Memory is perhaps the most extraordinary phenomenon in the natural world. Every person's brain holds millions of bits of information in long-term storage. This vast memory store includes our extensive vocabulary and knowledge of language; the tremendous and unique variety of facts we've amassed; all the skills we've learned, from walking and talking to musical and athletic performance; many of the emotions we feel; and the continuous sensations, feelings, and understandings of the world we term consciousness. Without memory there can be no mind as we understand it.

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A principal theme of the book is a plea for "real venture capital," with the venture capitalist adding substantial value to companies and their founders through a wide knowledge of business, in contrast to the purely financial skills required in other sectors of the private equity field, such as leveraged buy-outs.