I am always so encouraged by Lai's passion, but sometimes I also panic when he willing to throw in a HUGE investment so quickly! :!!:
Dude, here's a MUCH cheaper version of Tarbell course.
http://www.lybrary.com/tarbell-course-p-34.htmlThe whole thing in a CD Rom, for almost 1/10th of the price you were going to pay for the printed version. The great part to having it on CD Rom is you can use a text search function to find specific stuff.
^_^ It's ok, you are welcome. You can buy me dinner next time. B)
And this website is perfectly legit. It's NOT piracy. They only sell copyright released books (i.e. books older than 50 years), or books specially granted permission for release in softcopy format (e.g. Card College).
Of course, this means you cannot carry it to read in a bus, but with the size of this monster, you wouldn't bring the book onto a bus either.
And yes, Tarbell course is one of the highest recommended books on magic. Many pros still refer to it for "new" material.
And remember to check in MMF before you make any big purchases! ^_^
May I recommend Books of Wonder too? B)