He met with medical specialists, researched the available literature and developed the Dave Elman Course in Clinical Hypnosis. He was forty-nine years old when he made the decision to change his profession and become an authority in the teaching of hypnosis. As a young man, Elman worked briefly as a stage hypnotist, and it was during this period that he developed the rapid induction techniques that made his later teaching demonstrations so extraordinary! In the ensuing years, Elman became a successful writer, director and producer of network radio programs, and taught these subjects at Columbia University. Dave Elman never forgot that his father was given relief by a stage hypnotist after the doctors had said there was no way to relieve his suffering. Little Dave was permitted to visit and play with his Dad. In just a few minutes of hypnotic treatment the moaning and groan- ing was silenced and the pain was relieved. A famous stage hypnotist learned of the situation, and came to visit. When he was eight years old, Dave saw his father wracked with the pain of terminal cancer. I knew immediately that Dave Elman had "THE FEVER!" "The Fever" is a term I use to describe a quality of excitement that ripens into an intense dedication and a lasting devotion to the use of hypnosis as a major treatment modality. Just a few minutes of listening had an electrifying effect upon me. Then I heard Dave Elman at work! In August, 1956, shortly after I opened the Hypnotism Training Institute in Los Angeles, one of my students loaned me a tape recording of one of Elman's Classes for physicians. Often, I felt that many of the experts focused their efforts on theoretic and analytic teaching and virtually ignored the techniques and underlying principles that enable the practitioner to quickly develop his skill in using hypnosis easily. Introduction During my career as a hypnotherapist and teacher of clinical hypnosis, I have listened to and observed many of the most distinguished experts in the field of hypnosis.