Customer Reviews

Snake Oil: Life's Calculations, Misdirections, and Manipulations

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

 

 

This book is interesting and informative, but clearly a quick-'n-dirty effort. Rose claims he wants to tell "all he has learned" about con games and sideshow ruses, before he starts to forget any of it. In fact, it's obvious that he merely rattled off whatever happened to come into his head as quickly as he could and slapped it between two covers. In some places, he tells the same stories twice in the space of a few pages - apparently forgetting he had already mentioned them - and in many places he merely retails well-known parlor tricks as "insider secrets".

There is no attempt in the book to be systematic - it is a hodgepodge of magic tricks, rigged carnival games, actual con scams, math tricks, mentalism, bar bets, and just about any other kind of "tricky" move, but only a few of each. Anyone who has read even a little about any of the above subjects will find they already know most of what he has to say - and that a vast range of lore in each category has been left out.

The book would work well if it were billed as an introductory review of different kinds of tricks and scams - maybe for kids who are intrigued by such things but haven't started to read up on them yet. (It also needs some serious editing and better organization.) With that less-ambitious aim in mind, the book can be read for pleasure and information - but as a comprehensive review of every scam ever pulled, from an insider expert, this book itself is its own best scam.

I'd have given this book five stars but for the fact the book was shorter than I'd have liked and some of the info doubles up in subsiquent chapters. However having gotten my very small beef out of the way this book is fascinating. If you ever fantisize about joining the circus or becoming a con man then you'll love this book!!! From mentalism to sword swallowing, from pimping to card sharping. More scams than you can shake a stick at.

There's a lot of great info in this book and it's a lot of fun to read.

If you want to win bar bets or you're curious about how these things work, then read this book.

Jim Rose, a man unique in so many ways, has a riveting book here. I highly recommend it. I still would love to see his show someday.

While not as entertaining as his first book, 'Freak Like Me', Jim's second book is far more useful. Armed with the tips and trickery contained within one would never again have to buy a drink.

With the knowledge contained in Snake Oil, a person of questionable character could make a lot of money. After all, a sucker is born every minute.

I bought this book based on a magazine article I read that made it seem interesting. Boy, was that a mistake! Snake Oil as a title must be Jim Rose's little joke on us, because this book is exactly that, a specious product sold by a charlatan. I now have the book in a box where I keep it while I think of someone I dislike enough to give it to.

I was very dissappointed with this book. It is a series of old and fairly useless information. I hope Jim Rose's show is better than the book.