cover image Drop Dead Healthy: 
One Man’s Humble Quest 
for Bodily Perfection

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection

A.J. Jacobs, read by the author. Simon & Schuster Audio, unabridged, nine CDs, 10 hrs., $39.99 ISBN 978-0-7435-9876-7

In this third book in A.J. Jacobs’s self-improvement trilogy—the previous two volumes focused on mental and spiritual health—the author takes aim at physical fitness. Jacobs, frightened by a bout of pneumonia and wary of his gradually expanding midsection (partially because of his wife’s gentle chiding), attempts to achieve ultimate bodily health. Throughout his journey, he experiments with numerous workouts and diets and consults with a battery of health experts, from nutritionists to dermatologists. Jacobs provides crisp, clean narration in this audio edition, and possesses an everyman quality reminiscent of Woody Allen that’s particularly appropriate for a title about personal improvement. And if Jacobs’s performance falters occasionally—at times his voice becomes high-pitched and squeaky—fans of his work will likely be able to look the other way. A Simon & Schuster hardcover. (Apr.)