Thirteen Steps to Mentalism is a book on mentalism

Mentalism

Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...

 by Tony Corinda

Tony Corinda

Tony Corinda was an English mentalist, magic dealer, magic inventor and businessman who wrote the book Thirteen Steps To Mentalism. Corinda did not make his birthdate or birthplace public, but his birth year is believed to be about 1931....

. It was originally published as thirteen smaller booklets as a course in mentalism

Mentalism

Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...

, and was later, in 1961, republished as a book. The book quickly became famous and is now considered to be a classical text on mentalism

Mentalism

Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...

.

The volume describes various techniques used by mentalists to achieve what appear to be psychic phenomena such as telepathy

Telepathy

Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...

, precognition

Precognition

In parapsychology, precognition , also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics...

, extra-sensory perception

Extra-sensory perception

Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...

, telekinesis and the ability to communicate with the dead as a medium.

The book has detailed information regarding cold reading

Cold reading

Cold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, illusionists, and con artists to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do...

, hot reading

Hot reading

Hot reading is the use of foreknowledge when giving a psychic reading in stage magic performances, or in other contexts. The reader can gain information about the person receiving the reading through a variety of means, such as background research or overhearing a conversation...

, the construction and use of such devices as the swami gimmick

Swami gimmick

A swami gimmick is a prop used in magic and mentalism. It enables its user to create the illusion of knowing something in advance under impossible conditions , or of being able to read the thoughts of another person ....

, billets

Billet reading

Billet reading is a mentalist effect in which a performer pretends to read messages sealed inside envelopes by clairvoyance. Although billet reading is accomplished by a simple trick, the effect can give the impression of mind reading. Billet reading is usually performed as an entertaining parlor...

, and billet pens.

Together with Annemann

Theodore Annemann

Theodore 'Theo' Annemann born Theodore John Squires was an American professional magician who specialized in the field of mentalism...

's Practical Mental Effects and T.A. Waters' Mind, Myth and Magic, it is considered standard literature for any magician

Magic (illusion)

Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...

, mentalist, or student of stage magic who wishes to incorporate psychic entertainment into his routine. Mentalists such as Derren Brown

Derren Brown

Derren Victor Brown is a British illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions and British television series such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat...

, Larry Becker, Lee Earle, Richard Osterlind

Richard Osterlind

Richard Osterlind is a mentalist who has been performing for major corporations for more than 35 years. He has appeared at the Sheraton Great Wall in Beijing, the Hotel De Paris in Monte Carlo, the Casa De Campo in the Dominican Republic and many other luxury resorts around the world...

and Banachek

Banachek

Banachek is an American mentalist. Banachek has written books on mentalism, such as Psychological Subtleties, and invented various magic and mentalism effects, including the Penn & Teller bullet catch and the original "buried alive." Banachek is also the Director of the James Randi Educational...

have relied upon Thirteen Steps To Mentalism for their own mental illusions.