Memorandum is a book by Woody Aragon in which he reveals his own deck stack and so much magic that you will need a crane to lift it. The book is amazing. It is incredible. It is awesome! I am going to read it again right now and then when I am done the second time, probably will read it a third time this year.
The book starts off with numerous gambling tricks using the Memorandum stack which cannot be translated to other stacks. Although the stack seems like it will be easy to learn if you read the book and intend on memorizing it as you go, I have to admit that I did not try to learn it because I did not want to confuse his stack with Tamariz’s stack, mnemonica, which I use. The book is designed using a memory technique that I learned from Harry Lorayne, that will make memorizing the stack very easy.
Aragon has an entire section using a Siamese stack which is undeniably incredible. He also spends significant time addressing tricks with a half stack, which I absolutely loved. Many of the tricks are not stack dependent and I will be using material from this book without a doubt. Even though I cannot do many of the tricks in this book using the mnemonica stack, it is worth the read to learn Aragon’s thinking and approach to mem deck magic.
Between the front and back cover of this books there are spelling tricks, predictions, ACAAN type tricks, and other classics. The book itself is excellently made and has great graphics, charts and black and white pictures. It is a hard cover book and measures about 7 inches by 10 inches. In addition to the mem deck routines, Aragon teaches false shuffles and how to construct a change box out of a tuck box.
The writing is easy to read and the instruction are easy to follow. Not everything is easy and many of the tricks will require some work and practice, but this is worth every second that you put into it.
Aragon appropriately credits other magicians and explains how he uses other contributions to our art. Of particular note is the repeated reference to tricks he uses to fool magicians and the thinking behind those routines. He is just so damn clever! Reading this book was inspirational.
This book is a gem. Buy it, treasure it, and amaze!
This incredible book is available at any Murphy’s Magic dealer!