Customer Reviews

The Great Memory Book

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Almost nothing can unsettle an aging baby boomer so much as the question, "Don't you remember? We discussed this last night." We did? "The Great Memory Book" is a wonderfully expressed, beautifully put-together primer on how memory works--and sometimes doesn't, and why. Everything's here: memory types and oddities, memory strategies, and the role of lifestyle on memory. There are journal exercises and brain games (great fun to do with the person who asked the foregoing annoying question), and fascinating case studies of extraordinary memory "experiences." This is an excellent interactive book; well-researched and written, informative and, in the end, ultimately reassuring to this reader, whose informed response to her questioner was, "If information is not deemed meaningful, it will not be stored in long-term memory."

This is one of the best introductions to understanding memory today. It is comprehensive in coverage, interesting, practical and informative. You get an easy digest of current brain studies on different kinds of memory, the relevance of diet and nutrients, the influence of lifestyle, stress and pollution. Two chapters are devoted to mnemonics and there are numerous tips and strategies for improving memory. The format of the book with numerous pictures and sketches is very helpful. Once you master the foundation and the interest is aroused, people can go on to delve more deeply into related areas, such as the more recent books by Rupert Sheldrake, or the applications of NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming), esp. the submodalities, in enhancing meaning-making, learning and memory... I highly recommend this book and Jensen's Brain-based Learning to anyone interested in tapping into the treasures of "the decade of the brain".