Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Joshua Foer

Penguin, Mar 3, 2011 - Science - 320 pages

“Highly entertaining.” —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker

“Funny, curious, erudite, and full of useful details about ancient techniques of training memory.” —The Boston Globe

The blockbuster phenomenon that charts an amazing journey of the mind while revolutionizing our concept of memory

An instant bestseller that is poised to become a classic, Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory under the tutelage of top "mental athletes." He draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of remembering, and venerable tricks of the mentalist's trade to transform our understanding of human memory. From the United States Memory Championship to deep within the author's own mind, this is an electrifying work of journalism that reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - ByronDB - LibraryThing

I read this at the same time I was reading "Wolf Hall", the story of Henry VIII's adviser Thomas Cromwell. Relevance: in the novel, Cromwell relied on many of the classical mnemonic systems that Foer describes here. Excellent.

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - jlford3 - LibraryThing

Good for a background on memory training and theory. He refers to other texts like Ericsson's Peak about expertise, as well as the history of memory training in ancient Greece and in cultures which ...

About the author

Joshua Foer was born in Washington, DC in 1982 and lives in New Haven, CT with his wife Dinah. His writing has appeared in National Geographic, Esquire, Slate, Outside, the New York Times, and other publications. He is the co-founder of the Atlas Obscura, an online guide to the world’s wonders and curiosities. He is also the co-founder of the architectural design competition, Sukkah City. Moonwalking with Einstein is his first book.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
• Author: Joshua Foer
• Publisher: Penguin, 2011
• ISBN: 1101475978, 9781101475973
• Length: 320 pages
• Subjects: Psychology / Applied Psychology; Science / Life Sciences / Neuroscience; Self-Help / Personal Growth / Memory Improvement