Neuroscience, Memory, and Language, edited by Richard D. Broadwell, is Volume 1 in the Decade of the Brain series.
Memory : From Mind to Molecules (Scientific American Library, No 69) by Larry R. Squire, Eric R. Kandel
Transient Attractors and Emergent Attractor Memory Chris Lucas
Mind and Variability : Mental Darwinism, Memory, and Self (Human Evolution, Behavior, and Intelligence) by Patrick McNamara
History As an Art of Memory by Patrick H. Hutton
History & Memory focuses on questions relating to the formation of historical consciousness. Historical consciousness is defined here as the area in which collective memory, the writing of history, and other modes of shaping images of the past in the public mind merge. The journal deals with both theoretical problems and empirical inquiries, and aims to stimulate conceptual clarifications without overdefining or restricting approaches.
The
Art of Memory
Yates does an admirable job of researching this art. She begins, as many
before
her, with the tale of Simonides and his invention of the loci method of
mnemonics.
She also captures the scope and breadth of an art which traditionally formed
part of
the liberal studies of any educated westerner, be he Greek, Roman, or German.
Yates leads the book towards a more occult vein when she studies Bruno
and some
of the medieval contributors to this practice. In the book's most interesting
moments, she suggests that the Renaissance thinkers' search through the
ancient
memory treatises directly led to the search for method that Descartes,
Bacon, et al.
ruminated upon to create the modern foundations of science. Though this
is a
well-researched, and at times interesting book, the read goes slowly. Many
of the
themes and ideas appear in an overly repetitive fashion. Further, it is
not a 'how to'
book but a book on the history of an idea; one will know little about the
improvement of memory and all the claims of the ages appear to be tricks
at best.
The spectacular memories of a few individuals seem less associated with
a method
and more a function of physiology. Whether or not this ars memoria should
be
reinstated seems questionable even after this long essay. Worth a read
if you have
the time and interest; can lead one on a thought-provoking journey with
patient
reflection.
Committed
to Memory : How We Remember and Why We Forget
by Rebecca Rupp
"Committed to Memory" is pop-science at its best: educational and entertaining.
Not just some pseudo-scientific re-hash of ancient mnemonics like "Mega
Memory" and so many other memory books out there; this book also preents
the
latest in legitimate scientific research on how memory works. Reading
it provides
one of those rare "a-ha" experiences; we are given explanations for
facets of
memory we all notice, but have seldom taken much time to ponder.
Deserves to be a best seller."
The
Anatomy of Memory : An Anthology by James McConkey (Editor)
"Memory is the essential element of human consciousness, the key to
our
personality, and the linchpin of our sense of identity. In Anatomy
of Memory,
James McConkey has assembled a rich selection of writings that illuminates
the
nature of memory and the varied roles it plays in our lives. Contributors
include
Marianne Moore, St. Augustine, Lewis Thomas, W.B. Yeats, and Annie
Dillard."
Book of
Memory; A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture by Mary J. Carruthers
"New insights into the role of memory in the medieval world
are revealed in this
wide-ranging study that draws on a range of examples from Dante, Chaucer,
and
Aquinas to the symbolism of illuminated manuscripts."
Origins
of the Modern Mind by Merlin Donald
This bold and brilliant book asks the ultimate question of life sciences:
How did the
human mind acquire its incomparable power? Origins of the Modern Mind
traces the
evolution of human culture and cognition from primitive apes to the
era of artificial
intelligence, and presents an original theory of how the human mind
evolved from
its presymbolic form. Illustrated with line drawings.
The
Persistence of Memory : Organism, Myth, Text
by Philip Kuberski
"Seen at a certain moment, or in a certain light, things familiar
and unfamiliar - a subway entrance, a classical ruin, a constellation,
a map - can evoke powerful feelings. Are these feelings an effect of memory,
the unconscious, the body? To answer that question, Philip Kuberski leads
us on a brave and beguiling exploration of memory, uncovering the many
associations that join our physical bodies, personal and cultural myths,
and aesthetic and literary experiences. Our very existence as individuals
depends on the faculty of memory, to recall or maintain all that we are
and offer an ever-changing prelude to all that we will become. But is memory
our own, a kind of personal data base, or is it a worldly process in which
we are all participants? Drawing on an expansive array of sources, from
microbiology to cosmology, from Ovid to Proust, from Egyptology to cinema,
Kuberski shows us a web of associations in which we both remember and are
remembered. His lucid essays search out the echoes of antiquity within
our daily experience, the correspondences between the unconscious and myth,
the linkages between the stars and conceptions of the self, and the ways
in which aesthetic forms are related to organic patterns. Memory, far from
being a passive agency of recollection, can be understood as an integrating,
endlessly fascinating relationship. The Persistence of Memory provides
a thoughtful and tantalizing read for those interested in literature, psychology,
biology, anthropology, and philosophy. "
The
Time of Memory (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)
by Charles E. Scott
"The Time of Memory places emphasis on nonvoluntary memory and
the mythology of memory in the context of questions that are prominent
in contemporary thought. How do memories form experiences of origin and
identity? How might we describe the functions of memory in thought or knowledge?
Are there memories without images? How do past times become present? The
book also addresses the force of mutation in the formation of memories
as well as the roles of memories in experiences of ecstasy, sublimity,
continuity, and discontinuity. The book engages Aristotle, Nietzsche, Foucault,
Derrida, and Heidegger, as well as such mythological figures as Mnemosyne,
Lethe, Dionysus, and Apollo."
Philosophy
and Memory Traces : Descartes to Connectionism
by John Sutton
"Porous Memory defends two theories of autobiographical memory.
One is a bewildering historical view of memories as dynamic patterns in
fleeting animal spirits, nervous fluids which rummaged through the pores
of brain and body. The other is new connectionism, in which memories are
'stored' only superpositionally, and reconstructed rather than reproduced.
John Sutton juxtaposes historical and contemporary debates to show that
psychology can attend to culture, complexity, self, and history."
Neil Manson, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
"PHILOSOPHY AND MEMORY TRACES unearths a 'lost' historical background
to contemporary parallel distributed processing models of information processing.
It provides a fascinating insight into early modern theories of memory
and neural activity, and anyone interested in contemporary thinking about
mind and memory, or in the history of psychology and philosophy, will find
a great deal of value in this engaging and stimulating book."
Remembering
: A Phenomenological Study (Studies in Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy)
by Edward S. Casey
Cognitive
Models of Memory (Studies in Cognition Series)
by Martin A. Conway (Editor)
Human
Memory : A Multimodal Approach
by Johannes Engelkamp, Hubert D. Zimmer
Images
of Memory : On Remembering and Representation
by Susanne Kuchler, Walter Melion (Editor)
Representation
of Meaning in Memory
by W. Kintsch
Asimov's
Guide to the Bible : The Old and New Testaments/Two Volumes in One
by Isaac Asimov, Rafael Palacios (Illustrator)
Brain
Waves Through Time : 12 Principles for Understanding the Evolution
of the Human Brain and Man's Behavior
by Robert T. Demoss
The
Descent of Mind : Psychological Perspectives of Hominid Evolution
by Michael C. Corballis (Editor), Stephen E.G. Lea (Editor)