Joshua Foer was born in Washington, DC in 1982 and lives in New Haven, CT with his wife Dinah. His writing has appeared in National Geographic, Esquire, Slate, Outside, the New York Times, and other publications. He is the co-founder of the Atlas Obscura, an online guide to the world’s wonders and curiosities. He is also the co-founder of the architectural design competition, Sukkah City. Moonwalking with Einstein is his first book.
"Absolutely phenomenal . . . Part of the beauty of this book is
that it makes clear how memory and understanding are not two
different things. Building up the ability to reason and the ability
to retain information go hand in hand . . . The book reminds us
that we all start off with pretty much the same tools for the most
part, and we can be intentional about strengthening them, or not."
—Bill Gates
“Captivating . . . His narrative is smart and funny and, like
the work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, it’s informed by a humanism that
enables its author to place the mysteries of the brain within a
larger philosophical and cultural context.” —Michiko
Kakutani, The New York Times
“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.” —The Washington Post
“Joshua Foer’s book . . . is both fun and reassuring. All
it takes to have a better memory, he contends, are a few tricks and
a good erotic imagination.” —Maureen Dowd, The New York
Times
“Highly entertaining.” —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker
“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
Wall Street Journal
“It’s a terrific book: sometimes weird but mostly smart, funny, and
ultimately a lovely exploration of the ways that we preserve our
lives and our world in the golden amber of human
memory.” —Deborah Blum, New Scientist
“Foer’s book is relevant and entertaining as he shows us ways we
can unlock our own talent to remember more.” —USA Today
“A fascinating scientific analysis of mnemonic mysteries. What we
remember, [Foer] says, defines who we are.” —Entertainment
Weekly
“Sprightly, entertaining . . . [Foer] has a gift for
communicating fairly complex ideas in a manner that is palatable
without being patronizing.” —Financial Times
“[An] inspired and well-written debut book about not just
memorization, but about what it means to be educated and the best
way to become so, about expertise in general, and about the
not-so-hidden ‘secrets’ of acquiring skills.” —The Seattle
Times
“[An] instant bestseller.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Funny, curious, erudite, and full of useful details about ancient
techniques of training memory.” —The Boston Globe
“With originality, high energy, and an appealing blend of chutzpah
and humility, [Foer] writes of his own adventures and probes the
history and literature of memory, the science of how the brain
functions, and the connections between memory, identity, and
culture . . . Moonwalking with
Einstein . . . is engaging and timely.” —The
Jewish Week
“A smart, thoughtful, engaging book.” —The Portland
Oregonian
“Charming . . . The book is part of a grand tradition,
the writer as participating athlete, reminiscent of George Plimpton
taking up football in Paper Lion.” —O, The Oprah
Magazine
“[A] wonderful first book.” —Newcity
“Fascinating.” —Town & Country
“For one year, Foer tried to attain total recall, extracting
secrets from the top researchers, the real Rain Man, and the
world’s memory champs. He triumphed, both in his quest and in this
lively account, which is, no exaggeration,
unforgettable.” —Parade
“In recounting his year in training for the USA Memory
Championship, journalist Foer delivers a rich history of
memory.” —Discover Magazine
“Foer’s history of memory is rich with information about the nature
of memory and how it makes us who we are.” —Scientific
American
“A brief and pithy recounting of Foer’s exploration of the fuzzy
borders of his brain—a marveling at how and why it’s able to do
something quite unexpected . . . Moonwalking with
Einstein fits handily inline with the recent tradition of ‘big
idea’ books.” —The Millions
“An original, entertaining exploration about how and why we
remember.” —Kirkus Reviews
“An engaging, informative, and for the forgetful, encouraging
book.” —Booklist
“Hard to put down . . . The mind is a bigger thing than
any of us realize, and Foer reminds us to keep exploring
it.” —Barnes & Noble Review
“He has thought deeply about memory and his effort yields questions
that are well worth reflecting on.” —The Daily Beast
“Intriguing . . . Foer does an excellent job of tracing
the history of the arts of memory.” —The Forward
“The kind of nonfiction work that gets people talking
. . . A highly enjoyable read.” —Thirteen.org
“You have to love a writer who employs chick-sexing to help explain
human memory. Foer is a charmer, a crackling mind, a fresh wind. He
approaches a complex topic with so much humanity, humor, and
originality that you don’t realize how much you’re taking in and
understanding. It’s kind of miraculous.” —Mary Roach, author
of Packing for Mars, Bonk, Spook, and Stiff
“Moonwalking with Einstein isn’t just a splendid overview of
an essential aspect of our humanity—our memory; it is also a witty
and engaging account of how Foer went from being a guy with an
average memory to winning the USA Memory Championship.” —Dan
Ariely, professor of behavioral economics at Duke University and
author of The Upside of
Irrationality and Predictably Irrational
“In this marvelous book, Joshua Foer invents a new genre of
nonfiction. This is a work of science journalism wrapped around an
adventure story, a bildungs-roman fused to a vivid investigation of
human memory. If you want to understand how we remember, and how we
can all learn to remember better, then read this book.” —Jonah
Lehrer, contributing editor to Wired and author
of How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist
“Joshua Foer proves what few of us are willing to get our heads
around: there’s more room in our brains than we ever
imagined. Moonwalking with Einstein isn’t a how-to guide
to remembering a name or where you put your keys. It’s a riveting
exploration of humankind’s centuries-old obsession with memory, and
one man’s improbable quest to master his own.” —Stefan Fatsis,
author of A Few Seconds of Panic and Word Freak
"Absolutely phenomenal . . . Part of the beauty of this book is
that it makes clear how memory and understanding are not two
different things. Building up the ability to reason and the ability
to retain information go hand in hand . . . The book reminds us
that we all start off with pretty much the same tools for the most
part, and we can be intentional about strengthening them, or not."
-Bill Gates
"Captivating . . . His narrative is smart and funny and, like the
work of Dr. Oliver Sacks, it's informed by a humanism that enables
its author to place the mysteries of the brain within a larger
philosophical and cultural context." -Michiko Kakutani, The New
York Times
"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." -The
Washington Post
"Joshua Foer's book . . . is both fun and reassuring. All it takes
to have a better memory, he contends, are a few tricks and a good
erotic imagination." -Maureen Dowd, The New York Times
"Highly entertaining." -Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker
"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 Wall Street
Journal
"It's a terrific book: sometimes weird but mostly smart, funny, and
ultimately a lovely exploration of the ways that we preserve our
lives and our world in the golden amber of human memory."
-Deborah Blum, New Scientist
"Foer's book is relevant and entertaining as he shows us ways we
can unlock our own talent to remember more." -USA
Today
"A fascinating scientific analysis of mnemonic mysteries. What we
remember, [Foer] says, defines who we are." -Entertainment
Weekly
"Sprightly, entertaining . . . [Foer] has a gift for communicating
fairly complex ideas in a manner that is palatable without being
patronizing." -Financial Times
"[An] inspired and well-written debut book about not just
memorization, but about what it means to be educated and the best
way to become so, about expertise in general, and about the
not-so-hidden 'secrets' of acquiring skills." -The Seattle
Times
"[An] instant bestseller." -San Francisco Chronicle
"Funny, curious, erudite, and full of useful details about ancient
techniques of training memory." -The Boston
Globe
"With originality, high energy, and an appealing blend of chutzpah
and humility, [Foer] writes of his own adventures and probes the
history and literature of memory, the science of how the brain
functions, and the connections between memory, identity, and
culture . . . Moonwalking with Einstein . . . is engaging
and timely." -The Jewish Week
"A smart, thoughtful, engaging book." -The Portland
Oregonian
"Charming . . . The book is part of a grand tradition, the writer
as participating athlete, reminiscent of George Plimpton taking up
football in Paper Lion." -O, The Oprah Magazine
"[A] wonderful first book." -Newcity
"Fascinating." -Town & Country
"For one year, Foer tried to attain total recall, extracting
secrets from the top researchers, the real Rain Man, and the
world's memory champs. He triumphed, both in his quest and in this
lively account, which is, no exaggeration, unforgettable."
-Parade
"In recounting his year in training for the USA Memory
Championship, journalist Foer delivers a rich history of memory."
-Discover Magazine
"Foer's history of memory is rich with information about the nature
of memory and how it makes us who we are." -Scientific
American
"A brief and pithy recounting of Foer's exploration of the fuzzy
borders of his brain-a marveling at how and why it's able to do
something quite unexpected . . . Moonwalking with Einstein fits
handily inline with the recent tradition of 'big idea' books."
-The Millions
"An original, entertaining exploration about how and why we
remember." -Kirkus Reviews
"An engaging, informative, and for the forgetful, encouraging
book." -Booklist
"Hard to put down . . . The mind is a bigger thing than any of us
realize, and Foer reminds us to keep exploring it." -Barnes &
Noble Review
"He has thought deeply about memory and his effort yields questions
that are well worth reflecting on." -The Daily Beast
"Intriguing . . . Foer does an excellent job of tracing the history
of the arts of memory." -The Forward
"The kind of nonfiction work that gets people talking . . . A
highly enjoyable read." -Thirteen.org
"You have to love a writer who employs chick-sexing to help explain
human memory. Foer is a charmer, a crackling mind, a fresh wind. He
approaches a complex topic with so much humanity, humor, and
originality that you don't realize how much you're taking in and
understanding. It's kind of miraculous." -Mary Roach, author of
Packing for Mars, Bonk, Spook, and
Stiff
"Moonwalking with Einstein isn't just a splendid overview of an
essential aspect of our humanity-our memory; it is also a witty and
engaging account of how Foer went from being a guy with an average
memory to winning the USA Memory Championship." -Dan Ariely,
professor of behavioral economics at Duke University and author of
The Upside of Irrationality and Predictably
Irrational
"In this marvelous book, Joshua Foer invents a new genre of
nonfiction. This is a work of science journalism wrapped around an
adventure story, a bildungs-roman fused to a vivid investigation of
human memory. If you want to understand how we remember, and how we
can all learn to remember better, then read this book." -Jonah
Lehrer, contributing editor to Wired and author of How We
Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist
"Joshua Foer proves what few of us are willing to get our heads
around: there's more room in our brains than we ever imagined.
Moonwalking with Einstein isn't a how-to guide to
remembering a name or where you put your keys. It's a riveting
exploration of humankind's centuries-old obsession with memory, and
one man's improbable quest to master his own." -Stefan Fatsis,
author of A Few Seconds of Panic and Word
Freak
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