Rather turgid treatment of the much-forgotten art of a good mnemonic. ( )

Non Fiction, Memory, Mnemonics, History of culture, Chiari e convincenti il cap. I e, in parte, il cap. VI. Il resto, nonostante il notevole sforzo di ricerca, è esposto in maniera molto confusa. First published by Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1966, hardcover, 8vo, 400 pp.; University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1966; First Italian edition Torino, Einaudi, 1972, 374 pp., under the title: "L' arte della memoria", translated by Albano Biondi ( )

A truly wonderful book, joining mnemotechnic, Shakespeare's theatre, and Western esotercism. ( )

One of Modern Library's 100 Best Nonfiction Books of the Twentieth Century

In this classic study of how people learned to retain vast stores of knowledge before the invention of the printed page, Frances A. Yates traces the art of memory from its treatment by Greek orators, through its Gothic transformations in the Middle Ages, to the occult forms it took in the Renaissance, and finally to its use in the seventeenth century. This book, the first to relate the art of memory to the history of culture as a whole, was revolutionary when it first appeared and continues to mesmerize readers with its lucid and revelatory insights.

From the Inside Flap

The Art of Memory is the classic study of how people learned to retain vast stores of knowledge before the invention of the printed page. In it, Frances A. Yates traces the art of memory from its treatment by Greek orators, through its Gothic transformations in the Middle Ages, to the occult forms it took in the Renaissance, and finally to its use in the seventeenth century. This book, the first to relate the art of memory to the history of culture as a whole, was revolutionary when it first appeared and continues to mesmerize readers with its lucid and revelatory insights. ( )

Interesting discussion of the various memory practices down through the ages, including the famous "memory theater". Kind of dry reading, but very dense with information. ( )