Memory Bible, The: An Innovative Strategy For Keeping Your Brain Young (Paperback)

by Gary Small (Author) "Imagine struggling your way out the glass doors of a crowded mall in late December, loaded with shopping bags, packages, and presents..." (more)
Key Phrases: mental aerobics program, mild memory complaints, brain fitness, Left-Brain Exercise, Right-Brain Exercise, Whole-Brain Exercise (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Nonfiction NotesGrowing OlderAnyone who has ever forgotten their purse, wallet or cell phone and remembered it while stuck in traffic, or struggled to remember the name of a movie they just saw or a person they just met will find help in The Memory Bible: An Innovative Strategy for Keeping Your Brain Young. Neuroscientist Gary Small says that middle-aged people need to realize that they are "all one day closer to Alzheimer's disease." He gives prescriptive tips for "brain fitness," among them: minimize stress, do puzzles and brainteasers even eat antioxidant fruits and vegetables like prunes and blueberries.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
Aging baby boomers are becoming acutely aware of their own memory lapses. Is each case incipient Alzheimer's or just a benign "senior moment"? The increase in age-related memory impairment has produced a host of new books on preventing (or slowing) memory loss based on the latest scientific knowledge of brain and memory. In Saving Your Brain, Victoroff, director of the neurobehavioral program at Ranchos Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, challenges the theory that Alzheimer's and similar memory disorders are abnormal responses to aging. Instead, he proposes that age-related memory loss may actually be a natural part of aging. Drawing on his clinical experiences and reviews of some 14,000 research studies, his fascinating treatise explores the evolution and function of the human brain and the many things that can damage the delicate balances that enable us to think and function. The author suggests numerous changes that can prevent memory loss and improve brain function: avoiding even minor head injuries and exposure to chemicals (including pesticides and aluminum in drinking water), increasing physical activity, eating a low-fat diet, and keeping mentally sharp with lifelong learning and other mentally challenging activities while avoiding the mind-numbing effects of television. In The Memory Bible, neuroscientist Small, director of UCLA's Memory Clinic and Center on Aging and the author of Parentcare, has compiled an amusing and informative array of self-tests, puzzles, quizzes, and other techniques to enhance memory performance. He also draws upon current scientific advancements in memory and recommends brain-saving lifestyle changes similar to Victoroff's. Small's approach is entertaining yet practical, and the numerous case histories are appealing, but some of his memory-enhancing techniques (like the "peg method" for remembering numerical sequences) seem too cumbersome to be useful. Both titles deserve a place in aging and self-help collections along with Guy McKann and Marilyn Albert's Keep Your Brain Young, which explores the relationship between brain health and physical well-being in later years. Karen McNally Bensing, Benjamin Rose Lib., Cleveland
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (September 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786887117
• ISBN-13: 978-0786887118
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,971 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #10 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Personal Health > Stress > Memory Improvement
  #17 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > By Topic > Memory
  #48 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Memory Improvement

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

166 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Innovative Strategy for Keeping Your Brain Young", July 8, 2002

By	M KIRK-DUGGAN "Reverse Mike" (El Cerrito Fellowship, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Memory Bible, The: An Innovative Strategy For Keeping Your Brain Young (Hardcover)

I was diagnosed with Alzheimer's [ALZ] in June, 2001. [See my review of Shenk, "The Forgetting Alzheimer's . ." on Amazon for further details.]
Unlike Shenk, this book is not directed to those of us with diagnosed ALZ, but rather to a broader spectrum of those who realize they have a failing memory, and wish to take steps to buttress and strengthen these facilities. I cannot comment directly on the effectiveness of the LOOK, SNAP, & CONNECT exercise for myself as my ALZ is a progressive regressive disease, with no plateau in prospect.
However, for those who fear that their memory loss is a precursor to ALZ, this book is a godsend. If you can strenghten your memory retention and recall by following the exercises, then you are NOT likely to have diagnosible ALZ.
For those of us with ALZ, this book is a treasure-trove of valuable information, such as the Glossaary, the pharmaceuticals used to deal with ALZ, and the Resources. Chapter 9: "Wise Up About Medicines" was particularly valuable. The subjective and objective tests in Chapter 2 were quite informative to me, a retired University Professor with a Mensa IQ, pre-ALZ, with apparent rapid onset at age 70+!
A very small caveat, Small, who developed the protocols for Aricept [Donepezil] waxes too enthusiastic for the amyloid vaccine which has been, perhaps temorarily, withdrawn from its human trial due to unexpected brain inflamations. The Index is mostly useless, perhaps due to an ignorant publisher: although Small mentions Shenk in the text, neither "The Forgetting" nor Shenk are found in the index nor the Bibliography.
I have already recommended "The Memory Bible" to friends who are worried about their deteriorating memory skills, and they report substantial benefits from LOOK, SNAP, AND CONNECT. [For the record, I scored an 88 on the Subjective Evaluation, and 10% on the Objective Measures. Sigh!]
"Reverse Mike" is the name on my "Safe Return" bracelet. (:<))

67 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for People of All Ages, June 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Memory Bible, The: An Innovative Strategy For Keeping Your Brain Young (Hardcover)

The Memory Bible is just what the doctor ordered -- Dr. Gary Small, that is. It should be required reading for anyone over 25 who doesn't want to buy into the myth that memory loss is an inevitable consequence of aging. I like that he begins with a simple memory assessment that lets you focus a program of memory training that fits your needs and lifestyle. He gives practical tips on what you can do to improve your memory now, ranging from a healthy-brain diet to mental aerobics and simple stress-reduction techniques. Dr. Small's fascinating research on early detection of brain aging gives us hope that new discoveries to stave off memory loss and Alzheimer's disease are just around the corner. The sooner we read The Memory Bible and start Small's memory fitness program, the better, because it's a whole lot easier to prevent brain cell damage than reverse it. The book is fun to read and has interesting stories and case studies.

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Self-Help Book That Actually Helps, July 6, 2002

By	Donald Seigel (BEVERLY HILLS, Ca. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Memory Bible, The: An Innovative Strategy For Keeping Your Brain Young (Hardcover)

It's about time! After a string of disappointments from the the self-help section of my local bookstore I've finally found an exception: a book that actually helps. "The Memory Bible" from Dr. Gary Small delivers exactly what it promises: "a strategy to keep your brain young." Dr. Small deftly reduces a lifetime of esoteric research into a straight-ahead, easily-understood, entertaining book that explains the process of how the brain ages and what we can do to slow it down. Unlike most frivolous theories we have grown to expect from self-help books, Dr. Small's offering is rooted firmly in scientific fact and data. This is an educating and enjoyable read that speaks equally to both result-oriented and process-oriented people while delivering that one intangible that ironically we have come not to expect from books of it's kind: Help.