The Monographs - A comprehensive manual on all you need to know to become an expert Deductionist.

I'm only a few chapters into this book and already I'm a fan. I Am taking my time to read this information packed book as I am trying out the exercises as I go. Just like the author, I have a life long fascination for Sherlock Holmes.a nd his uncanny mental skills. I've watched numerous videos of the author, Ben Cardall, demonstrating that be has the same skillset as. Sherlock. I believe Ben when he tells me that if I faithfully follow his teachings, I too can develop the same skill set.no matter how long it takes me, I am committed to mastering the various skills so that one day,I too, will be a master deductionist. How cool is that?.

Absolutely epic. This is the book I've been waiting for. While there are already many books available out there about body language and reading facial expressions etc... I kept searching for one that would focus on some of the little deductive tid-bits that make sherlock holmes whole process more interesting. I didn't want another chapter telling me to 'learn to be mindful and pay attention'... I wanted specific examples i.e. this tattoo means this... this kind of fur on a persons jacket means they have this kind of dog etc. This book delivered that and more. The exercises are wonderful and practical. If there was one criticism of this book I would just suggest to the author that perhaps in the next printing to have clearly photos. The photos at times were difficult to make much use of but I suspect that was just the style of printing. Either way its five stars in my book.

I have the pleasure of speaking with Ben often. He is truly an amazing gentlemen. This book has it all, and in detail. Not in quick bits you need to research elsewhere ( though that never hurts.) After not even a day, I learned a method of memorizing that works for any items or numbers. More then 10 items at a time in any order. Not even a day. Facial expressions,tattoos, body language, clothin, and way more is in here. If he made a second volume, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

This is a 5 star book in a 4 star book’s body. The reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the book’s format, editing and pictures. The book format is poor, it does not have any chapter numbers and title headings. The quality of the pictures is poor, you can barely see the things that the author points out. The book does not have a biboligraphy or index. It does not list any sources or references. The author talks about studies but does not cite any specific ones to support his claims. The book’s editing is poor. There are typos throughout the book. The book is formatted in a block style, which makes it hard to read. At $22.95 the book is also priced high, consider the pictures are poor quality. All of the above publishing flaws, however, I blame on the publisher not the author. At times, I wanted to give up reading and throw the book down in frustration. But I never did. Why? Simply because the information that the author presents is outstanding. If you want to learn how to deduce people like Sherlock Holmes, then this is one of the best books you could get. The author goes into detail on how to use deduction (or reasoning backwards as he calls it) to draw inferences about people. He talks about body language and eye movement, like other books, but then he goes even further by focusing on specific things. For example, he has whole chapters on how to read tattoos, eyeglasses, creases, tan lines and many other things. Plus, he gives real life examples on how he did it. The information in this book is what you need to start you on the path to thinking like Sherlock Holmes. The author urges you to practice and use the memory palace technique to store all the unique facts you learn. Ben Cardall hit a homerun with this book. It could have been a grand slam if only MX Publishing had did its’ job.

This is a very good book in learning how to read people.

This book certainly needs no recommendation from me, as it’s done very well on its own already. I’m sure there have been other books that approach this type of subject before – using one’s observational skills to be able to determine things with certainty about another person. But what makes this book more useful, and infinitely more fun, is that it teaches one how to do this from a Sherlockian Baseline. Mr. Cardall, a professional magician and mentalist, recounts how he discovered the Sherlock Holmes Canon. At the beginning of the book, he explains how he was unofficially diagnosed with Ataraxia, thus explaining how he is unencumbered by typical emotions, allowing him to process information and make deductions with greater ease. This “super-power” has allowed Mr. Cardall to develop observational skills along the lines of Mr. Holmes, something that he continues to develop every day. The information in this book is too vast to boil down into a single review. The book, over 400 pages of it, is more than simple tricks or memory exercises. It relates psychological “tells”, motivations, and behaviors, representing many different aspects of deduction and memory. And then there are the practical parts as well – telling us what to make of different types of tattoos, scratches upon one’s hand, or accents and dialect. These are the very things that Mr. Holmes would have worked so hard to learn (or develop) on his own when he was first learning his craft in those long-ago Victorian days. Luckily, the rest of us now have this book, Mr. Cardall having done all the hard work for us. There are days when I feel like I’m on point, and that I can make some deductions about the person in front of me when I go to buy coffee – but I’m no Holmes. However, perhaps all of us can make our way a bit closer to that ideal state with Mr. Cardall’s help, because he’s writing from a position of already being much closer to the bar set by that best and wisest man, Sherlock Holmes. One side note: I do wish that the book had been better edited and formatted. While the information is very useful, sometimes the errors within – and one misspelled word on the cover as well – were distracting. Perhaps, if there is a future edition or a sequel, some additional work on polishing the finished product can be built into the process before it goes to press.

I really want to rate this badly to put people off but I couldn't do that to Ben. To be completely honest, this is the best book I have ever read. If you are looking to learn how to do what Sherlock Holmes does then this is the only book you need. Ben, if you don't know, is a Deductionist/Mentalist who uses his Sherlock-like abilities for entertainment as opposed to solving crimes. He is THE person to go to for anything about deduction. If you are looking for Sherlock Holmes' "the science of deduction" in book format then this is it. The first 30 pages give you a basic overview of what the book is about and is a great little insight into the workings of Ben's mind. The next 30 pages teach you what I think every school should teach, and that is how to remember. If you've ever given your self a headache by trying to remember to much information, then you need these techniques. Ben teaches how to memorise an incredible amount and with complete ease. He also teaches how to do clever little tricks with your memory like memorising a list of words or a randomly shuffled deck of cards. As far as I am aware, the techniques taught for memory are not new and are not original to Ben. However, these techniques need to be learnt to be able to remember the deductions that you can make from your observations. The other 350 pages are all about observation and deduction. This is probably why you are thinking of buying the book. It's an absolute goldmine of information. If you are a mentalist looking to add some real kicker revelations for a reading then this is the book for you. Ben talks about watches, wallets, tattoos, shoes, pets, mobiles and much much more. He talks about a lot of things to look for and what you can deduce from these objects. He also suggests use of imagination. For example, if you see a tell on an object that is not mentioned in the book, then just try to imagine what the meaning of this tell could be and what is the most likely deduction from this is. I can't recommend this book enough. If it were priced at £100 I'd still buy it. There are only two downsides to the book. The first is that it is full of editing or printing errors. The book is still completeley readable but occasionally the font will change or a letter will be underlined. At first I thought that the mistakes were some sort of code since Ben is Ben and it's the sort of thing he'd do. I've since sent him an email and he has said that the errors are just errors that managed to slip in while he was trying to find the right editor. So don't go spending hours trying to decipher what the L SEP character means. The other criticism with e book is that it is £15 and available to anyone to buy. I wish that only I had access to this book but alas not. In conclusion, this book is incredible. I believe that is will be the first of many books on the topic of intricate observation and deduction. Ben, you've done a brilliant job. Well Done!

The product quality is good, and the content is great. This is almost like an bible of modern deduction. What Ben Cardall did for everyone who wants to learn the science of deduction and become a deductionist is priceless. I just have to say that the pictures in the book have poor quality and that ruins the few exercises that the book proposes. I also think the author tries to give attention to too many subjects without getting to deep on them and I really think he should have went in more deep. I know he was trying to just cover the basics for all the aspects of deduction but the book would've been even better if the author covered more than the just the basics of so many important stuff - i know that would make the book super long but i think it was worth it. There's also some last problems for me: I really think the book should have some more exercises because deduction is not an easy art and good exercises and good practice can help a lot. Now this last one is not the author's fault but a considerable amount of the content regarding how to read certain people, certain types of clothes and etc don't work that well in lots of other countries and cultures. I'm from Brazil and some stuff he says just won't apply to people from my culture and country.

Really awesome book. Perfect book for enhancing your deductive skills

As others have mentioned, I believe the format of the book has greatly undermined its potential. All in all, reading it felt like having a beer with the author : I learned a lot of useful things on the go, but the facts were disorganized and sometimes incomplete, with frequent changes of topic even when the current subject wasn't fully explored. The book is very useful and motivating, but cannot be used later for reference because it lacks proper structure and systems for organizing knowledge. One week of work on this aspect could have made it a Sherlockian Bible, really.

Excellent livre. Il y a simplement certaines photographies qui auraient besoin d'avoir une meilleure résolution pour mieux expliquer les déductions.