Esquire Presents: What It Feels Like: *To Walk on the Moon*to Be Gored by a Bull*to Survive an Avalanche *To Swallow Swords*to Go Over Niagara Falls i

by A.J. Jacobs

Book Overview

Inspired by the popular What it Feels Like' articles that appeared in Esquire magazine, here is a collection of vivid accounts of life-threatening, exhilerating or just plain strange real-life events, as related by the men and women who have lived to tell the tales. Told in intimate, often shocking detail, these unforgettable stories are of life at its most sublime, frightening and otherwise extreme - ever wondered what it felt like to get shot? Be...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609809768
• ISBN13: 9780609809761
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)
• Length: 143 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Lots of nuts and bolts

The essays are short and to the point. Since they are first person accounts, we get to read the real nuts and bolts of these situations. I was disappointed with the 'Worst-case scenario' series which attempts something similar, but all written in second person. Esquire's essays are far more interesting and I found more than 80% of them appealing.

Now that I know what it feels like;maybe I'll avoid it.

We all know about the kinds of things you'll find in this little book.Fortunately,most of us have not actually experienced them....at least not yet. Being gored by a bull,shot in the head,caught in a volcano,attacked by a Grizzly bear,attacked by Killer bees,do Heroin,be an Albino,be really short,change from a man to a woman,live to 105,go on a hunger strike,get hit by lightning, be buried in an avalance and survive; along with over 40 more experiences are all described by people who actually experienced them.I think the one that surprised me most was the enjoyable experience with death and return. Then ,the person who told of this experience was a spiritual consultant ;could there be a conflict of interest here? We'll all get to experience this one sometime, but I doubt if anyone is in a big hurry! Being a man,I guess I'll have to take the woman's word for how it feels to give birth. I would, however, like to try the experience of winning a Lottery;not for the money,mind you ,just the experience. If you believe that,maybe you'll believe I'd like to experience an exorcism. A fun book to kill an hour or so.

Enjoyed it so much, bought 5 more to give to friends!

Everything all the previous reviews said were true of my reading experience, "Bon Bon Journalism", with the exception of "If this is your idea of humor, you're definitely sick, June 27, 2004 Reviewer: A reader". If "A reader" thinks the book is "sick" then maybe they read a couple of the accounts just after eating: Which one would know by reading the title that you would not read them right before or right after a meal if you're you have a sensitive stomach. (Same idea if you like Medical Miracle, ER, X-files, Law & Order - You probably don't eat your dinner watching those shows.) It is catogorized in Humour, and I did find this book in the Humour section of a Barnes and Noble, but it's not likely that many people would have come across this engaging little book, including me, if it had been catagorized differently. I bought 5 more of these books, and everyone that received the book thought it was just as fun too.

Brilliant!

The author starts from the clever premise of asking people to describe interesting situations--being struck by lightning, being in a tornado, being shot in the head--and they tell him how it feels and he tells us! It's a quick read but don't let the ease of reading fool you--the book actually teaches us more of what it means to be human, and finally we learn of the bond that links us all, no matter what our experiences.

Enthralling: Live Vicariously through the the Writers!

I'm a lady who loves to read Esquire for the quirky and fun but highly intelligent subtle humor and peek behind the scenes of the male mind. Esquire has presented us with a glimpse into some things we'd hope never to do... or, have always wondered about. You get the insider info. on (for ex.) having OCD (hilariously, the editors repeat the same picture around the border of this story), being attacked and almost ripped apart by a grizzly and (ew!) surgically and sensationally going from a male to a female and from a female to a male. Some of the experiences I did not want to know about (I'm sensitive) but others were just cool to imagine: like winning the lottery. Buy it, read it, or hey, use the library once in a while and check it out. Peace.