About one in a million adults has a photographic memory--that is, the ability to remember anything they've seen. But it's reassuring when
Total Memory Workout notes that even people with photographic memories don't remember
everything; they can forget a name as easily as anyone else. That's the truth about memory, Green says: Everyone has to work at it, and this eight-part memory-fitness program will make anyone better at remembering. Green is founder and director of the Memory Enhancement Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and she explains in layman's language how memory works, why it sometimes doesn't, and how it can be improved. Along the way, she debunks some popular ideas about memory, noting that by simply exercising you can get benefits that equal those attributed to the nutritional supplement gingko biloba, and that there's nothing about aging that inherently impairs memory.
The drills she prescribes are a lot of fun too. For example, in the first chapter, she demonstrates how "working" memory functions by having you look at a number and then quickly look away and try to recall it. The numbers progress from 4 digits to 12. (If you can recall the 12-digit number after glancing at it, you probably don't need this book.) Then she demonstrates long-term memory by having you write down the names of all 50 states, something you probably haven't attempted since grade school.
Green suggests mastering one chapter a week, and completing them in order. But she also acknowledges that many readers will jump right to Step 7: How to Remember the People You Meet. At least one of the seven techniques she presents in that chapter should be immediately useful at your next social gathering. ("John! What an interesting name. My favorite uncle was named John....") --Lou Schuler
