This is not strictly an autobiography, more a combination of a collection of personal stories, comedic observations, and magic tricks. The book is told through the intricate process of performing a single magic trick, using the minute observations and feelings experienced throughout performing this trick to segway into amusing anecdotes, self help tips, and embarrasing confessions.
It's mainly through these confessions, and their subsequent analysis of why he does these things along with an psycological explanation, that you realise that any ticks or traits you have that make you feel weird or embarrassed about, that everyone does them and taking them into account, how to better interract with people and understand your world around you.
It never gets heavy into instruction or preaching but tells these through amusing recollections of his childhood and just simple observations.
The format could be jarring to some as the magic trick is told in parts here and there throughout the book, continually intersperssed with off the track topics but for me it w--ks well.
Learn about the pantomines people play out to themselves to not appear weird; why you repeatedly do things you don't actually enjoy; and how to simply enjoy life more.
As with the idea that psychics use barnum statements that appear to be very personal and accurate statements about you but would actually apply to most people, I would say that most of the ideas and experiences told in here are similar in that they are obviously very personal things about Derren himself but most of it will apply to everyone in some respect.
I would say that, along with Tricks Of The Mind, this is a must read for everyone.
It also has the greatest ending to a piece of writing ever.
Score: 5/7
