Searching for Memory: The Brain, the Mind, and the Past

Daniel Schacter brilliantly interweaves scientific findings, artistic representations, philosophical reflections and his own personal history into a non-stop tour de force exposition of the study of memory. Proust, Ebbinghaus, Larry Squire and Isabel Allende all find their places in this remarkable volume. An effortless, informative, and stimulating read for anyone interested in the human mind.

Schacter has written a superb overview of the working so the brain and memory. I read this book in one night! I can highly recommend it!Other recent great reads: "Decoding Darkness" (Tanzi and Parsons) on how Alzheimer's affects the brain -- fascinating stuff!

Your memory is certainly the most crucial aspect of who you are. Without it, arguably at least, consciousness itself borders on irrelevance, and identity no longer exists. Most of us think of memory, metaphorically, as shining a spotlight on images, sounds, and emotions from our past. Reading Daniel Schacter's fascinating text, Searching for Memory, The Brain, the Mind, and the Past, I realized just how deceptive and simplistic that notion is. In fact, every time you speak, or write something, or read, or drive a car, you're calling on "procedural" memory which allows you to learn skills and acquire habits, and/or "semantic" memory, which includes conceptual and factual knowledge. Even the spotlight-type memories you do have can be divided into "field" memories, which mimic your perceptions at the time of the original experience, and "observer" memories, which where you actually see yourself from the outside. (The latter is common when recalling early-childhood experiences.) Searching for Memory is beautifully written, and teeming with stories and anecdotes that illustrate the nature of memory in a way that makes the absorption of its insights effortless. My only complaint about this book is that my wife kept trying to read it over my shoulder. If you're married, I suggest you order two copies

Memory has so much to do with WHO WE ARE. If you've ever wondered how it works and what the various memory systems do in the human brain, this book explains it in a delightful way that helps explain who we are and how we 'tick' (as thinking, remembering human beings.) Not only does the book explain the latest scientific information about memory, but it presents this in very *human terms* (complete with many examples of artwork which express the feelings and perspectives that some patients and/or artists have about their memories.) I found the subject matter fascinating and the book a pleasure to read. (I also liked the several 'word games' in the book which came from samples of psychology experiments.) Highly recommend this book!