#BookReview: Life Time by Russell Foster

Approachable Combination Of Science And Self-Help. This book is exactly what I said in the title – an approachable combination of the hard science (explained in such a way that anyone with a roughly high school education should be able to follow along reasonably well enough) and practical self-help type recommendations showing just how much sleep and the circadian rhythm affect virtually everything about the human mind and body, even down to things we may not associate with them such as cardiovascular troubles or the effectiveness of cancer treatments. It doesn’t hurt that includes one of my favorite short jokes at the beginning of one of the chapters as well. 🙂 Clocking in at around 29% bibliography, the narrative here uses a sequential numbering system for its footnotes that I distinctly remember was at least approaching – and may have surpassed – 600 individual citations. It also has an almost “FAQ” section at the end of each chapter, briefly answering common questions the author has encountered about the ideas discussed in that specific chapter. An excellent book for anyone seeking information about this topic, particularly those who may have questions about how sleep and circadian rhythms could potentially be affecting their own health. Very much recommended.

This review of Life Time by Russell Foster was originally written on August 28, 2022.

Featured New Release Of The Week: Six Weeks To Live by Catherine McKenzie

This week, we’re looking at an explosive and twisty mystery with an ending that will leave you breathless. This week we’re looking at Six Weeks To Live by Catherine McKenzie.

Ironic, But Explaining That Is Spoilery. My singular biggest takeaway from this book is just how *HIGHLY* ironic it turns out to be. But explaining that involves discussing specifics of the ending of the book, and thus isn’t something I’m going to do in a review. Just not my style. At all.

What I *can* tell you about this book is that for the most part, you’ve got your expected Catherine McKenzie level mystery here. By which I mean there will be all kinds of twists and turns. Secrets all over the place – including some revealed only in the final pages. Solid pacing. A compelling introduction. And a general sense after reading it of “WOW”/ “WTF”. If you’re looking for that kind of book, I’ve yet to be let down with anything I’ve read from this author… including this very book. Very much recommended.

#BookReview: You Bet Your Life by Paul A Offit

Startling Look At (Mostly Relatively Recent) Medical History. I consider myself a fairly well-read guy who is fairly knowledgeable about a *very* wide range of topics. Here, Offit shares stories of medical breakthroughs – including several which are now literally every day occurrences – and how the initial days of these breakthroughs weren’t always so routine. Indeed, many of the stories Offit shares about these breakthroughs – some of which were still being litigated within the last decade – are quite horrific, both from the practitioners really not understanding what they were doing and in some cases when they *did* know what they were doing – and did it anyway. Including one tale in particular about the (now) famous Jonas Salk himself that was quite disturbing to read. In the end, the book does exactly what it sets out to do – shows that there is always inherent risk in any medical procedure, particularly novel ones, and that often times it is those whose lives will be cut short with or without the procedure that take the risks that ultimately reduce those risks for later people and indeed enhance the lives of people they will never know many years down the line. And yes, all of this is wrapped around the current debate over the COVID-19 vaccines – though while these are discussed, they are not actually a core component of the text itself. The discussion here is current circa early November 2020 and is slightly outdated even as I read the text in early February 2021 – and certainly will have advanced even further by the time of the book’s actual publication in mid September 2021. Ultimately a truly fascinating read that is equally disturbing and enlightening, this book is very much recommended.

This review of You Bet Your Life by Paul A Offit was originally written on February 8, 2021.