Memory Power: You Can Develop a Great Memory--America's Grand Master Shows You How

by Scott Hagwood

Ever forget where you put your car keys? Or forget a name five seconds after meeting someone? Forgetting is normal but not inevitable. Now, Scott Hagwood's Memory Power provides the solution. His amazingly easy-to-master guide shows you how to develop a great memory, no matter how weak you think yours is. Scott was just an average guy with a below-average memory who nevertheless went on to become a four-time National Memory Champion.

The brain changes physically as memory skills improve, as Scott Hagwood knows firsthand. His astonishing transformation from mediocre student to international memory champion led Wake Forest Medical Center to perform brain scan tests on him with amazing results. The tests showed how certain memory exercises actually change your brain to make remembering easier and more efficient. Hagwood shares the secrets that unleash this inner genius within us all -- everything from remembering car keys to training the mind to juggle multiple bits of information at the same time, thus improving practical and creative ability.

At age thirty-six, Hagwood developed thyroid cancer and was warned that severe radiation therapy might cause memory loss. He soon learned that simple, daily memory exercises could restore and even boost his ability to remember faces, numbers, and text. Complete with tips on keeping a memory journal, Memory Power uses techniques of sight, sound, smell, color, conversation, face recognition, and more to sharpen memory association and information retrieval. Through step-by-step instruction you'll learn the basics: how to connect items together in your memory banks; how much to absorb before a review needs to take place; how to relieve the pressure of remembering facts in social situations.

Students who encounter endless facts to memorize, professionals who make presentations, salespeople who need to put names to faces -- all require the asset of a strong memory. Luckily, as Hagwood proves, memory is a muscle and needs only a little stretching to produce powerful results. You will discover the truth that an astonishing memory can be learned and is not reserved for the few gifted at birth.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 27, 2005

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

Re-reading a book on memory? Sweet irony. But that's what I did here. Got a little bit more out of it the second time, but overall not a great book and not how I would have written it. It's like an autobiography of a Memory Champion and a loose textbook. It doesn't really write with a reader in mind. In my opinion the editor needs a timeout.

As I discovered in my own web browsing, memory techniques have come a long way since this book was written (aka it's outdated).

I give it 3 stars because it gets credit for teaching me many years ago about "Roman Rooms" more commonly known as "Mind/Memory Palaces" - good technique for memorizing a list of items in order. Also it encourages journaling to learn what you naturally remember. The book highlights the value of spaced repetition and warns stress and lack of sleep can really sap your memory and speed of retrieval. Good stuff, but could have been a blog post, not a full book.

Unfortunately, the techniques provided don't fully generalize or he didn't explain how they could. Not good for memorizing Chinese characters, birthdays, or even writing/overwriting memories.

One of his tips for learning people's names is asking for a list ahead of a meeting or prime yourself with a list of popular names ahead of time. Cool...

[Larry · Rating 1 out of 5]

More of a biography than anything else. I don't recommend.

[Tiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel WOW after reading this book. You can tell that Great memory is not a gift. You can train it well. This book gives you some tips how to improve your memory power.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd heard about the Roman Room in conversation for ages, and you know, I like remembering things, so I started reading. Moonwalking With Einstein was an excellent intro, giving a good overview of the history and the current state of memory culture. It didn't have much in the way of actual mnemonics though. I went straight to the source; Rhetorica Ad Herennium, and I found it dry... Not that it was boring but it just wasn't helpful. It seemed to be geared more towards a student with something of an understanding of the Roman Room which I lacked. The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci was utterly useless, though interesting in its own right and it gave hope that Chinese (written) is in fact somewhat possible to learn. Yates' and Carruther's books were both very interesting and I now have a good or at least a better understanding of mnemonics, but again fruitless in the way of actually using mnemonics. And that's where this book came along. It was the manual I'd been searching for all along. For anyone out there with a similar story, which I'm sure isn't uncommon, I'd say give Hagwood a go.

[Sinda1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I happen to come across this book when my sister visited me. She didn't finished it so I decided to give it a shot. Since I don't have a photographic memory I thought this might be a brain teaser. I find it very informative. There are stragies that Scott Hagawood shares with us. I've applied those things since and I am pretty content with the result. For example I am better at remembering numbers. The reading and actually doing part gets to be kind of a hassle for me at least.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would be more accurately entitled "Scott Hagwood: all about me*

*15 bonus pages to improve your memory included.

While there is no denying that Hagwood is an accomplished memory champion, there are much more instructive and engaging books on memory out there. Unless you're interested in Scott Hagwood specifically, this is a skip.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic resource that I'll definitely be using in the future. I knew the brain was amazing, but discovering some of its capabilities has gone beyond anything I could imagine! I highly recommend this for anyone who thinks they don't have a very good memory, and those of you that do, this book will only help you make it better!

Thanks Dave Dixon for recommending it!

[Eva Pradhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad I read this book. I was quite amazed that I was able to memorize a deck of card easily and I think students can immensely benefit from learning the memory techniques. It can give them a powerful tool to memorize dry information and retain them. It was a wonderful book, maybe a dry read sometime but this is a good reference book I am keeping on my shelf.

[Randy Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't the best-written book I've ever read, but the strategies were accessible. I'm toying with the idea of trying to become a memory champion, but it still seems like a lot of work, so I don't think Scott Hagwood or current champ Ron White have much to worry about.

[Babeto · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow this is the GR8EST BOOK I'VE EVER READ IT'S JUST SIMPLY TEACHING U HOW TO MAKE UR MEMORY MORE POWERFUL AND IT'S SIMPLY GR8!!! AND I LEARNED SO MANY THINGS FROM IT!!

[Nicole Vital · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is boring and doesn't captivate the reader at all.

[Stokely Klasovsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content is excellent, but Hagwood's writing isn't particularly engaging. It's a very dry read.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strategies to be taken into consideration. Good book overall

[Chris Seltzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The same memory advice you can get from dozens of books.