For those of you who have never tried doing magic, well, it's fun! It's all about deception. And as this book shows, with a little practice, you'll have even professional magicians not being sure just which hand that coin they saw is now in. If there's no telltale clicking (called "talking") when you snuck that coin into the hand with another coin in it, well, you'll be surprised how many people fall for it.
Sure, if they are watching carefully when you, say, palm a card from a deck, they'll see it. But this book aims to teach you how to get them distracted so they won't watch carefully.
Maybe the most fun was the last couple of dozen pages, about stage illusions. Hay explains the trick of sawing a woman in two. "Obviously, however, you have to use two girls - not one to saw up and one to restore, but one for the head and one for the feet." And if you happen to be the "head" girl, remember to roll your head from side to side with each stroke of that saw.