Person
Every book Apollo Robbins recommended on podcasts
Apollo Robbins’s most recommended books
- Deception in the Digital Age by Cameron H. Malin
- Magic by Misdirection by Dariel Fitzkee
- Modern Coin Magic by J B Bobo
- Showmanship for Magicians by Dariel Fitzkee
- The American Confidence Man by David W. Maurer
- The Big Con by David Maurer
- The Illusion Of Life by Frank Thomas
- The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher and Simons, Daniel. Chabris
- The Trick Brain by Dariel Fitzkee
Apollo Robbins is known as the world's most famous pickpocket. During an appearance on The Tim Ferriss Show, Robbins discussed several key books that influenced his performance style, understanding of psychology, and craft. He recalled that Ben Stone introduced him to magic literature in his younger days, including Dariel Fitzkee's Magic by Misdirection, which explores the psychology of magic, alongside Fitzkee's other works The Trick Brain and Showmanship for Magicians. Robbins also mentioned J.B. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic as an important foundational text from his early years in the craft. To explain performance and perceptual concepts, he brought up Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's The Illusion of Life, showing how animation principles shaped his physical style. Discussing inattentional and task blindness, Robbins referenced Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris's The Invisible Gorilla, where readers watch basketballs being passed. Furthermore, he discussed David W. Maurer's The American Confidence Man, which explores the language and culture of thieves, and mentioned Deception in the Digital Age by his friend and former FBI agent Cameron H. Malin as a work he frequently reads.
Books recommended by Apollo Robbins
-
Deception in the Digital Age
Discussed“A friend of mine wrote a book called Deception in the Digital Age, and he was with the FBI. His name is Cameron Malin.”
Where to get it
-
Magic by Misdirection
Discussed“And so I picked up one of the books, and it's called Magic by Misdirection on the psychology of magic.”
Where to get it
-
Showmanship for Magicians
Discussed“And he says, 'Well, he wrote two other books, The Trick Brain and Showmanship for Magicians.'”
Where to get it
-
The American Confidence Man
Discussed“He wrote two books. He wrote The American Confidence Man, which later became Big Con.”
Where to get it
-
The Big Con
The Big Con by David Maurer is a classic sociological and historical study detailing the techniques, language, and culture of confidence men and professional grifters.
Discussed“He wrote two books. He wrote The American Confidence Man, which later became Big Con.”
Where to get it
-
The Illusion Of Life
Discussed“Animation, there was a great book called The Illusion of Life by Disney's — what do you call them?”
Where to get it
-
The Invisible Gorilla
Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons's book examines the limits of human perception and attention through classic psychological experiments.
Discussed“Dan Simons and Chris Chabris was his partner. They did a book called Invisible Gorilla where you watch a basketball being passed”
Where to get it
-
The Trick Brain
Discussed“And he says, 'Well, he wrote two other books, The Trick Brain and Showmanship for Magicians.'”
Where to get it
