Forgotten book

Title: Book of Forgotten

Author: Douwe Draaisma

Binding: Hardcover

EAN: 9789065544773

Condition: Good

Please note: Below is a general description of how we classify our condition types. If you would like a more precise picture or have specific questions, please send us a message and we will be happy to look into it for you.

Condition descriptions:
- As New: Hardly any signs of use, almost as new.
- Good: May show minor signs of use, such as some discoloration or a name on the endpapers, but generally no underlining or notes in the text.
- Fair: Book in fair condition. May show signs of use, such as discoloration, reading creases in spine, underlinings, notes, light soiling at edges, dog-ears, or a crooked spine.
- New: Book is new.

Description:
Why do we have such poor memory for dreams? Does repression exist? What happens to shared memories when the person you shared them with is no longer around? How is it possible that a colleague remembered your idea, but forgot that it was your idea?

The most difficult questions you can ask about memory are not about remembering but about forgetting, writes Douwe Draaisma in Forget Book. Why is there no forgetting technique? Why do portraits tend to erase our memories of faces? What goes wrong in the brain of someone who can't remember faces?

Thinking about forgetting reveals what we hope or fear about our memories. The 'first memory' not only marks the beginning of our memory, but also underlines the forgotten years that preceded it. Our good memory for 'firsts' also reminds us of all the times that followed and that we have forgotten. And even people with a good memory for faces have a poor memory for the history of faces. Who can honestly say that - apart from photographs - they remember what their loved ones looked like ten years ago?

In Forget Book Draaisma takes the reader through theories about why memory takes so long to kick in, the causes of forgetting dreams and the explanation for 'unconscious plagiarism'. He introduces us to Henry M., who lived in a 'now' half a minute wide due to a memory defect and to soldier S. who could not even remember his own face. Draaisma writes about trauma and repression, about forgetting that makes itself invisible, about rewriting your memories as you grow older.