About this item
Highlights
- From the New York Times Bestselling author of What Doesn't Kill Us"Crazy good writing" -Wim Hof, "The Iceman"Thrive or die: That's the rule of evolution.
- Author(s): Scott Carney
- 312 Pages
- Social Science, Anthropology
Description
About the Book
In this explosive investigation into the limits of endurance, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Scott Carney discovers how humans can wedge control over automatic physiological responses into the breaking point between stress and biology. We can reclaim our evolutionary destiny.Book Synopsis
From the New York Times Bestselling author of What Doesn't Kill Us
"Crazy good writing" -Wim Hof, "The Iceman"
Thrive or die: That's the rule of evolution. Despite this brutal logic, some species have learned to survive in even the most hostile conditions. Others couldn't--and perished. While incremental genetic adaptations hone the physiology of nearly every creature on this planet, there's another evolutionary force that is just as important: the power of choice. In this explosive investigation into the limits of endurance, journalist Scott Carney discovers how humans can wedge control over automatic physiological responses into the breaking point between stress and biology. We can reclaim our evolutionary destiny.
In his New York Times bestseller, What Doesn't Kill Us, Carney submerged himself in ice water and learned breathing techniques from daredevil fitness guru Wim Hof. It gave him superhuman levels of endurance and quieted a persistent autoimmune illness. At the core of those methods is a technique called The Wedge that can give a person an edge in just about any situation.
In this thrilling exploration of the limits and potential of the human body, Carney searches the globe for people who understand the subtle language of how the body responds to its environment. He confronts fear at a cutting-edge neuroscience laboratory at Stanford, and learns about flow states by tossing heavy weights with partners. He meets masters of mental misdirection in the heat of a Latvian sauna, experiments with breathing routines that bring him to the cusp of transcendence, searches his mind in sensory deprivation tanks, and ultimately ends up in the Amazon jungle with a shaman who promises either madness or universal truth. All of this in service of trying to understand what we're really capable of. What can we accomplish when we realize that there are no true human limits?
Review Quotes
For The Wedge:
"Crazy good writing" --Wim Hof, "The Iceman"
"An engrossing case for rebooting one's system through extreme experiences" --Kirkus
"Carney gave a syntax and vocabulary to things that I had felt all along but could never find the words to describe. Unbeknownst to me at the time of that first World's Toughest Mudder, the key to my success was the Wedge." --Amelia Boone, Four-time obstacle racing world champion
"Scott Carney tackles big topics -- stress, resilience, and the linkage between physicality and spirituality -- and once again shows his willingness to challenge our conventional assumptions." --Brad Stulberg, bestselling author of Peak Performance
"Prepare to enter an intriguing world of self-improvement and physical and mental performance that you've never before discovered. Scott Carney, once again, has elegantly intertwines his ferocious style of immersive journalism with an entertaining educational approach that is sure to improve your life and longevity forever." --Ben Greenfield, New York Times Bestselling author of Beyond Training
For Scott Carney:
"Carney knows how to tell a story and digs deeply." --The Wall Street Journal
"Carney writes with considerable narrative verve, slamming home the misery of what he has witnessed with passion and visceral detail." --Michiko Kakutani, New York Times