Go Wild Paperback – December 22, 2015

Excellent, clear writing. Explains in clear, common sense language. Very helpful. About many topics on our minds today. About more than "afflictions of civilization." Gave e-copies to several friends.

John Ratey is associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. His premise is simple: as humans have become more civilized and sedentary, we have also become sicker and sadder. Our bodies and minds operate best on certain settings—low sugar, robust movement, fulsome sleep, mindful awareness, social connection, etc. The brilliance of the book is how it vividly illustrates the myriad ways that we simply operate better on all levels as we “go wild” and live according to design. Although at times it’s pretty academic, this book along with its predecessor “Spark” have been life-changing for me. They were the motivation I needed this year to exercise more regularly for the sake of better physical *and* mental health, and I have absolutely reaped the results.

These words (in the title of my review and used often by an old teacher of mine) couldn't ring more true here. I enjoyed reading this book and how it simplifies living well. If you're interested in not only increasing your lifespan but also increasing your "healthspan" (in the words of another book I also enjoyed, then this book is for you.There were some times in which the authors went off on a tangent or two, but these tangents were usually pretty interesting. In the end, I'm still left wondering about the best choices for food however. Books like 'The China Study " have the complete opposite thesis to what is presented here. That being said, ,there is still a wealth of great advice here and the book is more than worth your time.

Lots of things to learn with his book

I love Dr. Ratey’s books- have read almost all of them, and this is probably my favorite. It was so affirming… has encouraged me in so many ways. He has some dense science lessons (which I appreciate greatly- he doesn’t act like his readers are stupid), but if you don’t care about all the neurophysiology, then you can skip to the “so what?” Highly recommend- I keep buying copies and sharing… will probably have purchased 10 copies by the end of the year!

I made the mistake of buying this before checking the publication date. I generally like Ratey's books but this one has a lot of content that is either speculative or outdated. It has a chapter on barefoot running preventing injuries, which has since been disproven in prospective studies. The sensory processing information is outdated as is the data on meditation. Applying data on vole behavior to humans was always speculative. What remains is a series of generic recommendations around getting enough sleep, time in nature, diet, and exercise. It's good advice but doesn't justify the price of the book any more.

For anyone who cares about feeling good and being healthy, this is your new bible. As some reviewers pointed out, this isn't dripping with footnotes and numbers, and I suspect that is by design(how many people read scientifically dense textbooks everyday? how many people read the bible?). Like the bible, stories are used to tell people right from wrong, good from bad, in a way that appeals to the masses. This book grabs all of the areas of our life that may seem disconnected and shows how crucially important they all are to one another, and ultimately how important they are to our health and contentedness. For a lot of the exercise/fitness communities out there, this information is not really anything we didn't already know or suspect to be true, but having in here, presented in this light, makes it the whole greater than the sum of it's parts. Therefore I HIGHLY recommend that everybody read this book. Even if you don't agree with what is in it, it will make you examine your life and the choices you make.

A great read, that was well put together. If your feeling lost and something doesn't feel right in your life, you might find the answer here. Feeling out of balance? You might find the answer here. Feel great? You might find something you like here.