Tony Buzan’s The Memory Book raises some serious questions.
Can a single memory improvement guide really “revolutionize” the way you remember names, dates and even entire speeches?
Well, as the creator of the World Memory Championships and mind map innovator, Buzan rarely disappoints.
In this review, I draw on my expertise in mnemonics, memory science and personal experiences to provide an unbiased evaluation.
Plus, I’ll share my personal experiences with meeting Buzan.
Not only do I have a signed copy of The Memory Book, but what happened after he inscribed it left me speechless.
For a guy who talks a lot for a living, anything that shuts me up is pretty rare.
But it speaks volumes about the kind of man Tony Buzan was and the value of his contributions to memory, creativity and developing your skills as a top performer.
So settle in.
By the end of this review, you’ll understand Buzan’s core recommendations.
You’ll learn about the scientific foundations behind why his approach to memory techniques works.
And you’ll go through my set of pros and cons. That way you’ll know whether this book is the right tool for your memory improvement journey.
Who Was Tony Buzan?
Tony Buzan hailed from England and served people around the world as an author, educational consultant, software innovator and memory expert.
As he told me on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, he first discovered memory techniques when one of his teachers displayed an uncanny ability to remember student names.
Later, during his university years in British Columbia, Canada, he joined Mensa. Eventually, he edited the International Journal of Mensa.
For the best source of material on Buzan’s full story, I recommend The Official Biography of Tony Buzan by Raymond Keene.
Besides writing many books, Buzan organized memory competitions loved by memory champions around the world.
He also held live memory training events, speed reading and mind mapping seminars.
Buzan not only kept his own memory sharp by training it.
He followed his own advice when it comes to exercise. When I met him, he was wearing his track suit, having just come in from rowing.
As a fan of fitness, he also ate foods that improve memory to keep brain fog at bay.
It was delightful to meet someone who walked his talk. This characteristic is so important because, unfortunately, there are many people out there who merely pose as mnemonists.
But Buzan was the real deal and everything about him sparkled with the real magic serious training with memory techniques provides.
Overview of The Memory Book
My copy of The Memory Book is 232 pages and its comes with a detailed table of contents and helpful index at the back.
In part one, you learn the most relevant memory science available at the time of publishing.
Although some of the science is dated, it remains relevant. It’s also wonderful to know about the specific types of scientific research Buzan found fascinating.
Different memory experts are drawn to different kinds of memory studies, and he was particularly fond of visual memory experiments. For example, he cites the type of study where participants learn thousands of images.
Although it’s not appropriate to call what the human mind does photographic memory, Buzan makes a solid argument about our mental capacity to retain huge amounts of information. It’s only too bad that a new edition was never produced that consider aphantasia – or the lack of a mind’s eye.
Mnemonics for Memory Improvement
The second part covers the core systems of memory training. These include the following:
- Linking
- The number-shape system
- The number-rhyme system
- The Roman room or Memory Palace systems
- The alphabet (or pegword) system
The rest of the book discusses advanced systems, which we’ll look at next.
Tony Buzan’s Advanced Mnemonic Systems
“Advanced” is a tricky word.
The various mnemonic strategies I’ve just listed will challenge some beginners.
By the same token, Buzan wrote The Memory Book before the Internet became the creature it is today. Digital Amnesia was not a problem and his readers had fewer issues with focus.
In any case, other memory experts may start their readers off with different systems.
Personally, I think the Major System is within reach of many beginners.
This section of the book also has far more to do with applying the techniques to various goals, such as remembering historical dates, phone numbers and playing cards. I would have preferred if there was a section dedicated just to applications.
That’s because the next technique truly is advanced. In fact, many people ask me about it and find it thoroughly confusing.
With a bit of study and practice, anyone can crack it, though.
Let’s discuss how to do that next.
Buzan’s Most Challenging Memory Technique
The book ends with what Buzan calls the Self-Enhancing Master Memory Matrix, or SEM3. It is a system designed to help you produce 10,000 mnemonic images through the combination of categories and objects.
If you struggle to wrap your mind around it, don’t worry. You’re not alone.
That’s because SEM3 is basically a 00-99 PAO System. But it has additional features, most of which stem from the more ornate mnemonic systems of Peter of Ravenna and Giordano Bruno.
Please understand this about SEM3 and many other advanced mnemonic systems:
I’m aware of precisely no one who used SEM3 exactly as described. Each of us needs to adapt it to our own needs, which is basically what another mnemonist named David Berglas advised in A Question of Memory.
As you can see in the image above, I worked out my own version using pen and paper. That’s how I suggest you work with it too.
In any case, I believe Buzan first introduced SEM3 in the 1970s. Due to its complexity, it was generally less popular than the kind of activities he taught in Mind Map Mastery.
But there’s another reason SEM3 likely did not catch on.
Pros and Cons of Buzan’s Most Famous Book
Compared to many other Memory Palace books, Buzan clearly explains the core memory techniques you need to know.
The book also comes with multiple exercises so you can apply the techniques immediately after discovering them.
The only cons boil down to something Buzan shares with other mnemonists, like Harry Lorayne. So many authors for the mass market share the following problems with The Memory Book.
It is:
- Light on history to explain how he arrived at this system
- Light on mnemonic theory to explain more about how and why he thought it was so powerful
I think Buzan did a fantastic job all around. The strongest part of the book overall involves his clear and precise explanation of spaced repetition. You’ll know exactly what it is and how to make the most of it by the time you’re done this book.
But because Buzan doesn’t share the origins of SEM3 or fully build out the thinking behind the system, it has left a lot of readers confused.
Instead of spending a much longer section on explaining it, there’s an offhand reference to earlier concepts in the book.
Buzan’s right that there’s a connection in the book. But without a full explanation of how earlier chapters relate to the most advanced technique he offered, it can be difficult to understand how SEM3 works.
Other than that, I highly recommend reading this book from Buzan’s extensive bibliography. Once you do, you’ll understand exactly why Joshua Foer went out of his way to include Buzan as the “wizard” who gives him his call to adventure in Moonwalking with Einstein.
My Personal Insights and Practical Applications
Since I already knew the mnemonic techniques Buzan teaches in this book before reading it, I can’t say that it helped me directly.
His barebones description of SEM3 does have one upside, though.
It gets you thinking about possibilities and where on earth such elaborate systems come from.
When I met Buzan, he told me more about how he had studied from Harry Lorayne and read Yates’ The Art of Memory with keen interest.
Why his book doesn’t include more on the history puzzles me, except for the obvious answer. Many major publishers want the books they publish to be as simple as possible.
I had criticized some of the simplicity on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast over the years. And I was a bit worried Buzan would not like me when we met as a result.
As it turned out, Buzan loved that I was willing to speak my mind.
He gave me the Warrior of the Mind Emblem for Outstanding Contributions to Global Mental Literacy.
This award left me speechless – and that’s pretty rare for a guy who talks a lot on video and podcasts.
But it also inspired me to work harder.
Buzan is all about “global mental literacy” and “radiant thinking.”
His belief is that “mind sport is a healthy hobby” and I’ve done all that I can to support that by interviewing multiple memory champions.
Given that I had a tendency toward skepticism and pessimism, he above all inspired me to always focus on what can go right.
And he told me something I’ve never forgotten: “The rules what set you free.”
He improved my practice by helping me focus on what matters.
Reading The Memory Book can never be separated from the context of having met him and mind mapped my entrepreneurial career with his personal guidance.
Sadly, he’s gone now. But we can still read his books at any time and I hope I have encouraged you to pick this one up, if not many of the others that he penned.
Overall Score & Is It Still Worth Reading?
The Memory Book is a 9/10 for me, but with following caveat.
I don’t really like to give books points or dock them.
But in this case, Buzan would have done many of us a favor by devoting much more time to SEM3.
That said, you can look at the slim description of this complext technique a different way.
Since we all need to interpret these techniques on our own anyway, he does offer you a stellar challenge that will provide many fruits.
In that case, it’s worth more points than I could ever hope to give. Buzan was an advocate for self-education and lifelong learning.
As am I.
In a word, yes, The Memory Book is still worth reading. Very much so.
And if you found this review useful and would like to learn more about using the kinds of techniques Buzan discussed, grab my Free Memory Improvement course:
It gives you four video tutorials and worksheets so you can apply what you learn.
And it will help you build on what you have learned from other memory improvement authors.
My final advice is to always give each teacher you learn from the benefit of time.
By spending at least 90-days with what Buzan is talking about, you’ll learn much more, faster.
I know that sounds like a lot. But since he was an advocate of using memory techniques for life, it’s a drop in the bucket.
And I promise you it will pay many dividends as it teaches you how to remember anything you want.
