Moonwalking with Einstein

While researching an article on the USA Memory Championships, Joshua Foer was equally dubious and intrigued by one contestant's claim that even an average memory like Foer's, "if used properly," could win the event. And, after a year of memory training, he found himself in the finals of that same championship. Under the tutelage of "mental athletes," Foer learns ancient techniques once employed by Cicero to memorize his speeches and by medieval scholars to memorize entire books. Moonwalking with Einstein draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising history of memory, and venerable tricks of the mentalist's trade to transform our understanding of remembering. Through his extraordinary odyssey, we acquire a profound appreciation of a gift we all possess but that often slips our minds.