my mind on books

Can’t Remember What I Forgot: The Good News from the Front Lines of Memory Research by Sue Halpern (Harmony, 2008) is an example of a burgeoning genre I want to call “neuro-memoirs,” nonfiction books that mix first person accounts with neuroscientific information. Halpern’s work falls into the journalistic self-experimentation subgenre, along with titles such as Mind Wide Open by Steven Johnson and Jeff Warren’s Head Trip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness.

Halpern investigates memory, from diagnosis of memory disorders, to basic scientific research, to efforts to develop cures. I felt that the beginning chapters in which she undergoes various kinds of brain scans were less engaging (although it could have been because I was reading that part on public transportation), while the book really hits its stride when it starts detailing current research programs, a fascinating portrayal of science in progress.

Unfortunately I had to take the book back to the library today (someone else had reserved it), so I didn’t get much of a chance to take notes. The bibliographic essay at the end looked very good, and I would have liked to look up some of her sources.