Moonwalking with Einstein : the art and science of remembering everything

The first third of this book had me full-on hooked, but it went downhill from there. It's an interesting study, but I'm not sure I'd recommend this book to anyone who's actually looking to learn realistic memory improvement techniques.

I bought this book on the strength of its title, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It explains how deeply ingrained memory skills used to be in the education and learning processes, and attempts to explain why memory skills have essentially been expunged from curricula. Though the book's purpose is not to teach you those memory skills, it explains enough about them that you can follow along and improve your own ability to memorize.

The book also examines the "Memory Athlete" subculture, which seems to attract folks who would consider both memorization and Dungeons and Dragons as sports, and gives a peek at not only what it takes to become a memory champion, but also who'll you'll find if you ever get there (hint: it's not exactly pretty).

Recommended.