Khalsa, Dharma Singh & Stauth, Cameron: Brain longevity: The breakthrough medical program that improves your mind and memory. NY: Warner Books, 1997.
Content: This is a medical approach to memory - Khalsa aims to teach you how to "biologically create a good memory, not how to make the best of a bad one." The emphasis is on preventing memory impairment that comes with age, and the book discusses diet, dietary supplements, exercise, stress management, yoga, and drugs.
Author’s qualifications: Khalsa is an M.D., an anesthesiologist, and a former director of the University of Arizona's Acupuncture, Stress Medicine and Chronic Pain program. Stauth is a journalist.
Readability: A chatty sort of book. Easy to read. Anecdotal rather than academic.
Accuracy: Hard to judge. The book is mainly an account of his own clinical experiences and the program he developed. He makes few references to specific research - always a danger sign - and uses the generic "Studies have shown", and "Some researchers ...", etc. No bibliography.
Currency: The book was first published in 1997.
Comprehensiveness: The book doesn't aim to teach you about how memory works (the chapter ostensibly on this subject was not particularly explanatory), nor how to use your memory more effectively. The book describes Khalsa's beliefs about the causes of Alzheimer's and "age-associated memory impairment", and the medical program he advocates for overcoming these problems.
Amount of background knowledge assumed: Since it's aimed at the mass market, no background knowledge is required to read this
Usefulness: There's very little directly applicable to the goal of improving your memory by increasing its effectiveness, nor does it add to your general understanding of how memory works. The program is aimed at people over 40 with memory problems, although the authors try to broaden that constituency with somewhat exaggerated claims (this comment is not intended to detract from the potential value of the program for those who are its principal targets).
Memorability: Not organized to enhance memorability, but reasonably clearly written.
Interest: I actually found the information quite intriguing. Not being a medical researcher, I can't judge the validity of his basic thesis (that chronic exposure of the brain to toxic levels of cortisol is a primary cause of brain degeneration, and that such toxicity is a primary cause of Alzheimer's), although I have to admit to a natural skepticism about such claims (a skepticism strengthened considerably by the paucity of references). However his advice about diet, exercise, yoga, stress management, etc, is reasonably rational (although hardly ground-breaking), and I confess to the usual human pleasure in being told there is a single cause to a problem, however unlikely this is.
Balance: This doesn't aim to be other than biased - it's an account of a particular set of beliefs. Proselytizing (which is not necessarily bad - it doesn't pretend to be other than it is).
Availability: Amazon records it as available within 24 hours, at a cost of US$12.60. Many libraries will have it.
Length: around 450 pages
Includes an index.
Overall rating (reflects my own opinion of the book’s worth, not its usefulness to you): **
Now available as a downloadable ebook!
