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The one-time U.S. Memory Champ indulges in remembrance of books past.
Joshua Foer's new book, Moonwalking with Einstein, is a study of the history and science of memory as well as a quasi-memoir of his own quest to win the U.S. Memory Championship. So it's no surprise that when we asked him to pick three of his favorite books, Foer was quick to recall a trio that you won't soon forget.
By Richard Dawkins
"Plenty has changed in the field since this book was written three decades ago, but for me it will always be the best science book ever written. When I first read it in high school, it made me want to become an evolutionary biologist. That didn't work out. Instead I ended up becoming a science journalist."
By Italo Calvino
"This is just a perfectly executed little gem that I return to often. Having spent so much time in imaginary palaces while researching Moonwalking with Einstein, I find myself discovering new things in Calvino's magical cities every time I revisit them."
Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn't Change the World
By Paul Collins
"I love stories about people and their misguided passions. Collins is a terrific writer who assembled an extraordinary collection of stories about eccentric individuals with big, beautiful ideas that happened also to be foolhardy."
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