Book review by Corey
Moonwalking with Einstein
Moonwalking with Einstein follows Joshua Foer as he goes from being a journalist covering a memory competition to training for one himself. Along the way, he gets into memory palaces, visualization, attention, and the old techniques people used long before phones and search engines made it so easy to outsource remembering things.
I liked that the book wasn’t just a how-to guide. The competition side gave it some personality, and I got more interested in the memory techniques because I was seeing someone actually try them instead of just being told they work. A few sections wandered a bit for me, but there were plenty of moments that made me think differently about how much memory really depends on focus and practice.
The Goods
- Makes memory techniques easy to understand
- The competition story keeps it interesting
- Good mix of science and personal experience
- Memory-palace ideas are genuinely useful
- Easy writing style
The Bads
- Some sections wander off topic
- A few ideas repeat
- Not every technique feels practical for everyday life
- The science side could go deeper
- Some competition details may not interest everyone
My Recommendation
This is a good fit if you’re interested in memory, learning, and how much your brain can improve with the right kind of practice. I liked that Foer didn’t present himself as some memory genius from the beginning, because watching him learn the techniques made the whole thing feel more believable and useful. If you enjoy nonfiction that mixes psychology, practical ideas, and a personal challenge, Moonwalking with Einstein is a pretty easy book to get into.
