How to Persuade people who Don't want to be persuaded

By: Mark Levy and Joel Bauer

If you’re in business, you’re selling something--a product, an opinion, a new way of doing things. The truth is, even if you don’t think of yourself as a pitchman, you might as well be one. This powerful guide to ethical influence shows you how to use effective persuasion techniques to get what you want the right way--from getting a raise to getting a deal on a car, from convincing one person to a thousand.

Purchase this and the psychology of influence at one low price.

Influence

By: Robert Cialdini

A wonderful book that was first introduced to Banachek via that very clever magician, writer Mark Levy. It really shows the sneaky side of influencing people in advertising, Banachek highly recommends this book.

How to read people like a book

By:

Gerald I. Nierenberg

Explore the language that exists beyond words - the language of the body and its gestures.

Learn the clues that make reading people easy. Gerard Nierenberg's proven techniques for gaining control of negotiations, detecting lies, or recognizing signals of affection and sexual attraction will dramatically improve your understanding of others, giving you the advantage of added insight into all social and business situations.

Reviewer on Amazon.

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Emotion, reason, and the human brain.

By: Damasio

Decartes'

We finally have the proof we have waited 400 years for! Emotions are indeed important, and the body and mind are not separate entities but rather a united whole. This is not just a philosophical matter now, but a scientific theory corroborated by clinical evidence. Damasio even describes accurately just how these emotions and feelings influence and guide us. More importantly Damasio integrates his research into real life and shows how his findings are important as "developmental" cases of his physically brain damaged patients seem to exist. Daniel Goleman's "Emotional Intelligence" (psychology) is the popular account of these findings, and John Fowles' "The Collector" (fiction) is the scary vision of this pathology where intentions are backed with the right means ("The Magus" by John Fowles is also a relevant book in this regard).

The Naked Face

By: Lailan Young and Rod Waters

Although shrouded in controversy this book makes great reading and offers up some very interesting questions about how to read people via facial features. Here's a partial review....

Just as you've gotten to where you no longer associate close-set, beady eyes with criminals, along comes this book purporting to tell how to read faces. Young goes into great detail about attributes like eye color (intense blue or green means a "frantic, creative sexual appetite"), ears (long = shrewdness), and noses (an "absolutely straight ridge" means a "tidy mind"). As much fun as face-reading is for people-watching and acquaintance-analyzing, Young suggests its techniques be used for evaluating prospective employees and determining the existence of true love in a significant other. A check of local rights laws might be in order before overtly incorporating face-reading in your employee-screening process, but Young certainly provides the background and plenty of illustrations for learning the techniques. Based on "all the latest psychological and physiological information," his book promises to give you a "hidden edge in human relationships." The first 12 chapters explain methodology, while the last examines six famous faces: Princess Di, Gerard Depardieu, the Mona Lisa, Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Monroe, and Bill Clinton. (Guess who has the most intense green or blue eyes?) Mike Tribby

Ingram Young has assembled the latest psychological and physiological information into a guide that's designed to show readers exactly what a person is like from his or her facial characteristics. Includes over 200 illustrations and eight pages of photos.

Flim Flam

By: James Randi

There are two kinds of flim-flam artists, as James Randi points out to us. Those who actually believe they have powers and those who are trying to separate us from our money. To the former group, Randi is unfailingly gentle and instructive. He tries to point out how their mistaken observations might have occurred. He is even forgiving to those frauds who later repent and regret their deeds. To the second group, though he is merciless.

If you are one of those who has believed in UFOs or ESP or faith healing, this book may be uncomfortable to read, but you really must do it. It could save you from a lifetime of being a chump.

Reviewer on Amazon.

The Faith Healers.

By: James Randi

Banachek was instrumental in exposing the fake methods of well known evangelist Peter Poppoff. Poppoff was using ticks to rip people off of millions of dollars at a time.

This book not only covers Poppoff but the methods used by many other evangelists to convince their congregations they have the "Word of God".

A must read for any student of God. A great read for any who do not believe.

The Spirit Cabinet

By: Paul Quarrington

Limited Out of Print.

What Quarrington has done is imagine that there is real magic underlying the world of illusion. Think about that idea. Consider what the sleight of hand distraction masters of Las Vegas would do if all of a sudden, actual, inexplicable magic was discovered.

Quarrington has assembled a cast of characters filled with the oddities which represent the backstage of Las Vegas. The tinsel, the bullshitters, the losers and the marks sitting out in the audience. With a bit of exaggeration and hyperbole, Quarrington captures an imaginary Siegfried and Roy and the gang of other magicians who populate Vegas. Their job is to provide fun and games for the post-literate: two shows a night, 300 nights a year.

In a world where the extremely stupid are taken by the slightly smarter, magic wins. The good folks out in the $75 seats want to be fooled and Vegas magicians are there to fool 'em.

The old plot device of "a stranger comes to town" disrupts these cozy arrangements. Harry Houdini's collection of magic books and devices comes up for auction. While a lot of the collection is junk, there is also an element of "real" magic in the collection. So, what would Vegas magicians do if, instead of carefully practiced tricks, they suddenly had the real deal in their hands? All of a sudden the most utterly beautiful, distracting girl in the world is redundant. You don't need her because if you can do real magic, you don't need to bamboozle the audience.

Carter Beats the Devil

By: Glen David Gold

Amazon.com's Best of 2001.

In Carter Beats the Devil, Glen David Gold subjects the past to the same wondrous transformations as the rabbit in a skilled illusionist's hat. Gold's debut novel opens with real-life magician Charles Carter executing a particularly grisly trick, using President Warren G. Harding as a volunteer. Shortly afterwards, Harding dies mysteriously in his San Francisco hotel room, and Carter is forced to flee the country. Or does he? It's only the first of many misdirection's in a magical performance by Gold. In the course of subsequent pages, Carter finds himself pursued by the most hapless of FBI agents; falls in love with a beautiful, outspoken blind woman; and confronts an old nemesis bent on destroying him. Throw in countless stunning (and historically accurate) illusions, some beautifully rendered period detail, and historical figures like young inventor Philo T. Farnsworth and self-made millionaire Francis "Borax" Smith, and you have old-fashioned entertainment executed with a decidedly modern sensibility.

How to Play in Traffic.

By: Penn & Teller

Banachek contributed extensively to this book. As you may know, he has been a huge fan, even prior to their purchase of his bullet catch method. Purchase this book and see why.

Recommended also is their book, 'How to Play with your food!' and their movie, "Penn & Teller get killed!" Available at this same source.

Tricks with your head.

By: Mac King

Tricks with Your Head is the world’s greatest (and only) collection of hilarious, mystifying, and sometimes repulsive magic tricks that you can perform with your very own head.

If you’ve only thought of your head as a receptacle for so-called higher learning, or as a structure for keeping your haircut from falling into your body cavity, rejoice! Now you can use that ten-pound meatball between your shoulders as a source of ribald entertainment. Best of all, when you learn to perform a head trick, you can never be caught without your prop.

Mac King and Mark Levy have perfected the ultimate mix of head games (literally) in this clever illustrated volume that teaches you how to:
* Make your head disappear
* Penetrate your skull with a drinking straw
* Make a French fry vanish up your nose
* Read someone’s mind
* Jab a fork in your eye