Review: Drop Dead Healthy, by AJ Jacobs

Note: I'm baaaa-aaaack!  Sorry about the extended hiatus.  Lesson planning plus grading plus kids plus end of year craziness = no time for fun reading or blogging.  I'm looking forward to adding a lot of content here this summer!  If you have suggestions for material, please leave comments here, and I'll put your ideas on the top of my list!

A couple of years ago, I reviewed AJ Jacobs' previous work, titled The Year of Living Biblically, in which he attempted to follow all of the rules in the Old Testament.  It was quite funny, and I had been looking forward to reading his latest quest into the 'Ultimate Rule Follower' domain, Drop Dead Healthy, for some time.  Having previously enjoyed Jacobs' everyman persuit of perfection, I expected more of the same in his newest volume.

For the most part, Drop Dead Healthy follows the same journalistic patterns as Jacobs' other books; decide upon a goal, read up, talk to experts on both sides of the various aspects of said goal, and follow the decided path ad nauseum, or at least until his wife puts her foot down.  Maybe it's that the formula has gotten a bit stale, or that this topic wasn't quite as funny, but DDH reads much more like an extra-long article than a compilation of humerous exploits.  Actually, this may be the case, since the bible quest required a lot more social discomfort on Jacobs' part, resulting in some pretty funny situations, whereas being more healthy and in-shape actually makes one, if anything, more socially accepted.  Regardless, lack of humor made this work feel like a much longer read, and portions are pretty dry, particularly some interviews with various experts.

This is not to say that DDH isn't entertaining and enlightening, because I did find it interesting, and those who have not done a great deal of reading on the plastic debate, air quality, and the virtues of various diets will probably find it especially so.  For me, the best parts involved Jacobs' interactions with family, friends, and some of the more out-there health nuts he interacted with.  He also spends a decent amount of the book detailing visits with his grandfather and aunt, both of whom die during his writing.  The material including his aunt is more pertinent, as she is a colossal health nut who has informed and emphatic opinions on health matters, while the material with his grandfather is more sentimental and slightly less so, except for that it follows the rule that says that those in contact with family will live longer.  It is obvious that Jacobs has a strong attachment to his grandfather, which is touching to read, however, at the risk of sounding like a complete grinch, I have to say that I feel that he included a bit more of that material than was necessary, probably out of sentimentality due to the circumstances. 

Jacobs gives a very thorough discussion of each side of arguments, such as what the best diet is, or the best exercise plan, including a very funny 'caveman' program in Central Park.  I would have liked to have read more on the actual impact of all the changes on him, personally; Jacobs spends very little time discussing whether these changes are difficult for him, especially the changes in diet.  Including more on personal struggles regarding abstaining from certain foods would humanize the book more, and thus make it more engaging.  While Jacobs mentions that he has stopped eating this and that, he doesn't include anything on whether this is difficult for him, or how he copes with cravings. 

Overall, I would probably read another work by Jacobs.  His style is fairly conversational, and he seems to be a likable person.  Perhaps next time he could return to a more off-beat topic, which would reintroduce the humor back into his work and allow his personality to shine through more.

Rating: 3 stars.  Not as entertaining as previous works, but still a worthwhile read with occasional moments of humor and sentimentality.