Jacobs - Drop dead healthy: one mans humble quest for bodily perfection

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Bright, funny and even useful... Jacobs is methodical and savvy.

Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Who wouldnt want to be fitter, happier, more productive? In this riotous, madcap book, A.J. Jacobs sets himself an ambitious goal: to become the person we all wish we could be. Its vintage A.J. Do your future self a favor and read this book.

Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein

Youll exercise your abdominals laughing over his adventures.

Entertainment Weekly

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

Youll burn calories laughing out loud.

Shape

Jacobs light touch camouflages the impressive amount of research that goes into each chapter. He reads books and medical reports, interviews experts and scientists as well as enthusiasts on the fringe, then tries everything himself. He brings a skeptics eye to each point of view, but he remains respectful of even the wackiest ideas.... Yes, the results are funny, but this is, at heart, a serious book, with an underlying poignancy: As Jacobs works to get healthier, his beloved grandfather begins his slow decline, reminding us that no matter how healthy we are, its all going to end the same way.

Laurie Hertzl, Minneapolis Star Tribune

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 Workweek

Why go to the gym when you can sit and read a funny book about it instead?

USA Today

I couldnt wait to get my hands on this book, and once again, the brilliant A.J. Jacobs had me laughing out loudand 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

Youll learn fascinating facts, but really this book is a testament to the joysand benefitsof moderation.

People

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. Hes habit-forming. He will give you infectious titters and terminal glee. Dont let that stop you. Indulge.

Mary Roach, author of Bonk and Packing for Mars

An entertaining guide to the skinny on a healthy life.

Jay Jennings, San Francisco Chronicle

While Jacobss attempts at health enlightenment can be hilarious, visits with his grandfather, famed labor lawyer Theodore Kheel, provide the most revealing glimpse into the secrets of aging well.

More

His pursuit of perky pecs is sure to enlighten, but read it at your own risk: Side effects may include involuntary fits of laughter.

Spirit (Southwest Airlines Magazine)

ALSO BY THE AUTHOR

The Know-It-All

The Year of Living Biblically

My Life as an Experiment

To Julie and my sons

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Copyright 2012 by A.J. Jacobs

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First Simon & Schuster trade paperback edition November 2012

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Designed by Ruth Lee-Mui

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Jacobs, A.J., 1968

Drop dead healthy : one mans humble quest for bodily perfection / A. J. Jacobs.

p. cm

1. Jacobs, A.J., 1968 Health. 2. Health. 3. NutritionBiography. 4. Exercise. 5. HealthHumor. I. Title.

RA776.5.J265 2012

613.2092dc23

[B]

2011039172

ISBN 978-1-4165-9907-4

ISBN 978-1-4165-9908-1 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-4391-1015-7 (ebook)

The Quest to Eat Right

The Quest to Get My Blood Pumping

The Quest for Quiet

The Quest to Avoid Sedentary Life

The Quest to Conquer Germs

The Quest for the Perfect Meal

The Quest to Have More Sex

The Quest to Hurt Less

The Quest to Go to the Bathroom Properly

The Quest to Lower My Stress Level

The Quest to Be Smarter

The Quest for a Nontoxic Home

The Quest for the Perfect Smile

The Quest to Run Right

The Quest to Breathe Better

The Continued Quest for the Perfect Diet

The Quest to Erase Blemishes

The Quest for the Perfect Workout

The Quest for the Perfect Nights Sleep

The Quest to Figure Out What to Drink

The Quest to Get More Balls

The Quest to Smell Better

The Quest for Magic Fingers

The Quest to Stand Up Straight

The Quest to See Better

The Quest to Not Be Killed in an Accident

FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS, Ive been assembling a list of things I need to do to improve my health. Its an intimidatingly long list. Fifty-three pages. Heres a sample:

Eat leafy green vegetables

Do forty minutes of aerobic exercise a day

Meditate several times a week

Watch baseball (lowers blood pressure, according to one study)

Nap (good for the brain and heart)

Hum (prevents sinus infections)

Win an Academy Award (A bit of a long shot, I know. But studies show Oscar winners live three years longer than nonOscar winners.)

Keep my apartment at sixty-two degrees, which makes my body burn more calories a day

Buy a potted Areca palm plant (filters dirty air)

Lift weights to muscle exhaustion

Become an Okinawan woman (another long shot)

And on and on.

By the way, Ive printed this list in nine-point Papyrus font, because I found a study that says hard-to-read fonts improve memorization.

I want to do everything on my list because my quest isnt just to be a little bit healthier. My quest isnt to lose a couple of pounds. My quest is to turn my current selfa mushy, easily winded, moderately sickly blobinto the embodiment of health and fitness. To become as healthy as humanly possible.

Ive been intrigued by the topic of health and fitness for years. But the idea of devoting myself to the cause occurred to me during a recent vacation. It was supposed to be a relaxing week with the family in the Dominican Republic. Sand castles would be built. Boggle would be played. Soda would be ordered without ice.