This was an enjoyable read. Having traveled around the globe more than few times I was always intrigued how certain races or cultures seemed to have the longevity factor far outpacing the normal lifespan. In 'The Blue Zone' you'll find ways to live as much as a decade longer, thereby leding one to live a longer and fuller lifespan. Inside you'll find habits that can and will develop habits to leading a more productive life! ( )

The 2008 version of the book is informative. It has numerous stories of actual centenarians from each of four areas in the world. Readers are introduced to specific individuals and allowed to understand how they have eaten, exercises, and socialized throughout their lives. This helps the reader to better internalize the information being provided. At the end of section, the author lists the locales' customs and traditions that contribute to their longevity, and the science that proves it.

However, despite these stories, the human interest connection that the author tries to create is overshadowed by the book's numerous editing errors and the author's commentary that often seems to conclude without conveying a specific point. Unfortunately, both of these problems crop up often enough to detract from the understanding and general enjoyment of the information provided. ( )

Loved it. Will try to implement some of the things described in the book into my life as much as possible. Some of them I already do - like eating a lot of bitter melon :), and my love of walking... ( )

The book differs from the typical fare of longetivity offerings whereby the author has determined that there are specific areas of the world "Blue Zones" where people are known to live significantly longer than the normal life expectancy of an industrialized nation. The book focused on interviewing these octagenarians in there home and seeing what they had in common that distinguished them from other nations. This unique approach was interesting and pointed out a common them. Many of people lead a very simple life. They grow their own food, have deep family roots, work and stay active all their lives and live more or less stress free. While I found this book interesting, anyone that really wants to benefit from the findings can just read the final chapter that tells how to incorporate the findings into your lifestyle. Ultimately, the final rersults are the basis of which all the thousands of health books have in common. Don't smoke, drink in moderation, eat natural foods and exercise. Follow these rules and you can live longer. Unfortunately for us Americans our lifestyles of fast food and high stress work will never let us achieve our optimum life span. If you are interested in longevivity study then you would probably enjoy this book. If not, just read the last chapter if you have the opportunity. ( )

I began reading this book thinking that there would be some unified theory based on certain foods. What I found was simple and refreshing. I feel that the researchers were able to come up with a unified theory on best practices. There is certainly an interest in developing awareness around what we put into our bodies. This book gives added perspective of culture, ancestry and environment. ( )