Title: Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection
Author: A.J. Jacobs
Synopsis: Targeting one body part at a time, Jacobs takes an “experimental journalism” approach to improve his health.
You might like this if: you want some light, fun reading to get or stay inspired about your own health.
Why I read this: A colleague raved about how funny it was.
What I loved about it: I learned about new fitness trends like the paleo movement. I can relate to Jacobs’ quirky obsessions. I also like that he’s not afraid to do ridiculous things (like take a pole dancing class) in the name of reporting.
What was unexpected: He skims the surface of lots of trends, but doesn’t dive too deeply into any one. His previous works seemed more tightly woven and better organized.
Best Quote: This was actually a quote from Jacobs’ grandfather on the sheer improbability that we exist.
“…out of the millions of people in the world, your mother and father met and decided to get married to each other. And out of the millions of sperm, that the one with your genes was the one that made it to the egg and fertilized the egg.”
Better books by Jacobs:
My Life as an Experiment: One Man’s Humble Quest to Improve Himself by Living as a Woman, Becoming George Washington, Telling No Lies, and Other Radical Tests
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
My Little Spacebook 
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March 5, 2013 at 5:28 pm
Dana
I’ve seen his work around but haven’t read any of his books yet. I think I’d be most interested in the one you reviewed, even though it isn’t his strongest work. (And I am so far from Paleo, it’s not even funny!)
March 5, 2013 at 6:48 pm
Lunar Euphoria
Ish – me too on the Paleo diet. He shared a lively debate between two of the “Cave Man” followers about whether eating raw meat is the purist way to go.