Moonwalking with einstein

“Highly entertaining.” —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker “Funny, curious, erudite, and full of useful details about ancient techniques of training memory.” — The Boston Globe The blockbuster phenomenon that charts an amazing journey of the mind while revolutionizing our concept of memory An instant bestseller that is poised to become a classic, Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory under the tutelage of top "mental athletes." He draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of remembering, and venerable tricks of the mentalist's trade to transform our understanding of human memory. From the United States Memory Championship to deep within the author's own mind, this is an electrifying work of journalism that reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories. mikehawk42069blazeit , 03/25/2011 Incredible Firts book review for me too. Its an amazing concept. I thought it was just going to be a book that would help me memorize stuff. Its far deeper than that training. Its about humans at the start and where we might end up. Its tough to take a break. Great read and the writing is incredible. Great job Josh!

Joshua Foer was born in Washington, DC in 1982 and lives in Brookline, MA. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, National Geographic, Esquire, Slate, Outside, the New York Times, and other publications. Josh is the co-founder of the online guide to the world’s wonders & curiosities, Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders. He is also the co-founder of the non-profit Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory under the tutelage of top "mental athletes." He draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of remembering, and venerable tricks of the mentalist's trade to transform our understanding of human memory. From the United States Memory Championship to deep within the author's own mind, Moonwalking with Einstein reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories. “His passionate and deeply engrossing book…is a resounding tribute to the muscularity of the mind… In the end, Moonwalking with Einstein reminds us that though brain science is a wild frontier and the mechanics of memory little understood, our minds are capable of epic achievements.” Maria Arana, The Washington Post “It’s delightful to travel with him on this unlikely journey, and his entertaining treatment of memory as both sport and science is spot on…Moonwalking with Einstein proves uplifting: It shows that with motivation, focus and a few clever tricks, our minds can do rather extraordinary things...

The blockbuster phenomenon that charts an amazing journey of the mind while revolutionizing our concept of memory An instant bestseller that is poised to become a classic, Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory under the tutelage of top "mental athletes." He draws on cutting-edge research, a surprising cultural history of remembering, and venerable tricks of the mentalist's trade to transform our understanding of human memory. From the United States Memory Championship to deep within the author's own mind, this is an electrifying work of journalism that reminds us that, in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories. Personal life Foer is the younger brother of New Republic editor Franklin Foer and novelist Jonathan Safran Foer. He is the son of Esther Foer, president of a public relations firm, and Albert Foer, a think-tank president. He was born in Washington, D.C. and attended Georgetown Day School. He then went on to graduate from Yale University, where he lived in Silliman College, in 2004. Foer is married to Dinah Herlands, a medical student at Yale, whom he met while an undergraduate at Yale. Career Foer sold his first book, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, to Penguin for publication in March 2011. He received a $1.2 million advance for the concept when he was just 22 plus a movie option. In 2006, Foer won the U.S.A. Memory Championship "speed cards" event by memorizin...

First, can you explain the title of your book, MOONWALKING WITH EINSTEIN? The title refers to a memory device I used in the US Memory Championship–specifically it’s a mnemonic that helped me memorize a deck of playing cards. Moonwalking with Einstein works as a mnemonic because it’s such a goofy image. Things that are weird or colorful are the most memorable. If you try to picture Albert Einstein sliding backwards across a dance floor wearing penny loafers and a diamond glove, that’s pretty much unforgettable. What are the U.S. Memory Championships? How did you become involved? The U.S. Memory Championship is a rather bizarre contest held each spring in New York City, in which people get together to see who can remember the most names of strangers, the most lines of poetry, the most random digits. I went to the event as a science journalist, to cover what I assumed would be the Super Bowl of savants. But when I talked to the competitors, they told me something really interesting. They weren’t savants. And they didn’t have photographic memories. Rather, they’d trained their memories using ancient techniques. They said anyone could do it. I was skeptical. Frankly, I didn’t believe them. I said, well, if anyone can do it, could you teach me? A guy named Ed Cooke, who has one of the best trained memories in the world, took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew about memory techniques. A year later I came back to the contest, this time to try and compete, as a sort...

Memory Champs? They're Just Like The Rest Of Us Journalist Joshua Foer set out to write about mental athletes — and ended up becoming one himself. At his prime, Foer could memorize the order of a shuffled deck of playing cards in 1 minute and 40 seconds. These days, he has trouble remembering where he put his keys. Moonwalking with Einstein By Joshua Foer Hardcover, 320 pages The Penguin Press List Price: $26.95 In the 1960s, writer George Plimpton pitched to major league all-stars, tried out as an NFL quarterback, sparred with the great boxer Archie Moore — and wrote all about it. Ever since, writers have been taking up a whole range of athletic pursuits for the experience and for the material. Journalist Joshua Foer took a stab at mental athleticism, and not only did he compete at the USA Memory Championship, he set a U.S. memory record. "I certainly didn't expect the story would end up where it did," Foer tells NPR's Robert Siegel. In his new book, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, Foer investigates the nature of memory and his own unexpected journey down memory lane. "I should, I suppose, begin by explaining that there is a rather bizarre contest that's held every spring called the United States Memory Championship," Foer says, "in which people get together and try to see who can remember the most random numbers, the most lines of poetry, the most shuffled decks of playing cards." Foer first attended the contest as a science jour...