Moonwalking with Einstein
The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
1st Edition
Published on 7. April 2011
320 pages
978-0-14-195227-7 (ISBN)
Description
'Be prepared to be amazed' Guardian
Can anyone get a perfect memory?
Joshua Foer used to be like most of us, forgetting phone numbers and mislaying keys. Then he learnt the art of memory training, and a year later found himself in the finals of the US Memory Championship. He also discovered a truth we often forget: that, even in an age of technology, memory is the key to everything we are.
In Moonwalking with Einstein he takes us on an astonishing journey through the mind, from ancient 'memory palace' techniques to neuroscience, from the man who can recall nine thousand books to another who constantly forgets who he is. In doing so, Foer shows how we can all improve our memories.
'Captivating ... engaging ... smart and funny' The New York Times
'Delightful ... uplifting ... it shows that our minds can do extraordinary things' Wall Street Journal
'Great fun ... a book worth remembering' Independent
'A lovely exploration of the ways that we preserve our lives and our world in the golden amber of human memory' New Scientist
Can anyone get a perfect memory?
Joshua Foer used to be like most of us, forgetting phone numbers and mislaying keys. Then he learnt the art of memory training, and a year later found himself in the finals of the US Memory Championship. He also discovered a truth we often forget: that, even in an age of technology, memory is the key to everything we are.
In Moonwalking with Einstein he takes us on an astonishing journey through the mind, from ancient 'memory palace' techniques to neuroscience, from the man who can recall nine thousand books to another who constantly forgets who he is. In doing so, Foer shows how we can all improve our memories.
'Captivating ... engaging ... smart and funny' The New York Times
'Delightful ... uplifting ... it shows that our minds can do extraordinary things' Wall Street Journal
'Great fun ... a book worth remembering' Independent
'A lovely exploration of the ways that we preserve our lives and our world in the golden amber of human memory' New Scientist
Reviews / Votes
In this marvellous book, Joshua Foer invents a new genre of non-fiction. This is a work of science journalism wrapped around an adventure story, a bildungsroman fused to a vivid investigation of human memory. If you want to understand how we remember, and how we can all learn to remember better, then read this book -- Jonah Lehrer A marvelous overview of one of the most essential aspects of what makes us human - our memory ... Witty and engaging -- Dan Ariely Captivating ... Engaging ... Mr. Foer writes in these pages with fresh enthusiasm. His narrative is smart and funny and, like the work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, it's informed by a humanism that enables its author to place the mysteries of the brain within a larger philosophical and cultural context. -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times * [An] endearingly geeky world...witty and revelatory...[The] journey certainly demonstrates how much memory matters...Apart from anything else, filling up our mental storehouses in the right way can make life feel longer. -- Oliver Burkeman * Guardian * Riotous...[Foer] makes suspenseful an event [the World Memory Championships] animated mostly by the participants' "dramatic temple massaging". By book's end Foer can boast the ability to memorise the order of nine and one half decks of cards in an hour. Yet he still loses track of where he left his car keys, like the rest of us. -- Alexandra Horowitz * New York Times * One year, Joshua Foer is covering the US Memory Championships as a freelance journalist, the next he returns as a competitor - and wins it...How he pulled off this extraordinary feat forms the spine of this crisply entertaining book. -- Matt Rudd * Sunday Times * Combines erudite analysis, historical context, a mind-bending adventure and extremely suggestive sex - some of it involving Foer's grandmother. -- Tony Allen-Mills * Sunday Times * A labyrinthine personal journey that explains how our author ended up in the finals of the US Memory Championship - a compelling story arc from sceptical journalist to dedicated participant. I can't remember when I last found a science book so intriguing. -- David Profumo * Literary Review * [D]elightful...empathetic, thought-provoking and...memorable. -- Elizabeth Pisani * Prospect * [A] charming book...interwoven with informed exposition about the psychological science of memory. -- Professor Larry R Squire * Nature *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
2,08 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-14-195227-7 (9780141952277)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
02/2012
Penguin Books Ltd
€14.50
Available immediately
Person
Joshua Foer was born in 1982. He studied evolutionary biology at Yale University and is now a freelance science journalist., writing for the National Geographic and New York Times among others. Researching an article on the U.S. Memory Championships, Foer became intrigued by the potential of his own memory. After just one year of training and learning about the art and science of memory, he won the following year's Championship. Foer is the founder of the Athanasius Kircher Society, an organization dedicated to 'all things wondrous, curious and esoteric' and the Atlas Obscura, an online travel guide to the world's oddities. Moonwalking with Einstein is his first book.
