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Top positive review
16 people found this helpful
4.0 out of 5 starsCaution: This book can lead to compulsive memory training
Bydescarteson April 3, 2018
I bought this book after watching a youtube presentation by Joshua Foer regarding his research for the book. I read through this book impatiently, because the reason for buying it was to learn the memory techniques he described in his Youtube video. I found his accounts of the eccentric contestants in the US and world memory tournaments to be overly detailed. Nonetheless, his writing skill are strong.
I do wish to warn you that if you try out the book's memory techniques, practicing them can be addicting, as they must have been for the author. Within six weeks, I passed all three of the FCC Amateur Radio license tests. Once starting to practice memorizing the concepts and answers behind the large question pools (1,450), I couldn't stop. Now, having reined in my compulsiveness, I just use the techniques learned from this book to give presentations without using notes and to study for exams. So if you are at all manic when it comes to learning, you may find that this book will magnify those learning habits.
This book is excellent journalism rather than a memory technique book. He states that fact and points you towards actual memory technique books. I have purchased and read some of them. Those books do not compare with the motivational aspects of this book to actually try out memory techniques to see if they can enhance your life.
This book is a fun read and it may motivate you to learn something new - something that requires lots of memorization. Read it and go take a bar exam, like the one for US Tax Court.
I do wish to warn you that if you try out the book's memory techniques, practicing them can be addicting, as they must have been for the author. Within six weeks, I passed all three of the FCC Amateur Radio license tests. Once starting to practice memorizing the concepts and answers behind the large question pools (1,450), I couldn't stop. Now, having reined in my compulsiveness, I just use the techniques learned from this book to give presentations without using notes and to study for exams. So if you are at all manic when it comes to learning, you may find that this book will magnify those learning habits.
This book is excellent journalism rather than a memory technique book. He states that fact and points you towards actual memory technique books. I have purchased and read some of them. Those books do not compare with the motivational aspects of this book to actually try out memory techniques to see if they can enhance your life.
This book is a fun read and it may motivate you to learn something new - something that requires lots of memorization. Read it and go take a bar exam, like the one for US Tax Court.
Top critical review
9 people found this helpful
3.0 out of 5 starsFun Read but not a Palace Builder.
ByBigBangFannon September 27, 2017
I just finished Moonwalking with Einstein and found it to be an interesting story about a journalist's self congratulatory pursuit of memory athletics but very, very little on actual techniques. The best part (for me) was two pages on Deliberate Practice. If you want some history on memory competitions - fun read. If you want memory techniques - The Memory Book by Lorayne and Lucas is far superior.
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Bydescarteson April 3, 2018
I bought this book after watching a youtube presentation by Joshua Foer regarding his research for the book. I read through this book impatiently, because the reason for buying it was to learn the memory techniques he described in his Youtube video. I found his accounts of the eccentric contestants in the US and world memory tournaments to be overly detailed. Nonetheless, his writing skill are strong.
I do wish to warn you that if you try out the book's memory techniques, practicing them can be addicting, as they must have been for the author. Within six weeks, I passed all three of the FCC Amateur Radio license tests. Once starting to practice memorizing the concepts and answers behind the large question pools (1,450), I couldn't stop. Now, having reined in my compulsiveness, I just use the techniques learned from this book to give presentations without using notes and to study for exams. So if you are at all manic when it comes to learning, you may find that this book will magnify those learning habits.
This book is excellent journalism rather than a memory technique book. He states that fact and points you towards actual memory technique books. I have purchased and read some of them. Those books do not compare with the motivational aspects of this book to actually try out memory techniques to see if they can enhance your life.
This book is a fun read and it may motivate you to learn something new - something that requires lots of memorization. Read it and go take a bar exam, like the one for US Tax Court.
I do wish to warn you that if you try out the book's memory techniques, practicing them can be addicting, as they must have been for the author. Within six weeks, I passed all three of the FCC Amateur Radio license tests. Once starting to practice memorizing the concepts and answers behind the large question pools (1,450), I couldn't stop. Now, having reined in my compulsiveness, I just use the techniques learned from this book to give presentations without using notes and to study for exams. So if you are at all manic when it comes to learning, you may find that this book will magnify those learning habits.
This book is excellent journalism rather than a memory technique book. He states that fact and points you towards actual memory technique books. I have purchased and read some of them. Those books do not compare with the motivational aspects of this book to actually try out memory techniques to see if they can enhance your life.
This book is a fun read and it may motivate you to learn something new - something that requires lots of memorization. Read it and go take a bar exam, like the one for US Tax Court.
16 people found this helpful
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Bymonsterpixelon August 16, 2017
This is a great book. It's engaging and well-written. However, I bought it to learn the memory techniques, not so much for the anecdotes. But, the anecdotes are rich and provide an entertaining trail to go down through the book. You can learn some memory techniques here, but the author does not focus on them so I would not call this a step-by-step guide to improving your memory so much as it's a journalistic tome on the history and current event surrounding memory and subtopics therein. I do recommend the book just for the sheer entertainment of reading how people have done what they've done but as far as a guide goes, you have to get the tips throughout the stories. I would have preferred an upfront discussion of all techniques you can use to improve your memory and then the stories to follow. However, reading the stories the the author reports on and his conclusion regarding how he came to view these memory tools and techniques, I can understand why he went the direction he did with his book (which is a great one).
ByThe F7 Pawnon October 8, 2017
Entertaining, humorous, and surprisingly philosophical. Foer turned a seemingly insignificant brush with mnemonics into an investigation of its history and then, on a more personal level, into a passion that led him to become the US memory champion. From Greek antiquity, through the middle ages, and into the modern era, he charts the meaning and use of human memory. What you learn is surprising and thought-provoking as Foer plumbs the purposes of memory and the influences of reading, the written word, and the ubiquitous external memory devices (e.g, smartphones) we all use today. Aren’t these, after all, crutches for our frail cognitive abilities? Yes, and no, as Foer ably demonstrates. Along the way, we meet the colorful characters, self-promoters, savants, and geeks who populate this fascinating sphere of human activity. My only quibble is that Foer tantalizes us with memory techniques without delivering more details on the specifics of all aspects and applications of the technique. His memory palace is filled with mental images of a moonwalking Einstein (whence the title of the book), but the mechanics of how he associates these person-object-activity groupings with the number, card, or object they represent is beyond my limited creative capacity. Nevertheless, this is highly recommended.
ByTravis Robinsonon July 16, 2017
This book is an entertaining autobio. Foer meets some really interesting characters in his experiment with memory training and colors them as such in his writing. You won't want to put it down. He will teach you the basics of memory training, but unless you have strong interest they will seem too laborious to implement in your life. Interesting and unexpected, nonetheless.
ByBrianCOon April 4, 2018
While reading about such an esoteric competition seemed fruitless, the reality is the author understood what we remember is a function of our personhood. In the end our memories are all we have of the life we live. He shows that any person with diligence and effort can improve their memory significantly. My experience has been in the darker more chaotic moments of life it is the words from famous quotes or verses from the Bible that help me navigate those moments. It is the words I have in my memory are the ones I can count on in those times. This book gave me reason to believe I can memorize more than I think I can.
ByTalisa Swansonon August 10, 2016
I read through this book to prepare for my physical therapy program. As they seem to make you memorize a ton of information in school. Thought it was kind of helpful. The book goes through Foer's journey to get to a memory championship. Was hoping for more of a straight forward way to memorize many things quickly. Alas that will have to wait. This did give me a few ideas and ways to memorize more, but nothing to what I was hoping for. I bought this used for a good price and am not disappointing. Would recommend for a quick read if you have spare time. Would not recommend for prep to memorize things while I was in school. But reading the summer prior to my grad program was good.
ByMatt Bellon August 8, 2018
It's a good book... before reading it I had thought he was going to teach more strategies for "remembering everything." However, his conclusions were that he is still forgetful and it didn't change his day to day life much. He now knows how to MEMORIZE, not remember. The title is slightly misleading. Also, the book is much more of a walk-through of how he came to discover memorizing techniques, the people he met along the way, and his theories behind brain functions than of teaching you how to remember everything. I think it is worth reading but not what I had expected.
ByEarl A PHLon February 16, 2014
More than anything, this book has entertainment value. This is definitely a light read, but also gives great insights on the skill of memorization. The author was able to cover most general aspects of visual memorization and mind mapping and introduces the readers to the who's who of the field. He also gives some history and scientific anecdotes on the nature of memory. Admittedly, after reading the book, I was left a bit more unimpressed about the lifestyle that these super memorizers live. Talk about anticlimactic. They literally live and breathe memorization and I often find myself asking if it must take total obsession to quirky levels and "geekdom" habits to achieve a supreme memory. Memorizing the order of decks of cards and thousands of digits of the value of pi really are impressive feats, but we all know these activities are impractical and pointless, in some ways though these are evidences of how a person can train his mind to do things that are beyond his very own expectations. Joshua Foer's journey from being a curious journalist to an actual competitor and champion in the US memorization circuit is an incredible story that people can draw inspiration from. The human brain is indeed an incredible piece of equipment, now only if I can stop forgetting where I put my car keys every time.
ByJared H.on December 15, 2016
Who would've thunk a book about memory would be intriguing? This is not a book about how to improve memory, but a story about a writer who investigates memory competitors and his journey along with them. As interesting as a very good novel, but all true. And it did give me both hope and motivation. If he can do what he did with memory, I should be able to easily learn to remember names!
ByJuan Alvarezon June 10, 2014
The book is on par with Neil Strauss's "The Game," or any of Mary Roach's oeuvre, in terms of an interesting narrative through one person's journey to mastering a specific skill. In fact, structurally the "Moonwalking..." is almost identical to "The Game." It details how Foer became interested in his topic, how as a journalist, he wanted to write a story on the subject and then became obsessive about it. It is definitely interesting considering how potentially dry the material could be but really should not be categorized as a self-help book. As a result the book did pique my interest in furthering my knowledge regarding memory improvement.
However, I learned little on methods, or techniques on how to improve my own memory. Mostly it details how someone might remember lists of information cards, grocery lists, etc. What it lacks is exactly what I wanted to know: how to memorize large quantities of information on a specific topic, for example a language, mathematics, the law, or quotations from political science philosophers. Foer touches on this when he considers the difficulty of memorizing poetry but gives no solutions, the cornerstone of any self-help publication. As a result I am ordering 3 books on technique, and no, I cannot tell whether or not these will be any more succinct. If Foer continues using his techniques in the real world I would be interested to see any future work might be affected i.e. pulling the best examples into his writing from obscure facts and events.
However, I learned little on methods, or techniques on how to improve my own memory. Mostly it details how someone might remember lists of information cards, grocery lists, etc. What it lacks is exactly what I wanted to know: how to memorize large quantities of information on a specific topic, for example a language, mathematics, the law, or quotations from political science philosophers. Foer touches on this when he considers the difficulty of memorizing poetry but gives no solutions, the cornerstone of any self-help publication. As a result I am ordering 3 books on technique, and no, I cannot tell whether or not these will be any more succinct. If Foer continues using his techniques in the real world I would be interested to see any future work might be affected i.e. pulling the best examples into his writing from obscure facts and events.
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