Cover of The Art of Memory

The Art of Memory

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.

Audience
adult
Length
long · 464 pages

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These suit anyone who liked The Art of Memory. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. The Memory Code Shares nonfiction, memory, history
  2. The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci Shares history, nonfiction, memory
  3. The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture Shares memory, history, nonfiction
  4. Eros and Magic in the Renaissance Shares history, nonfiction, philosophy

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“If it was the memory that hooked you, try one of these.”

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“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

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