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Julia Shaw
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The Memory Illusion: Why You Might Not Be Who You Think You Are Hardcover – International Edition, September 13, 2016

by Julia Shaw (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 513 ratings
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Forensic psychologist and memory expert Dr. Julia Shaw reveals why we are all unreliable narrators of our own life stories.


Think you have a good memory? Think again.
     Memories are our most cherished possessions. We rely on them every day of our lives. They make us who we are. And yet the truth is they are far from being the accurate record of the past we like to think they are. True, we can all admit to having suffered occasional memory lapses, such as entering a room and immediately forgetting why, or suddenly being unable to recall the name of someone we've met dozens of times. But what if we have the potential for more profound errors of memory, even verging on outright fabrication and self-deception?
     In The Memory Illusion, forensic psychologist and memory expert Dr. Julia Shaw uses the latest research to show the astonishing variety of ways in which our brains can indeed be led astray. She shows why we can sometimes misappropriate other people's memories, subsequently believing them to be our own. She explains how police officers can imprison an innocent man for life on the basis of 300 denials and just one confession. She demonstrates the way radically false memories can be deliberately implanted, leading people to believe that they brutally murdered a loved one, or were abducted by aliens. And she reveals how, in spite of all this, we can improve our memory through simple awareness of its fallibility.
     Fascinating and unnerving in equal measure, The Memory Illusion offers a unique insight into the human brain, challenging you to question how much you can ever truly know about yourself.
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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Doubleday Canada
  4. Publication date
    September 13, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    6.3 x 1.1 x 9.4 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0385685297
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0385685290
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

National Bestseller

"Shaw's debut book is a spryly paced, fun, sometimes frightening exploration of how we remember―and why everyone remembers things that never truly happened. . . . Shaw's quirky charm enlivens the book throughout." ―Pacific Standard

"Truly fascinating." —BBC Radio 

"Illuminating and illustrative." —Tablet

About the Author

Dr. JULIA SHAW is senior lecturer in criminology at London South Bank University in the UK, where she has worked since 2015. She was previously a lecturer in forensic psychology at the University of Bedfordshire and before that taught courses on forensic psychology at the University of British Columbia and the University of Waterloo. A Canadian citizen with a Canadian father, Dr. Shaw has a BA from Simon Fraser University and PhD from the University of British Columbia. She is one of only a handful of experts in the world who actively conduct research on complex memory errors related to emotional personal events--so-called "false memories." She has won two teaching excellence awards for her classes on memory at the undergraduate and graduate level. She has also delivered general business and police-training workshops, evaluated offender diversion programs and worked with the British police to advise on historical sexual and physical abuse cases. She has also been featured as an expert on TV, radio and in UK and international newspapers.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday Canada (September 13, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385685297
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385685290
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.3 x 1.1 x 9.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 513 ratings

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Julia Shaw

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
513 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides valuable information about memory formation in an engaging dialog format. They appreciate the well-researched and interesting topic. The writing is considered comprehensible and understandable.

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9 customers mention "Information quality"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides valuable information about memory formation in an engaging dialogue format. They appreciate the well-researched content and introduction to leading memory scientists like Elizabeth Loftus. The book covers an important part of psychology that few are familiar with.

"Just finished the book Interesting topic people never think about...." Read more

"I've listened to this book and read it. It provides a great overview of the science of memory and for me has provided a great jumping platform to..." Read more

"...Shaw does an incredible job incorporating academic research in an comprehensible and understandable manner. I was thoroughly impressed with this work." Read more

"Memory is such a tricky and important part of psychology, but few know exactly how it works and (equally importantly) fails us...." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality good. They say the information is well-thought-out and comprehensible.

"...Shaw does an incredible job incorporating academic research in an comprehensible and understandable manner. I was thoroughly impressed with this work." Read more

"Book is well written (a bit dry though but that's just me) the information is amazing, well thought out and well written." Read more

"Well written and well researched. It doesn't solve all the mysteries of memory but it was an interesting book" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • larry
    5.0 out of 5 stars Comment
    Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Just finished the book
    Interesting topic people never think about.
    The information is somewhat frightening and strongly suggests that no one should ever be alone without someone who can document their activities. This is so because if you are ever accused of a crime you cannot rely on a fair and just outcome which could be based on verbal items entered as evidence.
    Sad
    Also as a scientist familiar, I have some questions about the citations regarding neural timing that were mentioned in this book.
    LARRY
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Greg Robinson
    4.0 out of 5 stars A tantilyzer
    Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I heard her on George Norway's radio program. I wanted to know how she could quickly convince a jury of memory problems. I did not get that information. I wanted a longer book.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Gary C.
    5.0 out of 5 stars It provides a great overview of the science of memory and for me ...
    Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I've listened to this book and read it. It provides a great overview of the science of memory and for me has provided a great jumping platform to delve more deeply into the research being done in this field. I am so glad to have read this book and have been introduced to such legendary memory scientists such as Elizabeth Loftus and her research. Kudos to Dr. Julia Shaw for providing an easily accessible pervue of memory science!
    9 people found this helpful
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  • John Bassette
    5.0 out of 5 stars Memory is tricky, witnesses are fallible, false claims of wrongdoing often abound in times of stress.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    It's amazing how people can 'remember' events that never happened. Also, confused thought can lead some to claim one person did so and so, when in fact, it was someone else. It's not good to look like someone's ex-husband or the like. Also, mass hysteria can lead to people wanting to be swept up in the group think. Nowadays, you have such an abundance of "metoo" claims flying around that one opines which are true or not true. I'm not meaning to detract from authentic claimants, but only to caution against the type of witch hunt hysteria that leads to guilty until proven innocent types of declarations. Such actions can be very disruptive to any nation.
    Helpful
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  • MQ
    5.0 out of 5 stars This was a wonderfully insight text about memory formation
    Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This was a wonderfully insightful text about memory formation. Shaw does an incredible job incorporating academic research in an comprehensible and understandable manner. I was thoroughly impressed with this work.
    Helpful
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  • kevinmoyar
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    book is perfect. Just the shipping took longer than promised.
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    A very good book that is useful for those who are fascinated by memory and its possible deviances.
    Helpful
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  • Carrie Poppy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
    Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Memory is such a tricky and important part of psychology, but few know exactly how it works and (equally importantly) fails us. Critical reading for our age.
    6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • José Macaya
    4.0 out of 5 stars Libro interesante pero inquietante
    Reviewed in Spain on September 15, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Libro inquietante y de no fácil lectura. Explica con convicción cómo nuestra memoria es mucho menos confiable que lo que creemos. Tenemos asumidas muchas memorias falsas o inexactas. Es fácil influirnos para que nuestra memoria de los hechos se deforme. El libro deja al final un sabor amargo, ya que da es un conocimiento que genera inseguridad, sin que en compensación le encontremos algo positivo.

    El libro sin duda contiene información interesante y el conocimiento siempre es valioso. Es impresionante saber la cantidad de sospechosos que eran inocentes y que son condenados, por memorias deficientes de testigos o apreciaciones sesgadas de los jurados. Esto mismo ha sucedido en casos de abusos sexuales a niños, en los que en el interrogatorio que les han hecho les han influido para imaginarse lo que no había sucedido…

    Es un libro interesante pero inquietante.
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  • Francisco
    5.0 out of 5 stars No more photographic memory
    Reviewed in Mexico on August 4, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This book can be a good relief is you consider yourself to have a bad memory, also in a very solid way destroys the concep of photographic memory
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Mind (memory) blowing
    Reviewed in India on October 7, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This book is bound to make you feel less confident about yourself in ways that will actually make you question every single memory based judgement, decision, act and opinion that you used to make so comfortably and confidently thus far. Very powerful book in many ways.
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  • Un lecteur passionné
    5.0 out of 5 stars Tout ce qu'il faut savoir sur le fonctionnement de la mémoire
    Reviewed in France on January 7, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Les données les plus récentes sur la recherche en psychologie cognitive.

    Dommage qu'il ne soit pas encore traduit en français.
    Report
  • Matt B
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book. Written well with some nice anecdotes along ...
    Reviewed in Canada on January 8, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Great book.
    Written well with some nice anecdotes along the way about experiences. It feels like the author is there talking to you. The explanations are concise and well thought out. The flow of the chapters sequentially build off one another even if you want to skip the anatomy lesson of the brain which is insightful. You can lose track of time reading and your never get lost while reading. Its worth a read and sharing of the ideas.
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