Boundless: Upgrade Your Brain, Optimize Your Body & Defy Aging

I read this book from cover to cover. Here's why it's brilliant and why the negative reviews are misguided. 1. The book is clearly the result of a lifetime of research into health, fitness, and well-being. It covers a range of topics, and it weaves together a big-picture perspective with a nuanced account of physical processes. For example, you'll learn about how the body deals with digestion generally (big picture) and *why* specific practices like extended fasts can be helpful for weight loss (nuance). This, by the way, is really hard to do - most health books will give you the big picture, which is interesting but doesn't help you operationalize the knowledge, or the nuance, which gives you a laundry list of tips without a holistic explanation of why they are effective. Negative reviewers complain that it's long - um.... yeah, he's covering every single topic related to the body, what did you expect? This is specifically designed to be a live-with-it, learn-with-it, read-what-you-need type of book. If you were expecting a weekend read, then you didn't do any research into the design or intent of this book. 2. The book combines peer-reviewed scholarship with the author's experience as a fitness coach. I'm a college professor, and the negative reviews related to the use of scholarship are completely absurd. The studies he mentions are behind a paywall, yes - academic publishing is an industry, and the vast majority of studies are behind paywalls - welcome to the marketplace. The studies he mentions are not in footnotes, yes - this is not a university-press-style textbook, it's a synthesis, so the standards of citation are entirely different. If he did include the footnotes, people would complain that the book is too much of a textbook. The studies he mentions have not been duplicated, yes - this is a major problem *in the sciences as a whole*. Again, the author is not responsible for problems proper to academic research - problems about which most of the negative reviewers, with all due respect, know nothing. 3. The book spans the conventional and the unconventional. There are really compelling pieces of advice here - pieces of advice that are embedded within a broader framework of health and fitness. Negative reviewers claim the advice is weird, and then complain that the advice is obvious - ok, which is it? It's an invalid critique, because the author always begins with more established, well-studied methods and then moves onto less established, cutting-edge methods. This is a good thing - we want to understand both the orthodox and the avant-garde. Again, it is rare to find a book that offers both - you typically find orthodoxy in textbooks and experiments in biohacking publications. 4. The book is extremely well-organized. I write for a living, so I'm hyper-aware of how a book is structured, how it flows from topic to topic, and how it positions the reader. The author begins with a big-picture explanation, then moves onto operational practices; from there, he begins with conventional/accessible practices and then moves onto experimental/niche practices. Readers also have the choice of reading one chapter at a time, out of order, which makes the book very compelling - follow your interest and hop around between topics - the print version of surfing the web. I jumped around before deciding to read it from cover to cover. 5. The book has heart and personality. Through jokes and anecdotes, the author ensures that this does not read like a textbook. It's playful, which is necessary if one is not to take oneself too seriously. Some of the negative reviewers took issue with the tone - I would much prefer to feel the presence of the author than to read a dry textbook. All in all, the book is a masterwork on health and fitness. It is well-researched and well-structured. It is playful and pleasurable to read. At the heart of the typical negative review is a fundamental misunderstanding of scientific study, book composition, and authorial tone. At the heart of the book is a lifetime of research into health and fitness, a spirit of inquiry and play, and a sense of empowerment that you can feel energized, strong, and, indeed, boundless.

This is my FAVORITE book. It is a valuable resource for understanding your body and optimizing your life. It is a very thick book but it is not a challenging book to read. This ended up being more of an investment for me than just a purchase. I go back to this book often to revisit something I learned from it. Plus the book comes with access to it's own website where there is additional resources (product, books, podcasts, etc). Highly recommend!!

I'll begin with the fact that people who are interested in open their mind to new aspects, subjects in life - getting books like Boundless. I've learned a lot from people like Ben, but my interest started way before with Tim Ferriss. He changed my thinking, my view on health and raise my interest on studies and the world of biology and biochemistry. These people literally changed my life, got me out of depression, and got me to the best physical and mental health I've never been at. Books like Boundless have impact on people, and if stuff Tokolosh called "Magical thinking" and Pseudo, eventually lands on people who are curious, and they, like myself - will never stop with Ben, but will take is further and search for themselves, be interested in amazing personal like Rhonda Patrick, and develop the urge to talk about these subjects so more of those subjects will reach everyday conversations. About the actual comment of Tokolosh, it's very vague, vain and niche to VERY SPECIFIC POINTS in this HUGE book. If feels very narrow-minded, and self-centered thinking. People are not very smart, OR interested in looking for the references by themselves. Some, will dig deep to know more. The point of this book, as many others, is to get people like Tokolosh, others, and myself - more open minded to way more ideas than what everyone stick onto. It is correct that it is HUGE. HUGE as Ben's mind. But it seems Tokolosh judge a book by it's cover. Let's start by the fact that there are MANY good information other than Tokolosh's hair-splitting points. For example - like the Navy SEAL's breathing technique as an example, which REALLY helps me to take a long run EASILY. He saves the references online, and he also said so in his intro, and/or newsletter or his podcasts which Tokolosh probably don't listen to. Ben has definitely said it somewhere. This probability explains Tokolosh's - Bad jokes - point. People who love listening to Ben - got to know his old-timely humor, not judging by those people's level - but by their connection to his personality. Which takes me to the point where Ben's knowledge is richer than you, me and Tokolosh together, meaning he actually took his time writing this book, looking into every reference he had. I trust his skill of researching. Referring to Tokolosh's point on the turmeric amounts - its referring to different results. Not "one subject". Everything else Tokolosh has said - which I got really bored because it got too long :) - is like copy-pasting the general ideas of 90% of the world's population. Homeopathic approach for example - is mostly placebo based - and placebo helped MANY. PEOPLE. around the globe. And the judging a book by its cover as I mentioned in the second line of my reply - WHO SERIOUSLY WRITES A REVIEW ON THE BOOK'S COLORS?? who cares? This is pure hair-splitting Ben on irrelevant stuff. And Ben - I'm not a huge fan, but I'm good in understanding one's ideas and purpose. You've gone to great lengths building your knowledge, body and this book is a huge result. Keep up the great work. David.

OMG! Just like a student who buys a needed $300 text for their chosen major and desires to keep it as a reference, this is a "textbook" for LIFE. Only better at a much lower worth it, price, compared to a text. Very well done with loads of information that truly provides material for better living. Beautifully done and will be a the new standard. If you own THE 4-HOUR BODY and like that book, you'll like this, equally. Side by side they should be on anyone's shelf that wants to use "hacking" strategies to live their best. Ben is the KING of hacking podcasts with conversations with the leading experts across the board, and this is a great compilation of his dozens and dozens of conversations he's had over the years. Listen to his podcasts if you need a taste of his intelligence if you must before buying. You won't regret it. The only drawback I see is the lack of references but I understand. Then it would have been another couple hundred pages. They are available, however on his site. Personally, I think it worth the buy.

eines der Besten und umfangreichsten Bücher zum Thema Biohacking überhaupt!!

This book is a gold mine of information for anyone who wishes to improve their health and well being. Covering all aspects, from fitness to extensive dietary and nutritional recommendations. Even many aspect of Biohacking, utilizing technological means are covered thoroughly. The material in this book can positively transform anyone who applies the principles contained within the pages. If I have any criticism at all, it would be for the audiobook version (I purchased both the hardcover and audiobook versions). The narrator frequently does not use the proper pronunciation of various medical terms and often has long pauses, due to unfamiliarity with the words that follow next (this would have been a simple fix in editing). If you have listened to Ben Greenfield himself speak on these topics, he is very well spoken, so the slight mishaps are entirely on the shoulders of the audiobook narrator. Still, despite these minor peeves, the content is so valuable, that I easily overlook any minutia, that may irk me personally. I cannot speak favourably enough about this tome of health - it covered literally all aspects, leaving no stone unturned in the quest for optimal physiological function and the zenith of wellness.

There is lots of science nowadays showing the great ways you can improve your health and longevity. Lots of books, some focusing on specifics like brain health, to eating and others on exercise. So many podcasts also available and there is lots of great content and great breakthroughs in biohacking that can transform your health. It is tough though given the amount of information and also the differences in opinion. I have been listening to Ben's podcast and also did one of his courses with Mindvalley and I really trust his opinions. If you haven't listened to his podcast, I highly recommend it but you don't need to, to make the most of this book. Ben has produced the most comprehensive book I have ever come across on this subject and what's more if you thought the massive 640 pages was lots, it has further additional information available online to complement what is on the book. Apparently there was over 1200 pages of content but of course, they did have to cut down the size of the book. If you are thinking the book is expensive, the price actually reflects how large it is and sheer content there is in this. You would have more than 3 books of information within that book easily plus it has colour and looks really good on the coffee table. However, the size of the book is not an issue as you don't need to read this from cover to cover. If you click on the image of the book on this page just below where it says Look inside, you can get a good sense of what the book will be covering. Ben also recommends in the book that you can dip into any of the chapters you want based on your need so there is no need to get overwhelmed with needing to read a massive book and understand it before you can do anything with it. There are 21 chapters in the book which cover themes around your brain, stress, eating for the brain (food, supplements, nootropics, biohacking gear), sleep, fat burning, muscle building, recovering (and biohacking gear for this as well), healing your gut, nutrition, immune system, how to test and track your health, sex, longevity, different diets and also how the environment can be hacked to improve your health. Each chapter is very comprehensive, Ben has made the language simple and easy to understand and what I really love about the book is that it has colour and lots of useful pictures as well to help you understand key concepts e.g. Stretches and exercises have illustrations which are very useful and there are summary tables as well. Each chapter ends with a summary called The Last Word. This simplifies and summarises what has been discussed in the chapter and then it finishes off with a section - One Thing You Can Do This Week. I really like this as it moves the focus to application and allows you to do something with what you have learnt. The book really helps you to start putting in place action and doing something to improve your health. If you want a deeper dive into any of the topics then at the end of each chapter you will be able to look at resources on the website which also include links to podcasts, recommended tools, supplements, references, videos and much more. The only disadvantage this book has is its size. This is a massive book. It is more than double the size of a typical hardback. So the size and weight mean it is not a portable book you can carry around while travelling to read though you could use it for exercise on the move. It is about 2.5 Kgs! I have included some pictures for comparison. I read Super Humans by Dave Asprey some time back and also been reading Lifespan by David Sinclair and Brain Wash by David Perlmutter. Health is a very important priority for me this year and this decade and I know Boundless is going to be a key resource to support me with this. If you are looking to navigate this complex world to improve your health and one resource that will support you in doing this then get this book. It is a game-changer and can really help you understand how to improve your health, whether you are a complete newbie or a seasoned biohacker.

Brilliant book. A must have for everyone.

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