Daniel Schacter

is the Chairman of the Psychology Department at Harvard University.

", I draw on a variety of perspectives -- including amnesia in neurological patients, brain scanning studies, and the insights of artists and novelists -- to explore and understand memory's fragile power. Here are five related books that examine memory from different points of view that I have enjoyed greatly."

• by Alexander Luria
  Would total recall be better than total amnesia? Not necessarily. This fascinating case study of a man who seemingly remembered everything illustrates why.

• by Henri Bergson
  How many different kinds of memory are there? Bergson's eloquent argument for a distinction between nonconscious habits and conscious recollections influenced me and a number of other contemporary researchers.

• by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  Although this novel is not ordinarily thought of as a book about memory, Marquez' treatment of widespread memory loss in the village of Macondo is perhaps the most arresting depiction of memory's power ever written; I began my own book by quoting from these pages.

• by Sir Frederic Bartlett
  Questions concerning accuracy and distortion in memory are among the hottest topics in contemporary research, with major implications for eyewitness testimony, the reliability of childrens' recollections, and the accuracy of memories recovered in psychotherapy. I wrestle with these issues in Searching for Memory, but Bartlett provided the first modern treatment of memory distortion -- and it is still worth reading today.

• by James Halperin
  This new novel imagines a future in which a brain scanning device can distinguish perfectly between truth and falsehood. Although a mind boggling prospect, it's one I've been asked about repeatedly during recent months in response to a brain scanning study published by my colleagues and I that shows differences in brain activity during true and false recognition. Readers might find it fascinating to compare the current state of scientific research on brain scanning (summarized in Searching for Memory) with Halperin's evocative fictional depiction of the future possibilities.

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