Drop Dead Healthy
One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection
Published on 10. May 2012
416 pages
978-1-4070-8834-1 (ISBN)
Description
After sharpening his mind in The Know-It-All and achieving spiritual enlightenment in The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs had only one thing left to tackle in the self-improvement trinity: the body. But his mission wasn't just to lose a couple of pounds, but to turn his current self - 'a mushy, easily winded, moderately sickly blob' - into a paragon of health and vitality.
Armed with a team of medical advisers and a 53-page task list, Jacobs set to work. He subjected his body to a brutal regime of exercise programmes - extreme chewing, anti-gravity yoga and shoeless jogging to name only a few; sampled every miracle diet going, beginning with the 'coffee, booze and chocolate' plan through the 'Rastafarian diet' to raw foodism; as well as sharpening his eyes and mind, testing every known method, and the patience of his long-suffering wife, in his quest to become as healthy as humanly possible.
Drop Dead Healthy is a hilarious account of one man's painful journey from slob to superman, and a fascinating and eye-opening examination of what it really means to be healthy. Revealing the ugly truth about the assumptions and obsessions we have about our bodies, this might just be the healthiest book you'll ever read.
Armed with a team of medical advisers and a 53-page task list, Jacobs set to work. He subjected his body to a brutal regime of exercise programmes - extreme chewing, anti-gravity yoga and shoeless jogging to name only a few; sampled every miracle diet going, beginning with the 'coffee, booze and chocolate' plan through the 'Rastafarian diet' to raw foodism; as well as sharpening his eyes and mind, testing every known method, and the patience of his long-suffering wife, in his quest to become as healthy as humanly possible.
Drop Dead Healthy is a hilarious account of one man's painful journey from slob to superman, and a fascinating and eye-opening examination of what it really means to be healthy. Revealing the ugly truth about the assumptions and obsessions we have about our bodies, this might just be the healthiest book you'll ever read.
Reviews / Votes
Packed with fascinating information and studies from experts, the book is a highly entertaining and sharply written personal odyssey ... The perfect book to slip in the suitcase before exposing that shameful midriff on the beach. * Daily Mail * 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 riotous, madcap book, AJ Jacobs sets himself an ambitious goal: to become the person we all wish we could be. It's vintage AJ. Do your future self a favour and buy this book. -- Joshua Foer, author of 'Moonwalking with Einstein' I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book, and once again, the brilliant 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 broccoli puree and shoeless jogging? -- Gretchen Rubin, author of 'The Happiness Project' His quirky tone makes it undeniably hilarious ... Amongst the laughter you'll find genuine fitness and nutrition tips from someone who is willing to try anything, no matter how embarrassing it might be. * Huffington Post * Who wouldn't want to be fitter, happier, more productive? In this riotous, madcap book, AJ Jacobs sets himself an ambitious goal: to become the person we all wish we could be. It's vintage AJ. Do your future self a favour and buy 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, AJ 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 Work Week' I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book, and once again, the brilliant 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 broccoli puree and shoeless jogging? -- Gretchen Rubin, author of 'The Happiness Project' 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' It's not just a funny read, Jacobs filters the wise from the wacky so we're left with some valuable health lessons...Drop Dead Healthy is both entertaining and useful. * Healthy Magazine *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
File size
1,73 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4070-8834-1 (9781407088341)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
07/2013
Arrow Books Ltd
€24.90
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
A. J. Jacobs is the editor at large at Esquire. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Know-It-All. He has contributed to the New York Times, New York magazine, and NPR's Weekend Edition, among others. He lives in New York. See ajjacobs.com for more information.
