Here’s a book that’s written in my style.  Short, concise, browsable chapters on various common subjects regarding making your body better — whatever that means.  It’s a book not to be read cover-to-cover.  The chapters of my interest were:

• Fundamentals
• Ground Zero
• Subtracting Fat
• Adding Muscle
• Improving Sex
• Perfecting Sleep
• Closing Thoughts

I suppose that covers the most basic and universal of modern health issues.

And here are some underling themes I’m gaining:

• Once again, life has proven that there is “kotsu” to everything.  (“kotsu” is a Japanese slang for a key piece of knowledge that can make a significant improvement on an endeavor)
• Carbs are fillers.  Useful if you can’t get enough protein and other energy-inducing foods, as they are cheap, sustainable, and readily available.  Every culinary culture seems to rely on them, probably because protein-rich food are scarcer.
• The whole point of resistance training is that point of failure, when you can’t repeat the maneuver.  Getting there fast by using heavier weights is perfectly acceptable, granted you’re doing it in a safe manner.
• Resting is just as important as working out.  No need to berate yourself for laziness.
• Mind and body are one and the same.  If you improve one, you improve the other.  In some respects body is easier to improve, because it’s more easily measurable.   Wanna improve your life?  Make your body better.  It’s one thing you have control over — even easier to control than your thoughts.

I enjoyed this book a lot better than 4-Hour Work Week, his previous book.  I gained some useful insights from the Work Week, but half the time I was reading I was plain bothered by the difference between his code of ethics and mine.  Less so with the 4-Hour Body.  But his language is still colorful and he relies much on the current slangs, jargons and popular culture references (for example, citing the film Dances with Wolves to describe something long — very reflective of his and my generation, but the reference/significance may be lost on younger generations?)  So despite the blog-like casual writing style, it’s not quite as easy-read.