Customer Reviews

Fire Eating: A Manual of Instruction

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read this edition and what I think was the first edition from the lecture notes of a Magic Castle lecture when Ben was a Junior. This is the best source for fire eating essentials. It would be nice to have more pictures and some more details on some stunts, but this IS the industry standard for fire eating. The revised fuel section is probably great for regular eaters of fire. I still use Ronsonol. I'm probably killing my liver. Since the twelve years when this book came out, there have been some newfound safety considerations. It is good that Dube has allowed the manual to change as new safety knowledge has become available.

Fire eating is not particularly difficult to do. But like flying an airplane it is absolutely unforgiving of any incompetence.The authors start by stressing such dangers as setting you or your audience on fire, inhaling fire(which is often fatal), or getting burns from contact with the hot metal in fire wands.They mention that all pro fire eaters neeed to periodicaly quit to allow their livers to recover from the toxic fuels used.Then they explain the basic techniques and skills of professional fire eating.The basic stunts are addressed and explained. Combination stunts and routines are discussed.They do this quite well and thoroughly. For supplementary reading find a copy of Houdini's Miracle Mongers and Their Methods.

This book outlines the basics of fire-eating. Essentially, the instructions read: light torch, open mouth, extinguish torch. Although tricks are explained, they are not very clear and do not list many tips. A beginner must learn through trial and error (!). Torches, fuels, and stunts are outlined briefly but without any serious clarity, and left me uncertain of how to proceed. This is the only tutorial available, unfortunately. It, for all its faults, did teach me to eat fire. I do not endorse or recommend fire-eating in any manner.

This is the finest "How To" manual I have ever read! Although there is a purported danger regarding this activity, I doubt that any really exists. In fact, I feel a greater sense of danger discussing philosophy with strangers at a dinner party. Before reading this I would shiver at the notion of a Pu-Pu platter. Now I prefer the sterno to the rib tips!

My girlfriend gave me this book as a joke. I'm a magician and she saw it at a magic store when she was buying me a Christmas gift. I eventually made torches. After three weeks, I got up the courage to try extinguishing a torch in my mouth. This book really works. I only burnt myself once when I touched my lip to the metal rod.

A good book with tons of infomation. I might even try it someday when all my insurence is paid up and I can afford the big mistakes explained in the book.

This looks like a revision of an earlier publication by the same auther entitled "How To Eat Fire without indigestion". Anyone considering learning this art better give it some serious thought first! Having practiced it off and on for 7-years I have a couple things to point out to whoever might care.

-Ronsonol and other petrochemical based fluids are much, much worst for you than you may want to believe! After a performance last year an environmental chemist in attendance warned me that it is very likely to contain Benzene. This is thought by many to cause nerve damage! Worse yet it does not just flush out of your body in a couple months. Alchohol ain't so showy, but at least you know what it'll do to you!

-Fire eating is like riding a motorcycle in that it's not if you'll have an accident, but when. When it happens are you prepared?

This book will certainly teach you how, but cannot teach you the most important lesson: Know and respect thy materials and thy limits!

Everything needed to get started, but find somebody who knows how first. Good luck!

The torch and fuel sections are updated in the revised edition. Jeffrey asked that his name be taken off the new version as he now has a real life and is limiting his liability. Benjamin Garth no longer goes by his stage name and is listed as Benjamin "Garth" MacK. The capital "K" is a mystery.

While this book is an instructional manual on the craft of fire eating, it seems like Ben is also poking fun at corporate America. This is what I've been told and it makes sense from what I've seen of Ben's writing online. I never intend to eat fire, but this is my favorite coffee table book. I liked reading the comments on the previous edition under other "fire eating" books. This book is a good read.