Moonwalking with Einstein

The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

By: Joshua Foer

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, Joshua Foer's part-memoir, part-guide on mastering your memory. Read by Mike Chamberlain. On average, people squander forty days annually trying to remember things they’ve forgotten. Joshua Foer used to be one of those people. But after a year of training, he found himself in the finals of the U.S. Memory Championship. He also discovered a truth we too often forget: In every way, we are the sum of our memories. In Moonwalking with Einstein Foer draws on cutting-edge research, the cultural history of memory and the techniques of 'mental atheletes' to transform our understanding of human remembering. He learns the ancient methods used by Cicero and Medieval scholars.

He meets amnesiacs, neuroscientists and savants - including a man who claims to have memorized more than nine thousand books. In doing so, he reveals the hidden impact of memory on our lives, and shows how we can all dramatically improve our memories. At a time when electronic devices have all but rendered our individual memories obsolete, Foer's book is a quest to resurrect the gift we all possess, but that too often slips our minds.

©2011 Joshua Foer (P)2011 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A marvelous overview of one of the most essential aspects of what makes us human - our memory ... Witty and engaging." (Dan Ariely)

"Memory...makes us who we are...passionate and deeply engrossing ...The more we challenge ourselves, the greater our capacity. It's a fact that every teacher, parent and student would do well to learn. The lesson is unforgettable." ( Washington Post)

"Captivating ... Engaging ... Mr. Foer writes in these pages with fresh enthusiasm. His narrative is smart and funny." ( Michiko Kakutani New York Times)

The holy grail has been found

What did you love best about Moonwalking with Einstein?

A very well written book. Extremely useful and fascinating topic in an easy-to-digest format. I couldn't recommend more. I actually started applying the techniques I learned from this book in my medical studies and honestly feel like I've made enormous progress.

A stroll through a very interesting experiment

If you're looking for a quick guide to the secrets of memory techniques, this isn't it. Its not supposed to be.

Joshua extensively delves into the world of memory as a whole and has very neatly wrapped into the timeline of his experiment to improve his memory.

I feel he did a great job to expose what it really takes to get to where he was and demystified the topic quite well. There is enough info to start the practice of memory techniques but with the realisation that it's going to take effort to get good at it.

I enjoyed the book and Mike Chamberlain has a very informative and documentary like tone of voice which made it easy to breeze through the book.

Most informative and enjoyable

Brilliant combination of popular scientific communication, and storytelling. The focus is (luckily!) not so much on "how to improve your memory", but rather on a history of memory studies, the neuroanatomy of memory, etc. Highly recommended!

Door to a whole new world

What did you love best about Moonwalking with Einstein?

It provided specific hints and advice how to follow the author's path and use the same memory techniques, while it was also enjoyable to read due to the background story, the quoted historic material and also due to the interesting cases (savants, autistic people, persons with extraordinary memory, etc.).

Must read for High school students

This book is must read for all high school students.This book helps lists out various memory techniques which would be very helpful in school exams.