Philip J. Hilts

Memory's Ghost: the Nature of Memory and the Strange Tale of Mr. M Philip J. Hilts Touchstone Ed edition

In an experiment that occurred some forty years ago, Henry M.'s memory was stolen from him during a highly controversial operation performed to cure his epilepsy. Henry has lived in the immediate present ever since, unable to connect a past moment with the next, incapable of retaining or recalling any physical or emotional experience.

Philip J. Hilts -- one of the few people to spend time with Henry, who is sequestered in a hospital -- draws on Henry's bizarre situation as well as current cutting-edge research into the functions of the brain in a revealing investigation of
-- How an individual's memory is constructed
-- When and why memory fails
-- The efficacy of mnemonic devices
-- The validity of "recovered" memories

Part poetic reflection and philosophical meditation, part popular science and investigative journalism, Memory's Ghost is an unforgettable journey into the mysteries of the human mind.