Penn & Teller's How to Play in Traffic

by Penn Jillette, Teller

Collects practical jokes, tricks, and anecdotes for the armchair magician, including the "eternal card trick," "tattoo of blood," and "off the cuff"

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Magic, Comedy, Memoir

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1997

About the author

Penn Fraser Jillette is an American comedian, illusionist, juggler and writer known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller.

Reviews

[Shannon]

Edit: Removed from "lulz" shelving, attempted lulz are not lulz-shelving actual-lulz-worthy. Sorry, I don't make the rules (Okay, yes I do).

I really wanted to review this to point out one morbidly amusing thing about this book: wow, Penn and Teller really didn't see 9/11 coming. I mean, no one did, buuut the last chapter in this book is about a prank to play in an airport (which they don't recommend you do and they admit they haven't done it either), involving having your laptop say it is going to detonate a bomb. The ironic part (keep in mind this book was published in 1997) is where they are like (and this is an exact quote):

"The United States of America does not have a problem with terrorism...we don't have a problem because, even with all those stupid checks, we still have a way lot of freedom. More than anyplace else. When you're in a country were you can say and do most anything you want, it's hard for a nut to rally other nuts to evil nuttiness...Add up all the terrorism that we've had in the United States over the past ten years. More people have been killed by family dogs...But in this country, we can stop terrorism with freedom. If you have enough freedom, you have very little terrorism..."

Um, nope. Sorry, Penn/Teller. You didn't call it. And, sorry to poop all over the lightheartedness of this book with talk of 9/11, I just thought it was interesting. And telling about how times have changed since 9/11. Do you think anyone (even Penn/Teller, in a comedic kinda book) would even tongue-in-cheek-ly suggest that laptop bomb prank? They admitted it was a great way to get yourself arrested, but I think these days they'd probably just take you out back and shoot you.

Anyway, regarding the entire rest of the book: I admit I skimmed parts of this rather than reading it word for word. That's only because the parts I did read were so irritatingly written, I couldn't stand it. I am a fan of Penn/Teller team, and I could tell this was old, based on the cover, so I was expecting some cheesyness. But damn. The writing is baaad. Like rambly, trying-too-hard-to-be-funny-and-therefore-failing-bad. I am a rambler, but this puts me to shame. This book is like a giant lead-in to a punchline that never happens. They disclaimer/ramble about everything, but at least they seem to kind of know it. Ie: (this isn't an exact quote, I can't find it) and one point they said something like "you can skip the bad writing and just read the confusing directions", in regards to an introduction in which they explained how to do a trick. That's the cool thing about this book, they explain a few tricks. They explain them in a very confusing manner, but it's learn-able. They are still tricks that are WAY too in depth for me to even want to contemplate doing, they require preparation which I am unwilling to do. But I am a girl and not a nerd, so I'm not exactly the stereotypical magician type.

[Linds]

This is a decent read for Penn & Teller fans. The level of tricks presented tended to fall in a "dad joke" range for me. Some of the tricks were simply beyond my capacity of appreciation and left me with a feeling of "why, just why?" I'm too old, too cynical, too female, or need to bear children.

That being said, there's amusing bits and certainly sections that made me laugh. The writing is a little iffy in spots, but when the topics get slightly more serious (there's a few discussions about freedom in entertainment and travel) the voice gets a lot stronger and more engaging.

To those interested in reading this, I would suggest a chapter-at-a-time approach to keep everything lively and fun.

[Amy]

This book was neat - a good blend of stories from the road with magic tricks you can do ON the road for friends, co-workers, etc. with supplies easily found on the road. It suffers a bit in that it was written in the late 90s so many of the references to technology seem dated and some of the tricks would actually be MUCH easier with today's technology (the photo editing tricks stand out as particularly ripe).

Since magicians don't often share their secrets, I wasn't expecting any "big reveals" in here but it was interesting to get inside the mind of magicians - how they craft their tricks, the story-telling they build around a trick (or the development OF a trick to serve the plot line of a good story) and just some of the general good-natured chicanery behind figuring out how to fool someone to their amusement (as opposed to their annoyance).

I definitely enjoyed Teller's chapters better as he is, for my money, the more clever and elegant writer. It's easy to discern the difference in writing styles - this might bother some but I enjoyed it because on stage they each have a particular character/presence/voice and that came through in the book. I liked that it seemed like each of them "owned" the telling of the various stories. Penn's chapters are good, he's a better writer than most but Teller's chapters just have a certain kind of ... well ... magic all their own.

[Jeff Yoak]

I can't believe I let this one sit around so long without reading it. It was a perfect, lighthearted look at magic, pranks and a mischievousness for traveling during my vacation to Florida with the kids.

[Amarand Agasi]

Somewhat dated material, would love to see a current edition released.

I find myself wondering if the card set-up in the cemetery is really still there after all this time.

A fun, and funny, book. Although I’m not likely to do any of the things in this book, it’s fun to learn about how others might enjoy playing these pranks.

One cool thing: the soda can carbonation trick actually works if you follow the directions. Shocking!

[Benjamin Barnes]

I Loved this Book full of Funny Magic Tricks,Great Stories ,and Wonderful Gags. I Love Penn and Teller such Great Guys!

[Douglas]

A pleasant diversion. And an interesting look at how much prep a good magic trick needs.

[Emy Shallow]

My favorite current book, highly recommend

[Ken]

Some chapters were better than others, but overall a good read. After reading the chapter on NASA and watching a live shuttle launch, if and when NASA starts launching the next generation of shuttles, I have to knock seeing a live launch off of my bucket list. I also really enjoyed the chapter on the "blood tattoo", it's actually the only type of tattoo I'd consider getting for the same reasons described in the book.

[Deodand]

Of course I mean "shitheads" in a good way because this is a book of things to do to mess with your friends. It also has many amusing anecdotes from Penn's & Teller's lives in show biz. I was introduced to these two by Games magazine as a child, and I still have a soft spot for them.

[Bjorn]

I like magic and I like Penn and Teller. Great book for anyone with the same interests. There are some very funny magic tricks in this book. Presentation and commentary on magic tricks is the best I've read.

[Angela]

I like their Food book better, but this was still entertaining. Nothing I am ever going to try, but most of the tricks are relatively harmless ( if you take out the one that WOULD at least get you arrested, if not sent to Get-mo in this post 9/11 age)

[Oyceter]

http://oyceter.livejournal.com/517142...

[Jeremy]

the best kind of information.

[Dan]

Just fun.

[Byron Wright]

Mildly amusing but not terribly entertaining. I really like Penn and Teller as an act. Not so much for books.

[Donald Loeffler]

Not bad, but "Penn and Teller's How to Play with Your Food" and "Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends" are better choices.

[Kaethe]

I gave this to the Spouse; he's as big a Penn & Teller fan as I am.