We all remember, of that there can be no doubt. Whether we remember
accurately or inaccurately, in detail or in abstract, are questions that researchers
have investigated for many years. However, there is another, more fundamental
question: why do we remember at all?...Pillemer teases out these issues and they
inevitably lead to a consideration of why we, as a species, have these rather
curious mental representations. For Pillemer, part of the answer lies in his
suggestion that autobiographical memories and the ability to have them provide a
certain sort of social intelligence that could not be delivered in any other
way...Autobiographical memories are the things that ground the self, and they ground
it in the past. The classification of memories in this book provides a thoughtful
insight into how this grounding might take place.
-- Martin Conway
Nature
A splendid accomplishment. David Pillemer
manages in this brilliant and elegant book to go from the quaintness of those highly
personal and flashbulb memories we all have to an understanding of autobiographical
memory in the large. The book combines the richness of real life with the rigor of
laboratory study. In a way reminiscent of Bartlett's classic
Remembering, it opens new vistas on the nature of
memory.
-- Jerome Bruner, New York
University
Broad in scope and rich in insight,
Momentous Events, Vivid Memories celebrates and illuminates the
truly important episodes in our lives. David Pillemer shows how these significant
moments reveal fundamental aspects of our memories and selves. This fascinating and
well-written book deserves a wide audience.
-- Daniel L. Schacter,
Professor and Chair of Psychology, Harvard
University
In this impressive book, Pillemer
documents a compelling fact about human experience that the psychology of memory has
largely ignored: a single event can change a life forever. In doing so he has
established a whole new way of thinking about memory, one that will be influential
for years to come.
-- Ulric Neisser, Cornell
University
A uniquely rich and complete picture of
the function and value of personal event memories in everyday life. The book
features an extraordinary collection of examples from personal accounts of
meaningful episodes. Pillemer's subtle presentation of his layered theory of
personal memory, consisting of imagistic and narrative components, organizes his
account of the development of autobiographical memory, and persuasively concludes
that personal event memory is an essential component of practical
intelligence.
-- Katherine Nelson, The Graduate School, City University of
New York
This is a marvelous book--engaging,
informative and provocative. Pillemer provides a comprehensive overview of memory
for personal experiences that incorporates the psychological research literature and
integrates it with clinical, literary and postmodern/feminist theory. It is written
at a level that the general reader could easily understand and enjoy, yet scholars
working in this area will also learn much that is new.
-- Robyn Fivush,
Emory University
By emphasizing the importance of
specific personal event memories in the lives of individuals, David Pillemer
fashions a powerful bridge between the work of cognitive psychologists and
researchers working in personality and clinical psychology. Written in clear and
engaging prose, Momentous Events, Vivid Memories provides
riveting examples of the central role specific memories can play in influenceing our
preceptions and actions.
-- Jefferson A. Singer, Connecticut College,
co-author of The Remembered
Self
A must read for anyone interested in
this all-important function of the mind.
-- Lenore C. Terr, Clinical
Professor of Psychiatry, University of California at San
Francisco
He offers much-needed balance by drawing
attention to emerging research on personal event memory
His book is replete
with detailed examples of personal event memories from literature and psychological
research. He deftly interweaves rich narrative with generalizations from research
and theory.
-- Jon G. Allen, Ph.D. Bulletin of the Menninger
Clinic
