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'Moonwalking with Einstein' by Joshua Foer - Book Review

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Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

Penguin Press
  • Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer was first published in March 2011
  • Publisher: Penguin Press
  • 320 Pages
Joshua Foer first attended the National Memory Championship as a journalist, and was intrigued by one of the mind athlete's claims that anyone could perform the amazing memory feats demonstrated there with a little practice. Foer trained for a year, and then returned to win the championship. Along the way, he studied how memory works and learned about how memory is connected to expertise in a variety of fields. The resulting book, Moonwalking with Einstein, is a fun read that might just challenge you to try some of the techniques.

Moonwalking with Einstein is the kind of book that can spark conversations. While reading it, I found myself saying to several people -- friends, my hair stylist, people I'd meet at a party -- how something they said reminded me of something from a book I was reading, and then I'd tell them an anecdote from Moonwalking with Einstein. One person actually wrote down the name of the book because she was so interested in the quick blurb I gave. Indeed, if you are interested in memory, how the brain works, or psychology, this book will appeal to you. It is a popular book, so it is not written by a scientist or doctor, and it doesn't go very deep. It does, however, skim several interesting topics in memory and brain science, and it does so through memorable anecdotes and an overarching story about the author's quest to win the National Memory Championship.

There are points when Foer's story dragged, and other times when I wished he would go deeper into the actual memory training strategies. This is not a self-help book, though. It is a story, and not a guide for improving memory. I read it slowly; it is not the kind of fiction page turner I usually read. I did, however, enjoy it. I'd recommend it, especially if you need some small talk topics for an upcoming party.

Want to explore the book more deeply? Check out these Moonwalking with Einstein Book Club Discussion Questions.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

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