compilation of his earlier writings: The Amazing World of Kreskin, Mind Power and Kreskin's Fun Way to Mind Expansion, with a few nostalgic tidbits from Kreskin's Secrets. It reads as an update of his life, his opinions and a confirmation that the world's most beloved mentalist is, in fact, the inspiration for the 2009 movie, The Great Buck Howard. While this volume does not capture the candid insight of his first autobiography, or the intellectual maturity of Mind Power and Fun Way to Mind Expansion, it will not disappoint his fans. Our favorite mentalist discusses television history from his perspective. He speaks of a variety of personalities--people he has known and observed in the entertainment field. He discusses the new technology that is effecting magic, audiences and performers. Now in his seventies, Kreskin's writings are somewhat nostalgic, rather than revealing. He spends significant time talking about his experiences on the Tonight Show, describing a precious memory of his youth when he and his mother appeared on Who Do You Trust with Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson. Kreskin's fans will enjoy this book. It is a worthy read, but it leaves the reader and fan wanting more. This reader enjoyed Kreskin Confidential, but is left wondering...who are you Kreskin? We need another in depth autobiography--like The Amazing World of Kreskin--a kind, delightful portrait of a man in his thirties who was so in awe of show business, parapsychology and entertainment. Kreskin, We need you to tell us who have you become at seventy-four. Kreskin Confidential still depicts the delightful and genuine entertainer who never disappoints a fan, yet can "name drop" better than any celebrity living. He is prone to hyperbole and we love him for it. Kreskin, for your next book, fill it up with little whispers; tiny secrets that have little to do with hypnosis or thought reading--draw a picture of your soul and let those who admire and love you understand why you are such a special human being. This reviewer recommends Kreskin Confidential: The World's Greatest Mentalist Speaks Out.