Title: Drop Dead Healthy
Author: A.J. Jacobs
Genre: Memoir
# of Pages: 371
Date Published: 2012
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Recommend: Yes
I’ve read A. J. Jacobs’ work before. In addition to being an editor at Esquire, he has filled the bookstore shelves with funny memoirs about the crazy experiments he regularly attempts. The last book of his I picked up, A Year of Living Biblically, portrayed his experience trying to live a year following every rule of the Bible. Full of sass, he drives his family crazy with his social experiments. Jacobs’ books move quickly with reasonably paced chapters that get to the point and include pictures to hasten the dialogue! Normally, I’d give any book two stars minimum for having pictures. His latest work is the concern of this review, however. In Drop Dead Healthy, Jacobs attempts to become the healthiest man alive. After having a mid-life crisis, he realizes that he needs to get his act together on the health and fitness front. This book follows his journey as he embarks on a series of entertaining visits to a myriad of health experts.
Author: A.J. Jacobs
Genre: Memoir
# of Pages: 371
Date Published: 2012
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Recommend: Yes
I’ve read A. J. Jacobs’ work before. In addition to being an editor at Esquire, he has filled the bookstore shelves with funny memoirs about the crazy experiments he regularly attempts. The last book of his I picked up, A Year of Living Biblically, portrayed his experience trying to live a year following every rule of the Bible. Full of sass, he drives his family crazy with his social experiments. Jacobs’ books move quickly with reasonably paced chapters that get to the point and include pictures to hasten the dialogue! Normally, I’d give any book two stars minimum for having pictures. His latest work is the concern of this review, however. In Drop Dead Healthy, Jacobs attempts to become the healthiest man alive. After having a mid-life crisis, he realizes that he needs to get his act together on the health and fitness front. This book follows his journey as he embarks on a series of entertaining visits to a myriad of health experts.
I’m always trying to read different things and push myself out of the comfortable light reading I like to do outside of class. Being a tame yoga-going, stationary bike riding, sometimes-elliptical-if-there’s-no-one-to-watch-me-fall-off kind of girl, I was intrigued by the extreme health trends Jacobs tried; he described his experiences in a way that didn’t leave me feeling like I was reading another textbook for class. Instead of going to get acupuncture, going vegan, or turning my own desk into a treadmill, I witnessed him consult experts in every field in the hopes of finding the very best, but easy to follow advice for all aspects of health. From confronting germ phobias to discovering new tricks for dealing with stress, to trying out the “caveman movement” (don’t ask, just read), he attempts all sorts of extreme “hip” movements as well as trusted, old-fashioned exercise.
I’m pretty picky when it comes to books, so I gave this one three stars. It moves quickly enough hold your interest, but I didn’t find it as witty as his other works. Overall, he addressed a lot of different issues in a casual way that held the reader’s attention from the very beginning. If you’re curious about ways to live well, just want to laugh, or need a fast read for your time on the treadmill/stationary bike/elliptical, this is the book for you!
Review by Molly Saint, A&S '15 Illustration by Kayla D'Ambrosio, A&S '14
I’m pretty picky when it comes to books, so I gave this one three stars. It moves quickly enough hold your interest, but I didn’t find it as witty as his other works. Overall, he addressed a lot of different issues in a casual way that held the reader’s attention from the very beginning. If you’re curious about ways to live well, just want to laugh, or need a fast read for your time on the treadmill/stationary bike/elliptical, this is the book for you!
Review by Molly Saint, A&S '15 Illustration by Kayla D'Ambrosio, A&S '14
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