"I almost passed on this book, as I'd already read biographies of both men. It wasn't until my friend, Paul Romhany, told me I had to read "Through the Eyes of Hanussen & Messing" that I ordered it. I'm very glad I did. I've read it again twice over the last few days. It's an incredible book, and one I'll treasure and refer to often. In this unputdownable book, Helmuth Grunewald discusses the techniques and effects that Hanussen and Messing used, and then explains how they might have done them. He covers contact mind reading, psychic readings, Q & A, and hypnosis, and shows how they can all be done with no trickery whatsoever. I got more than my money's worth from just one sentence on page 43, but there's gold in every page. Hanussen and Messing did extremely well with this material almost a hundred years ago, and the right person today could make a fortune using nothing but the information in this book."--Richard Webster. Possibly the first book which lays bare how these historical giants achieved amazing psychic abilities. The author makes a fervent argument that some of the abilities were real and teaches you how to achieve them! Grunewald spent years going deep into the minds of these historical psychics-identifying and/or reverse engineering such techniques. "Mankind is a carcinoma on the belly of creation"--Erik Jan Hanussen (1889-1933). "Man should not know the future. Such knowledge can be fatal."--Wolf Messing (1899-1974). Within this book you will find the secrets from some of the greatest minds in psychic and mentalism history. Make NO mistake, this is not a biography, this book will teach you how all these things were accomplished including but not limited to: Contact mind-reading, Q&A, hypnosis, statistics, suggestions, psychometry and much more. Book is 6 x 9 inches, hardbound with 98 pages. Unquestionably controversial, many of the feats performed by these two individuals are uncanny. Grunewald, illustrates that these two men really did have "real" abilities. On the surface such a bold statement seems incredible, but when you understand the justifications of his argument-as a mentalist you will agree. The interesting point-you too can obtain these real techniques. Read about how Hanussen, was able to prove in a court of law that he did possess real psychic ability, with such conviction the judge emphatically agreed and dismissed the case against him. As a mentalist, can you image a more difficult scenario? Grunewald envisioned this project over a decade ago. Throughout the long process of creating this book, he would visit Hannusen's and Messing's graves for creative inspiration relative to how these giants were able to become great psychics. You will discover this is no ordinary book, it stands on a league of its own and is bound to be a required tome for any mentalist or collector. This book may change your way of thinking. The Q & A Effect featured inside is worth the price of the book alone. If you are a mentalist then you should be aware of both of these performers. I've always felt both stories would make a great movie because of the times they lived and the way they performed. The author takes a strong view, and one that I totally agree with, of how mentalism has gone from being 'mentalism' or mind-reading to actually some type of psychological babble that seems to be popular at the moment. By studying Hanussen and Messing you will find out what real mentalism should look like. Within these pages you will not only learn some of the guarded secrets, but also give a refreshing approach to mentalism, one that I think many of the younger performers will find interesting. Helmuth makes a bold statement saying you don't need all the electronic gadgets our there to do impossible mentalism, and again he hits the nail on the head. This might be another eye opening statement for younger readers but it's absolutely true. The best mentalists in the world don't need all the gimmicks and gadgets that flow through pages on websites today. If you can do contact mind-reading and perfect it, as Hanussen and Messing both did, then you will save yourself thousands of dollars AND be able to do this anytime and anywhere. There is also a fantastic Q&A in this book which is one of the best I've read. This book will teach you the real secrets to both of these legendary performers, which has to do more with their acting skills, the stage, stories told about them, and skills. You will learn the real secret to great hypnotism, and the author really encourages you to delve deeper in to what it really means. I love this little sentence from the book, "Get training and then practice, practice, practice! Read as much as you can and become an expert. This is one of the steps to become a real mentalist." The idea of being a real mentalist is the entire tone of this book and is so refreshing to read. Both Hanussen and Messing, were excellent hypnotists. Hanussen would often refer to hypnotism in his work, but Messing never did but he certainly used the tools to achieve the impossible. There is so much to learn from this book. It is on the higher end but it is intended for the serious student or performer who wants something different and unique. I think this book would be a real eye opener for many and hopefully inspire readers to re-look at what mentalism was and could be again. More and more mentalists today say they have no psychic abilities and they are doing it psychologically. I love this line from the book on the chapter READINGS, "In my opinion it makes no sense to give readings unless your name is Hannibal Lecter or Sherlock Holmes." This book has awakened my concept of mentalism and I hope somebody takes this and runs with it - because it could very easily be something 'new' to a new generation that has grown up with being told how things are done. It has also awakened my interest in both of these famous performers and I am now on the search for more information.