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| Can't Remember What I Forgot: The Good News from the Front Lines of Memory Research | 
 enlarge | Author: Sue Halpern
Publisher: Harmony
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $11.99
You Save: $12.01 (50%)
New (43) Used (15) from $11.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 9261
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0307406741
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.8523
EAN: 9780307406743
ASIN: 0307406741
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book. Ships on the same or next business day, immediate shipment confirmation via email, tracking available.
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Product Description
An essential behind-the-scenes foray into the world of cutting-edge memory research that unveils findings about memory loss only now available to general readers.
When Sue Halpern decided to emulate the first modern scientist of memory, Hermann Ebbinghaus, who experimented on himself, she had no idea that after a day of radioactive testing, her brain would become so “hot” that leaving through the front door of the lab would trigger the alarm. This was not the first time while researching Can’t Remember What I Forgot, part of which appeared in The New Yorker, that Halpern had her head examined, nor would it be the last.
Halpern spent years in the company of the neuroscientists, pharmacologists, psychologists, nutritionists, and inventors who are hunting for the genes and molecules, the drugs and foods, the machines, the prosthetics, the behaviors and therapies that will stave off Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia and keep our minds–and memories–intact. Like many of us who have had a relative or friend succumb to memory loss, who are getting older, who are hearing statistics about our own chances of falling victim to dementia, who worry that each lapse of memory portends disease, Halpern wanted to find out what the experts really knew, what the bench scientists were working on, how close science is to a cure, to treatment, to accurate early diagnosis, and, of course, whether the crossword puzzles, sudokus, and ballroom dancing we’ve been told to take up can really keep us lucid or if they’re just something to do before the inevitable overtakes us.
Beautifully written, sharply observed, and deeply informed, Can’t Remember What I Forgot is a book full of vital information–and a solid dose of hope.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Not Helpful May 26, 2008
15 out of 33 found this review helpful
For someone like me, looking for help as a full time caregiver for my 75-year-old wife with moderate Alzheimer's Disease, this book was of no help. I had hoped it would shed light on such things as the typical behavior of those with AD, how the disease progresses, etc. Instead it was 228 pages of the structure of the brain, name-dropping of tens of neuroscientists, and tedious details of current research that is discovering lots of things except any kind of cure.
If you're like me, save your money.
 Not Your Mother's Self-Help Book May 28, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
If you are looking for a self-help book, there are plenty out there. But as Sue Halpern shows in this beautifully written exploration of modern memory research, many of them simply spout platitudes and propose "remedies" that have little basis in science. Halpern gets behind the hype and tries to tell us what really works and why it works, and she introduces us to the people who are searching for cures and therapies. By the end I felt like I had a much broader understanding of what was going on with my own memory and that I was much better equipped to talk to my doctor about my concerns, both of which seem like the best kind of help a book could offer, even for a book that is in no way a self-help book. And it's fun to read, too.
Superb book--just not about Alzheimers May 26, 2008
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
This is a really wonderful book--it's just that it's about normal memory loss, not catastrophic types like Alzheimers. I.e., about the thing that's affecting all of us as we age, and keeping us from remembering where the hell the car keys are.
The author, who has a piece about PTSD in last week's New Yorker, has been in all the cutting-edge labs, and indeed has let them scan her brain with all the latest gear. It describes what scientists are discovering about the brain, and about what you can do to keep yours working better longer--hint, I'm going out for a run now.
Fascinating and Informative May 27, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Sue Halpern does a tremendous job of taking a complex area of study (neuroscience) and boiling it down to relevant, digestible information. I was impressed with her ability to distill the information in a way that can help non-scientists understand clinical issues, diagnostics and best practices. Additionally, it was a pleasure to see an author become well enough acquainted with the scientific process and the specific subject matter to recommend that consumers purchase products with independent, peer-reviewed research backing up their claims. Thank you for doing the work and providing consumers with useful guidance. Three cheers!
A Compelling Brain Safari May 29, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Sue Halpern takes the reader on a fascinating and provocative safari through the wilds of the human brain in this new book. Conventional wisdom should run and hide from Halpern's penetrative gaze: forget what you thought you knew about how memory functions, this book's tour of the frontlines of memory research tosses out old theories about how to stay sharp into old age and offers quality (and scientific) advice on how to keep your melon from meandering. So put down the crossword puzzle, read this book, and then call up an old flame and take him or her out ballroom dancing - you'll see what I mean when you finish Halpern's masterpiece. Bravo!
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