Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a notoriously bad memory. My son's piano
teacher has taken to calling to remind me about his weekly lessons, just as I
have taken to writing "PIANO" on my hand in purple marker when I remember it's
Monday, the day of his piano lessons. Which is why a book that promised to
teach me how to to remember things caught my interest!

Let me start by saying that the book does deliver what it promises. Unlike several
of the other books I've recently picked up on polishing my memory skills, Joshua
Foer does so in a pleasant, narrative style, so I learned how to memorize without
actually getting that "back-to-school" classroom feeling. His book starts with the
story of Simonides, the Greek poet who came up with the concept of the memory
palace, which leads to the memory trick of placing things you need to remember
in the rooms of a place you know well, like your mom's home. Again, by telling a
story about the man and not just listing a name in textbook fashion, the story and
concept itself sticks in my mind. Good job, Foer! He goes on to detail methods
other people have developed over the ages to remember, some successfully,
others not.

While I like the other point of the book - that journalist Joshua can, with a few
simple tricks and a few hours of practice, go into the national memory
championships and do an award-winning job - my husband did not. He thought
that it ruined the effect of the book. But just as I liked Oliver Sacks' books on how
he discovered chemistry as a child and thus went into medicine, I like learning
how this author turned the tips he gets from a few drinking buddies (who happen
to be memory champions) and puts them to the test.

Is it the best book on memory every written? Probably not. But is it the most
entertaining? Undoubtedly. I would recommend this book to anyone with an
interest in improving their ability to remember "To Do" or grocery lists, or to
students who just want a better way to whip their minds into shape for academic
success. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's journey into the world of the memory
champions, as well as his discussion of the history and purpose of memory itself.
His glances into the lives of those who remember too much or not enough is also
fascinating. This book is so good I had to buy one for myself, and while I did not
memorize it, it is filled with dog-eared pages and yellow highlighting. And no, I
haven't missed a piano lesson since I bought it!

Submitted by Gertie