Scam School
Book 1
Kindle Edition
By Brian Brushwood
Bizarre Magic, Inc.
Release Date: March 14, 2012

Scam School, Book 1 is the first (naturally) of three companion ebooks to online network Revision 3‘s popular series. The premise of the show (and the book), according to the website, is that “Award-winning magician Brian Brushwood takes viewers on an inside tour of bar tricks, street cons, and scams,” and this ebook is truly kind of magical, but not for the reasons you might think. More on this later.

The book opens with a terrific Forward where Brian Brushwood recalls how he was inspired at age 8 by watching Penn & Teller, and how he wrote to Teller (with no anticipation of a reply), and received in response an incredibly instructive and inspiring letter teaching him some of the finer points of the illusion arts, including this fundamental tip: always engage an element of surprise (a tip Brushwood uses to great effect in many of the book’s scams).