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Can't Remember What I Forgot: The Good News From The Front Lines Of Memory Research (2008)

by Sue Halpern(Favorite Author)

3.35 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0307406741 (ISBN13: 9780307406743)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Crown

review 1: My neighbour was giving this away and didn't have much to say about it. I have been picking it up from time to time and must admit to skimming. It was interesting to see some of the research that is being done, but she went into too much detail for the layperson. I didn't worry about missing details, because research changes so fast and this book is 5 years old. However,like Halpern, I wondered if forgetting things leads, inevitably, to dementia (her Dad had it, my Mom). The simple answer seems to be that, as we age, we start to forget, but we are not doomed to that fate and there are things we can do to help day-to-day memory.
review 2: Halpern spends a lot of time describing the personalities and ambitions of memory researchers (and their biomedical companies... more), explaining what scientists consider to be "real science," and expressing her own anxieties about her own neurological makeup. She spends less time (less time than I would like) telling me about memory and the brain. She gives the impression that everyone who could tell me something about these things has a patent or is under contract or is in the process of developing something hush-hush that will be ready "in five years" or is selling "snake oil." But that's not so. Read Sacks and Damasio instead. less

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