Drop Dead Healthy

A.J. Jacobs has made a career out of his annual explorations; he spent a year living biblically and a year learning the encyclopedia. Now he's spent a year exploring the ways humans maintain their health. Each month is dedicated to different body parts or health theories, and no trend is too obscure to merit attention--whether it's orthorexics (health-food obsessives who endanger their own health) or cavemen (those who espouse boiled meat and running barefoot through Central Park). Health experts, it turns out, are often just people who stack some initials after their name, and Jacobs struggles to be the voice of reason above the din of contradictory advice. The author reads his work with conviction though some listeners may find his persevering tone not unlike that of a precocious child constantly tugging at your arm. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine