But why are these books everyone should read? or can read, for that matter. You just pointed to books meant to be read by people in the field. Like, I possess a book on the neurochemistry of memory formation, but I can't make heads or tails of it, frankly, because I don't have the background.

So, the books are going to be popular psychology almost by definition (and we really shouldn't continue the academic tradition of sneering at academics who write for the popular market. We need them).

I get your irritation about Freud. Dan Ariely and Daniel Kahneman are pretty relevant today, actually. I'd add these books:

* Decisions, Uncertainty and the Brain by Paul Glimcher

* Why Choose This Book: how we make decisions by Read Montague

So Subiculum, can you recommend books on memory that aren't intended to be read by academics in the field?

Update: Subiculum indicates that they read their first suggestion, the Wiley Handbook as an undergraduate, so I'm guessing that it is accessible enough for a general audience.