An exploration of the nature of autobiographical memory tackles such phenomena as deja-vu, near death experiences, and memory feats of idiot savants, in a volume that blends scholarship, poetic sensibility, and observation. In this enchanting and thoughtful book (shortlisted for the 2005 Aventis Prize), Douwe Draaisma, author of the internationally acclaimed Metaphors of Memory, explores the nature of autobiographical memory and extraordinary phenomena such as the memory feats of idiot-savants or the effects of extreme trauma on memory recall. List of illustrations vi Acknowledgments ix 1 'Memory is like a dog that lies down where it pleases' 1(14) 2 Flashes in the dark: first memories 15(16) 3 Smell and memory 31(14) 4 Yesterday's record 45(4) 5 The inner flashbulb 49(6) 6 'Why do we remember forwards and not backwards"?' 55(6) 7 The absolute memories of Funes and Sherashevsky 61(12) 8 The advantages of a defect: the savant syndrome 73(25) 9 The memory of a grandmaster: a conversation with Ton Sijbrands 98(9) 10 Trauma and memory: the Demjanjuk case 107(24) 11 Richard and Anna Wagner: forty-five years of married life 131(10) 12 'In oval mirrors we drive around': on experiencing a sense of déjà vu 141(31) 13 Reminiscences 172(29) 14 Why life speeds up as you get older 201(25) 15 Forgetting 226(13) 16 'I saw my life flash before me' 239(30) 17 From memory - Portrait with Still Life 269(5) Index of names 274