The Real Sherlock Holmes Lib/E: The Mysterious Methods and Curious History of a True Mental Specialist

by Joe Riggs, Chris Patton (Narrator)

What if you could, like Sherlock Holmes, see right through people and spot deception instantly? After having been raised by professional psychic readers, Joe Riggs left all that behind to become the internationally acclaimed mentalist, psychological performer, and consultant that he is today. In this brief yet extremely powerful book, Riggs will teach you not only the hidden methods used by psychic readers everywhere but also some of the most powerful techniques in the art of mentalism. Riggs has been hailed by the press as the "Man Who Knows Too Much," as well as the "Real Sherlock Holmes." His uncanny ability to gather a wealth of information from a person in seconds is legendary.

Genres: Nonfiction

Audio CD

First published June 25, 2012

About the author

For the past 15 years, internationally acclaimed Mentalist, Deductionist, Writer, Lecturer, and Consultant Joe Riggs has been captivating clients with his indispensable insights and enthralling audiences with his own singular style of cutting edge psychological entertainment. Picture Sherlock Holmes meets Patrick Jane and you’ll begin to get an idea of the non-fictional phenomenon that is Joe Riggs. At just 35 years old, his incredibly versatile areas of expertise include: advanced deductive and inductive reasoning, speed reading people, nonverbal communication, uncanny mastery of human behavior, and various forms of suggestion — not to mention his eidetic memory — all of which culminate into a psychological tapestry that most can only perceive as mind reading... but it's not minds Joe reads, it's people...

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wished you could tell what someone was really up to? Have you ever been curious about the techniques used by professional psychics and tarot readers? Would you like to know how to develop the observational skills of Sherlock Holmes? Perhaps you would like to improve your ability to “connect” with others. Read on.

Author Joe Riggs is an acclaimed mentalist, psychological performer and consultant. He has been dubbed “the Real Sherlock Holmes”, and certainly his love of all that is the enduring character of Sherlock is evident in his descriptions of techniques employed by the Great Detective. This is quite fun for Sherlock fans, and is what first lead me to read the book. There is much material of a more practical level presented as well. It turns out we can all learn and adopt these methods of observation.

The book is small, but concise in its presentation of a number of topics and techniques. There is more here than meets the eye. Riggs begins with a description of his childhood in the metaphysical community, having been raised by a professional psychic reader. Here, the craft of the professionals is demystified and techniques are revealed. This may be a bit unsettling for those who long for the “magic”, but it is well worth having your eyes opened. In the ensuing chapters, Riggs presents a number of techniques which any of us might master, from reading body language to detect lies, to strengthening your mind, to improving your own memory using the “Mind Palace” device popularized through Sherlock Holmes.

What did I take away from this book? At first, while I found the material fascinating and could clearly see how these techniques could help improve observation and memory skills, particularly in law enforcement, I wasn’t certain how these skills would apply to me. After all, most of us are neither tarot readers nor FBI agents. In my favorite chapter “Deduction & Observational Powers”, Riggs alludes to the greater wisdom by quoting Krishnamurti: “learning is the very essence of humility”. Consider that for many of us, our attention is often directed inward or downward these days. How often do we observe people walking down the street texting, or even sitting with a group of friends while all are texting, oblivious to each other and the events transpiring around them?

What if we could revive the old skills of looking – really looking - at one another, and of being outside ourselves and tuned into the world of another? Apart from solving crimes, could we not develop our sensitivity and compassion this way (“intuition”)? As with anything, the learning comes in doing. Try it and see. After reading, you will find yourself beginning to observe and deduce just like Sherlock. Even without the Great Detective’s level of perfection, beginning to use these skills will make your interactions with others much more interesting. Besides, the book is just great fun, and who wouldn’t want to build their own Mind Palace?

[Luke Kuhns · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is not the first time a reviewer has gone back through and had a different opinion on something. Having done just that with this book I must adjust my review and apologies for getting it wrong the first time. Joe Riggs is not the real sherlock holmes. The Real Sherlock Holmes is an average book full of average details. There are other books that are more in-depth and worth your time. The book is more of an outline with some interesting facts and use Holmes's name just to sell. But truth be told the only reason the book is worth it is that the proceeds go to the Undershaw Preservation Trust. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't have got this book. As one of the other reviewers stated: the book is a con. Well, I think I agree with them.

[Charlotte Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fascinating book and would highly recommend it. You certainly do start to see the world differently after reading it and the memory techniques are very useful. Joe really knows his stuff, the section about reading body language and NLP were particularly interesting. His early life growing up with psychics must have been very unusual and I would like to have descovered more about this, especially the way he turned away from the community to become a mentalist. I do hope Joe considers a follow-up book about more of his personal experiences.

[Dean Turnbloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be an exciting insight, both into the world of the professional prognosticator/mentalist and into how I might better structure my own thoughts and observances. It was revealing as well as informative, and fun. I only wish it were longer so I could have learned more. Good going, Joe.

[Darrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and concise, Joe has extracted the essence of what it takes to become Sherlock in the flesh in this book. It did seem a little too general, in my opinion, and could do with more content. Nevertheless, a short and easy read, packed with a few useful tricks to-go.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to various forms of mentalism.

[Vani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things I learned from this book:

- How to memorize massive numbers
- How to build a memory palace
- 21 body language cues and signals
- Linguistic tells of lies
- Neuro-Linguistic Programming, especially eye-accessing cues

I took notes and aim to practice to improve my ability to remember and gain insight into people.

[Trix · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mostly plagiarized, poorly written pamphlet by a charlatan

[Boris Holman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should be standard reading for secondary education.

[Matt Cannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short book. I thought it was okay, and gave some good information, but too short and shallow to be useful for the average person. I am a Sherlock Holmes fan, which is the main reason it caught my attention. The description over promised and under delivered in my opinion. It really has little to do with Holmes other than a few references interspersed throughout.

[Haze · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a load of crap.

[Darlene Hull · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather fun book about different ways to develop mental acuity and debunks much of what passes for Psychic ability. Quick read, easy to understand, some basic tools are introduced.