A. J. Jacobs - Official Website

Having achieved enlightenment in The Year of Living Biblically and sharpened his mind in The Know-It-All, bestselling author A.J. Jacobs had one feat left in the self-improvement trinity: to make over his body and become the healthiest person in the world. In Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection, the intrepid Esquire editor-at-large explores every aspect of the body—from biceps to the brain, from testosterone to toenails—to get into shape. A self-described “mushy, easily-winded, moderately sickly blob” Jacobs, at the urging of his family, vowed to retool every part of his long-neglected body. The task was massive.

He assembled a team of expert medical advisers, a group that included A-list doctors, researchers, nutritionists and trainers. He pledged to disentangle medical myths from reality. He listened to his sage, 96 year-old grandfather’s advice, as well as the chiding of his hippy aunt, Marti. He made a 53-page list of things to do to improve his health. It includes everything from the traditional—“eat leafy green vegetables” and “lift weights”—to the unusual—“win an Academy Award” (Oscar winners live three years long than non-Oscar winners) and hum to prevent sinus infections. Then, over the course of two years, he subjected himself to a grueling but entertaining regimen of exercise, diets and experiments that yielded surprising insights—and tested the patience of his wife, Julie.

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One man. Ten extraordinary quests.

On a mission to improve every aspect of his life — from work to love to family — A.J. Jacobs becomes a human guinea pig and immerses himself in a series of radical lifestyle experiments. To figure out how to reclaim his dignity, he follows George Washington’s 110 Rules of Life. To explore fame, he goes undercover as a movie star. To investigate dating, he becomes a single woman. To understand decision-making, he tries to eliminate irrationality from his brain. And many more. The results are equal parts funny and enlightening. Go ahead, immerse yourself in these new worlds. (Published in hardcover as 'The Guinea Pig Diaries.')

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The Year of Living Biblically answers the question: What if a modern-day American followed every single rule in the Bible as literally as possible. Not just the famous rules – the Ten Commandments and Love Thy Neighbor (though certainly those). But the hundreds of oft-ignored ones: don’t wear clothes of mixed fibers. Grow your beard. Stone adulterers. A.J. Jacobs’ experiment is surprising, informative, timely and funny. It is both irreverent and reverent. It seeks to discover what’s good in the Bible and what is maybe not so relevant to 21st century life. And it will make you see the Good Book with new eyes. Thou shalt not put it down. Read more.

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The Know-It-All is the story of one man’s quest to learn everything in the world. His method? Reading the Encyclopedia from A to Z. All 44 million words of it. From a-ak (ancient East Asian music) to Zywiec (a town in Poland known for its beer). The book that results is a combination of:

--The most fascinating and funniest facts from the encyclopedia so you’ll never be at a loss at your next cocktail party.

--A series of adventures that test the limits of knowledge (Jacobs sneaks into a Mensa convention and competes on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire).

--The story of how information overload wreaks havoc on Jacobs’ life (his wife started fining him $1 for every irrelevant fact he inserted into conversation).

--A search for profound wisdom among the ocean of facts.