The Book of Memory

How We Become Who We Are

Mark Rowlands

A brilliant journey through the nature of memory, helping us understand how what is lost—and what is remembered—shapes who we are.

In this revelatory and intimate exploration of the way memory works, Mark Rowlands, author of The Philosopher and the Wolf, reveals how memories aren’t fixed. They soften and consolidate—and are distorted—each time we revisit them, even those memories most deeply ingrained. The way we call on memory is closer to a "negotiation with the past."

From episodic memories like "shining islands in dark waters" and forgotten "Rilkean" memories that underpin our personalities and essential style to the memories we might hold that have been authored by others close to us, The Book of Memory draws on philosophical argument, a range of writers and thinkers, the latest neurological research, and psychology experiments to chart how memories are made, lost and remembered, with important consequences for how we understand ourselves.

Mark Rowlands is the author of The Philosopher and the Wolf, which was translated into fifteen languages. He is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Miami.

Buy it now in print:

Buy it now in ebook:

Endorsements & Reviews

"Fascinating, disturbing and ultimately reassuring—a deep dive into the messy filing cabinet of self. If you only remember one book you read this year, it will be this one." Tim Dowling, author of How to be a Husband and columnist for The Guardian 

"A charming philosophical take on a fact that ought to be much more widely known: that our memories may be stories, but they are our stories." Charles Fernyhough, author of Pieces of Light: The New Science of Memory

Praise for Mark Rowlands

“Rarely has a single animal inspired such deep reflections on morality, mortality,and misanthropy.” Frans de Waal, author of Mama's Last Hug

"Rowlands recovered his own humanity by loving a noble beast and (with a little help from Aristotle, Descartes, and Jack Daniel's) learning to howl at the moon.”
Oprah Daily

“One of the most intense reading experiences of my life. It is a profound and beautiful book.” Jeffrey Masson, author of When Elephants Weep

“Delightful and eye-opening.” The Miami Herald