Paperback : $34.70
What Doesn't Kill Us, a New York Times bestseller, traces our evolutionary journey back to a time when survival depended on how well we adapted to the environment around us.
Our ancestors crossed deserts, mountains, and oceans without even a whisper of what anyone today might consider modern technology. Those feats of endurance now seem impossible in an age where we take comfort for granted. But what if we could regain some of our lost evolutionary strength by simulating the environmental conditions of our ancestors?
Investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney takes up the challenge to find out: Can we hack our bodies and use the environment to stimulate our inner biology? Helping him in his search for the answers is Dutch fitness guru Wim Hof, whose ability to control his body temperature in extreme cold has sparked a whirlwind of scientific study. Carney also enlists input from an Army scientist, a world-famous surfer, the founders of an obstacle course race movement, and ordinary people who have documented how they have cured autoimmune diseases, lost weight, and reversed diabetes. In the process, he chronicles his own transformational journey as he pushes his body and mind to the edge of endurance, a quest that culminates in a record-bending, 28-hour climb to the snowy peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro wearing nothing but a pair of running shorts and sneakers.
An ambitious blend of investigative reporting and participatory journalism, What Doesn't Kill Us explores the true connection between the mind and the body and reveals the science that allows us to push past our perceived limitations.
What Doesn't Kill Us, a New York Times bestseller, traces our evolutionary journey back to a time when survival depended on how well we adapted to the environment around us.
Our ancestors crossed deserts, mountains, and oceans without even a whisper of what anyone today might consider modern technology. Those feats of endurance now seem impossible in an age where we take comfort for granted. But what if we could regain some of our lost evolutionary strength by simulating the environmental conditions of our ancestors?
Investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney takes up the challenge to find out: Can we hack our bodies and use the environment to stimulate our inner biology? Helping him in his search for the answers is Dutch fitness guru Wim Hof, whose ability to control his body temperature in extreme cold has sparked a whirlwind of scientific study. Carney also enlists input from an Army scientist, a world-famous surfer, the founders of an obstacle course race movement, and ordinary people who have documented how they have cured autoimmune diseases, lost weight, and reversed diabetes. In the process, he chronicles his own transformational journey as he pushes his body and mind to the edge of endurance, a quest that culminates in a record-bending, 28-hour climb to the snowy peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro wearing nothing but a pair of running shorts and sneakers.
An ambitious blend of investigative reporting and participatory journalism, What Doesn't Kill Us explores the true connection between the mind and the body and reveals the science that allows us to push past our perceived limitations.
Scott Carney is an investigative journalist and anthropologist whose stories blend narrative non-fiction with ethnography. His reporting has taken him to some of the most dangerous and unlikely corners of the world. The New York Times says "Carney writes with considerable narrative verve, slamming home the misery of what he has witnessed with passion and visceral detail." He has been a contributing editor at Wired and his work also appears in Mother Jones, Foreign Policy, Playboy, Details, Discover, Outside, and Fast Company. He lives in Denver, CO.
“Fresh and exciting, this book has wide appeal for readers
interested in health, sports, self-improvement, and extreme
challenges.”—Booklist
“Engaging . . . This is part guide and part popular science book;
readers will learn about how Neanderthals used the body’s 'brown
fat' to keep warm and how exposure nearly reverses the symptoms of
diabetes. The accomplishments Carney documents are unbelievable and
fascinating; this isn’t a how-to for those looking to perform
extraordinary feats, but it is an entertaining account that will
appeal to the adventurous.”—Publishers Weekly
“Scott Carney is so curious about getting to the truth of things
that he is willing to endure great pain and suffering to get there.
While investigating the controversial methods of Wim Hof and others
operating on the scientific fringe, Carney entered a skeptic yet
emerged a true believer. In What Doesn't Kill Us, readers get to
follow him along on his transformational journey, and the insights
are truly fascinating. Informative, fun, and with a healthy degree
of danger, this is a book for the adventurer in all of
us.”—Gabrielle Reece, co-founder, XPT (Extreme Performance
Training)
“The further we get from the harsh environmental conditions that
once threatened our existence, the more we need them. I see this
every weekend at a Spartan Race somewhere in the world. Millions of
otherwise sane people line up to suffer and push themselves to
their physical limits, and it feels good. What Doesn't Kill Us is a
fascinating investigation into the innate urge that drives people
like these, and reveals how some have managed to use environmental
conditioning to accomplish truly extraordinary things." —Joe
DeSena, founder, Spartan Race
“As a Navy SEAL, you live by the mantra, ‘what doesn’t kill us only
makes us stronger.’ We would hear this phrase and repeat it, but we
never had any proof that it was factual. Yet through comprehensive
study, Scott Carney has brilliantly documented how engaging in
environmental conditioning, breathing, meditation, and other
techniques can actually make us physically and mentally stronger.
What Doesn’t Kill Us is a fascinating book that will captivate all
who read it and that will be of immense value to those in the
military, those who are active in sports, and those who seek an
alternate means of developing greater mental and physical
strength.”—Don D. Mann, New York Times bestselling author, Inside
SEAL Team SIX
“Damn fun and extremely well-researched, What Doesn’t Kill Us is a
great addition to the canon of high performance literature!”—
Steven Kotler, New York Times bestselling author of Abundance and
The Rise of Superman
“When it's cold outside, do you turn the heating up? Do you always
put a coat on before going out? Do you think your comfortable life
is good for you? If so, you have to read Scott Carney's What
Doesn't Kill Us. Through some great stories — which often involve
Carney trudging through snow without much on — and some serious
research, he shows us how to escape the bland, shuffling gait of
our centrally-heated, fleece-jacketed, molly-coddled lives by
diving head-first into the ice-cold, axe-sharp, scary experiences
that made our ancestors’ hearts beat faster every day. If we do
that, we can awaken from the dull slumber of modern life and open
our eyes to a better, healthier dawn of crisp air, better
circulation, and the ability to truly mean it when we say: I'm
alive. Buy this book, and you'll emerge a stronger, healthier, more
human human.”— James Wallman, author of Stuffocation
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