BOOKS

Juggling U. A Complete Course In Juggling. By Michael Bruneau, illustrated by Rocco Paris. Suspended Belief Books, soft­bound, $12.95. software program (IBM) JUGGLING 2.6 $15.00. available from Chasley, Seattle WA $2.00 shipping, both for $23.95

 

Oh goody, another "how to juggle" book. Just what we've been looking for. Yes, I approached Bruneau's book with a definite lack of excitement. But wait, what's this?! The language is good. The format is user-friendly. The illustrations are clever. OK, so the book doesn't lie flat as you're trying out the various instructions. Weight it down with your machetes since they are not mentioned (check the accurate and comprehensive index.) There's something to this book after all, so let's check it over a little more closely.

 

Many different props are discussed: balls, rings, clubs, cigar boxes, diabolo, devil stick and scarves. There are helpful hints about balancing, passing and performing. There is stuff I hadn't seen before... just like other books. Yes, but here we find a more inviting style and, for the most part, very clear and precise language. The illustrations relate very well to the text and, dear to my heart, are pretty punny. The experience and intelligence of the author come through nicely.

 

There are 13 pages of excellent, non-condescending and comprehensive instruction for the non-juggler, which should succeed in assisting her/him to become a competent three ball juggler. If you teach juggling, you should read this section. It's well worth a careful perusal, since even a brief study should improve your next foray into teaching.

 

The Mystery Juggling Company spent an afternoon browsing through the book and working through several of the sections. We had fun, we learned, and we had few complaints. We liked the vocabulary and the fresh thinking related to the diabolo and the devil stick. Fry's Freak, a three ball trick, proved to be a known combination, but following it through and exploring new avenues which appeared was enjoyable. Working out the "flat cascade" with seven balls was a funny experience. We felt a few more sentences added to the explanation would have made learning the pattern easier, but then we would have been deprived of the goofy variations we came up with.

 

The cigar box illustrations caused some minor confusion as each set of boxes was drawn differently than every other set. The instructions for Mill's Mess, the "holy grail" for many jugglers, just did not quite live up to the promise made in the text: "... with a little bit of patience, I can teach it to you here." Perhaps, since we all could already perform the trick, we were not ready to "learn it again."

 

I spent a few hours with the computer program which is a companion to the book. This esoteric piece, which represented ball patterns done by an invisible juggler, was interesting to observe. Previously reviewed (Spring 1992,) this updated version is probably of more interest to the dedicated hacker/juggler than to the person with little or no interest in computers. Bruneau promises to have a newer version, capable of 360 degree rotation around an axis, available within a year.

 

Both the book and the program are products of value. The book, in this reviewer's opinion, would be an especially nice addition to your library.

by Jackie Erichson