You Can Have an Amazing Memory: Learn Life-Changing Techniques and Tips from the Memory Maestro

While I have read some of the other introductory books on improving memory ( i.e. Harry Lorayne, and Jonathan Foer's work), this was a very different approach that I am sure that I will use for everyday memory tasks. I am less concerned with becoming a memory champion and rather more productive in my own life and in the lives of my clients ( as a clinical psychologist.) Some people have had the same difficulties that Dominic O'Brien talks about with attention deficits, and I have already have begun introducing the practices of "linking" and "journeys" to improve their recall. His book helps prove to yourself as to how effective the use of these techniques are in gaining confidence in one's memory functions.As he points out in the book, it still requires lots of training to get the most out of the training, I think it's well worth the investment. It's like introducing software for the brain to help organize all that we would like to recall at a time when we need it.

Dominic O'Brien backdrops his explanation of mnemonic techniques by telling his own story, which is quite inspirational. Also, he starts with the most simplistic, yet effective techniques and gradually builds on them to more complex ones. He explains why the techniques are effective and gives very clear examples of how to practice. He showed me that I do have a good memory, I just hadn't learned how to take advantage of it yet.The only downside is that he did not clearly show how to apply these techniques to the school setting, which would have been much appreciated. The techniques seem isolated to party-tricks, random lists, names, and phone numbers. I am still giving this book 5 stars because it read well and delivered what it said it would. I hope he refines these techniques for academia and then shares with the rest of us how to do it.Thanks for an inspiring story!

I enjoyed this book. It's the second I bought about memory techniques. It is written as a quasi autobiography, which some reviewers have had a problem with. I that it's a perfectly fin e methods because the author is explaining the advances in memory techniques as a chronological evolution--as they did with him, which adds some validity to the curriculum--and lends a natural linear flow to the systems presented--which is actually the techniques that he is teaching, come to think of it...duh! Though this book is a personal history, it is presented humbly, and I appreciate that.All in all I would say that short of taking a direct class with the man, this book is a good way to learn these techniques and he presents that well, with many calls to practice each technique.

This is one of the four books on memory and memory techniques that I would highly recommend. (The others: Moonwalking with Einstein, The Memory Book, and Remember, Remember.) O'Brien's self-tests and personal approach make this one unique. His techniques may not suit everyone—he is known for favoring his own system over the Major System for numbers—but they do work and may be just what the reader is looking for.

Ya lo tengo el libre, todo muy bien.

I am very happy to review this book as it is well written and offers a wealth of information....shortly after I was half-way finished this edition I purchased the duplicate kindle version plus the author's audio CD set (older Amazon version.)In trying to learn a new foreign language I knew (@ 62) I needed not only good sources for my target language... plus a review of English Grammar terms.....but a better way to remember "things."This author provided many keys to remember items,words etc. with his "journey", "peg" & other systems that other authors expound upon .....but...I liked this author's style to start with. Look up mnemonics to get a feel of what may be in store for you .

The book is already very short and yet could be trimmed down to half its current size. The main takeaways from the book are very valuable regarding how to train your memory and some insight into how your memory works. The book took me no more than 2 hours to read and for that reason I don't think is worth buying. Watch a long video about the subject or get the information some other route.

I will be honest, this was the first book I read regarding memory and mnemonic techniques ,it was an easy reading, gave me useful tools, i like the exercises that contains. I would recommend it.

The techniques in this book really work. I have gone from believing that my memory was appalling to understanding that its simply that I didn't know how to use it properly. As Domonic says 'the brain is like a muscle that requires regular exercise.I was waiting for a dentist appointment the other day and while I was sat I memorised all of my credits cards in my wallet including expiry dates and pin numbers. I can now learn to recall a 30 digit number in less than 10mins and I'm sure this will get quicker. You have to really immerse yourself into this book. I only really succeeded on the second attempt, giving up a third of the way through first time round.I rated this four stars and not five as I believe most people would be like me in just wanting to improve their memory for day to day use, however Dominic goes quite deeply into how to become a memory champion and therefore there is a little too much about card counting and binary digits.All in all though it is a great book and even possibly life changing! Also recommend the audio book12.8.2018 last weekend I sat a Civil Aviation Authority recognised theory exam for commercial drone flying and scored 95% - Thank you Dominic!!!

I have been studying Dominics material through the years from my very purchase of his course recorded on cassettes to his latest book, his material is timeless and you definitely can't go wrong following this character, he dosen't hold back on what is required to start your amazing memory feats which can be applied to almost every aspect from remembering a list to getting your study material to stick, thanks to Dominics teachings I have had great results in academia, life permitting of course.

I found this to be a really extraordinary book and felt that I learnt something new on almost every page. Also, great credit to the author for sharing and going deeply into his memorization techniques. He takes you through the techniques in a gentle, iterative way which I found very encouraging.I have successfully managed to achieve 100% recall of names of all the students in my art class despite having a very poor memory. Now need to work on how I can transfer these techniques to other areas of my life. Well done!

Quite amazing how effective these techniques are. Only just started reading the book but already i am shocked how well it is working. Look forward to applying these methods to my every day to see if they improve my memory on the go.

I read Dominic O'Brien's book 'How to Pass Exams' first which introduced me to some of the concepts in this book. This is a fantastic book and if you want or need to learn memory techniques to pass exams or just improve your memory in general, this is the book for you. I wish I had learned about these techniques and applied myself to practicing them years ago. I would highly recommend.