As always, a thoughtful, humorous, and quirky adventure. A.J. digs into his topic with gusto and explores just about every avenue for being as healthy as possible. Hearing HIM read it was a bonus. Lots of fun!

'I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book, and once again, the briliant A.J. Jacobs had me laughing out loud-and also deciding to change the way I live. Drop Dead Healthy is a rare mixture of the hilarious, the absurd, and the scientifically sound. Who knew it could be so entertaining to read about brocolli puree and shoeless jogging?'-Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

'We can become healthier by learning from A.J.'s discomfort in this very funny book. He moves us from theory to practice by dragging his body through all the longevity practices.'-Dr. Mehmet Oz, host, The Dr. Oz Show

'A.J. Jacobs is very, very bad for your health. He will keep you up reading 'til 2 a.m., disturbing your circadian rhythms, making you sleep through breakfast and overeat at lunch. He is delicious. He's habit-forming. He will give you infectious titters and terminal glee. Don't let that stop you. Indulge.'-Mary Roach, author of Bonk and Packing for Mars

'Who wouldn't want to be fitter, happier, more productive? In this riotious, madcap book, A.J. Jacobs sets himself an ambitious goal: to become the person we all wish we could be. It's vintage A.J. Do your future self a favor and read this book.'-Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein

'Can one man go from a 'python that ate a goat' physique to perfect specimen? From Roman soldier workouts to areca palm plants, from the sublime to the absurd, A.J. has tried it all. I laughed my ass off the whole way and learned a ton...including about my ass.'-Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Body

Contents

Prologue
Chapter 1 Thee stomach
The quest to eat right
Chapter 2 The heart
The quest to get my blood pumping
Chapter 3 the ears
The quest for quiet
Chapter 4 The butt
The quest to avoid sedentary life
Chapter 5 The immune system
The quest to conquer grms
Chapter 6 The stomach, revisited
The quest for the perfect meal
Chapter 7 The genitals
The quest to have more sex
Chapter 8 The nervous system
The quest to hurt less
Chapter 9 The lower intestine
The quest to go to the bathroom properly
Chapter 10 The adrenal gland
The quest to lower my stress level
Chapter 11 The brain
The quest to be smarter
Chapter 12 The endocrine system
The quest for a nontoxic home
Chpater 13 The teeth
The quest for the perfect smile
Chapter 14 The feet
The quest to run right
Chapter 15 The lungs
The quest to breathe better
Chpater 16 The stomach, revisited
The continued quest for the perfect diet
Chapter 17 The skin
The quest to erase blemishes
Chapter 18 The heart, revisited
The quest for the perfect workout
Chapter 19 The inside of the eyelid
The quest for the perfect night's sleep
Chapter 20 The bladder
The quest to figure out what to drink
Chapter 21 The gonads
The quest to get more balls
Chapter 22 The nose
The quest to smell better
Chapter 23 The hands
The quest for magic fingers
Chapter 24 the back
The quest to stand up straight
Chapter 25 The eyes
The quest to see better
Cahpter 26 The skull
The quest to not be killed in an accident
Cahpter 27 The finish line
Epilogue
Appendixx A Guerrilla exercise
Appendix B How to eat less
Appendix C Five tips on threadmill desks
Appendix D My five foolproof (for me, at least) methods of stress reduction
Appendix E The ten best pieces of food advice I've gotten all year
Appendix F How to live the quiet life
Appendix G Five toxins I now avoid
Author's note
Acknowledgments
Index

Life-changing. :) ( )

I didn't like it enough to make any real progress. Nothing against it, but the narrative didn't speak to me. ( )

In a nutshell: Journalist A J Jacobs decides that it’s time to get healthy, but rather than gong down the more conventional route of eating better and moving more, he decides to focus on a different part or area of the body each month and investigate how to make that particular part the healthiest it can be. This involves learning about lots of differing and (often contrasting) health theories and experiments/studies, and speaking to several experts. There’s a fair amount of quackery going on, but Jacobs takes note of everything he hears, and is prepared to give anything a try.

It’s definitely entertaining and often amusing. For my money, it was not “riotous, madcap” as one review on the cover put it, and it did not make me “laugh my ass off,” as claimed by another review. But it was engaging and easy to read – it explored the science and thinking behind the studies and claims, but did not get too bogged down in technicalities. Jacobs is clearly a huge worrier and he knows it – something that I identify strongly with – and catastrophises a lot, always imagining the worst case scenario (again – this was hugely relatable to me). He’s very engaging and very likeable, which heightened my enjoyment.

One thing to note is that Jacobs lives in New York and this book is very American leaning. Not a problem for me, but some of the things that he tries might not be so accessible to people who don’t live in such a metropolis where everything conceivable relating to health is pretty much on the doorstep!

It’s not a healthy living book, and certainly not to be taken as guidance, as he himself makes clear.

In summary, if you are looking for a hilarious madcap adventure, then I would not say that this is it. But it was an enjoyable and if you like (mostly) light-hearted non-fiction, then you might well enjoy this. ( )