The book progresses smoothly and logically. Higbee's style is clear and readable; though his analogies are awkward, the explanation of which often taking up more space than the concept they were meant to illustrate. Touted as a practical guide, I found it more of an introduction and a defense of the benefits of memorization - and a good one at that. Throughout he includes research supporting the effectiveness of the techniques he describes, references to other textbooks and guides, and explanations for why some material is remembered better than others. Higbee uses the first three chapters to dispel some common misconceptions of memory, such as the belief that it is a thing rather than a process, and to describe what memory really is and how it works. Chapters four and five form the core of the book. In these chapters the basics are described: meaningfulness, organization, association, attention, repetition, and context. The rest of the book is largely built on these principles. Higbee covers the Link and Story, Loci, Peg, and Phonetic mnemonic systems. Enough detail for each is given that, with practice, the reader can master them for memorizing things such as to-dos, names and faces, speeches, concrete facts, dates, and numbers. He tantalizingly mentions that they can also be used for memorizing material beyond facts and figures, such as abstract concepts, but fails to provide more than cursory instructions on how to do so. The instructions to substitute abstract words and ideas for concrete ones are well taken, but insufficient information is given on how to systemically apply memorization techniques while reading a history book, for example. Higbee also describes the synergy obtained combining some of these mnemonic systems.
I would recommend this book as a good starting place but with the proviso that it is not a workbook. Higbee himself stresses that efficiency in these techniques only comes with hard work and practice - but you will have to provide your own homework. It is also important to keep in mind that these techniques will not magically create a photographic memory (the existence of which Higbee largely dispels) nor will they prevent you from ever forgetting anything again. What you will get are processes for *improving* the chances of recalling needed information.
