The Mind of a Mnemonist
A Little Book About a Vast Memory
Luria's thirty-year study of a man who could not forget, and for whom that was a burden rather than a gift.
Luria studied the journalist S for thirty years: a man whose synaesthetic memory was effectively limitless, and who could not forget things he needed to lose. The book is a classic of case-study writing, though Foer notes that its literary success came at the cost of rigorous documentation.
Recommended by 1 Person
Joshua Foer
Luria is a terrific writer, but he didn’t document S’s skills with the kind of detail that is required to compare S with people who live today. Luria is so concerned with telling a good story that he doesn’t rigorously describe S’s abilities. We don’t have any other records of S, this seemingly singular character in the history of psychology. As a result, it’s hard to draw too many conclusions from this book.
Interview · October 2012
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