A. J. Jacobs Book order

The book explores the astonishing growth of South Korea's automobile industry from 1962 to 1996, highlighting the interplay of government support, technological partnerships, a skilled workforce, competitive pricing, and entrepreneurial spirit. It offers a comprehensive analysis of all six Korean automakers, tracing their development through this period. Written from the vantage point of industry analysts unaware of future economic challenges, it serves as a valuable resource for those interested in automotive history, international political economy, and Asian studies.

"The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world"-- Provided by publisher

The book explores the contrasting trajectories of car production in Belgium and Spain, highlighting the impact of European integration and economic factors. It examines plant closures in Belgium due to high wages and the decline of major automakers, while detailing Spain's growth spurred by lower wages and expansion strategies. Additionally, it presents three scenarios on how future EU expansion and Brexit could alter the landscape of European car manufacturing over the next decade, aiming to inform scholars and policymakers about potential investment shifts in the auto industry.

New York Times Bestselling AuthorSMLThe bestselling author of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically now upends, in ways both meaningful and hilarious, our understanding of genetics and genealogy, tradition and tribalism, identity and connection. It's All Relative is a fascinating look at the bonds that connect us all.

Focusing on the surge of automotive assembly plants in former Socialist Central Europe since 1989, the book details how major automakers capitalized on lower labor costs and government incentives to establish over 20 assembly complexes. This shift led to a significant decline in passenger car production in Western Europe while increasing by nearly 170% in Central and Eastern Europe from 2001 to 2015. Through case studies of 25 plants, the author provides a historical perspective that will benefit policymakers and scholars in various fields.

After sharpening his mind in The Know-It-All and achieving spiritual enlightenment in The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs had only one thing left to tackle in the self-improvement trinity- the body. But his mission wasn't just to lose a couple of pounds, but to turn his current self - 'a mushy, easily winded, moderately sickly blob' - into a paragon of health and vitality. Armed with a team of medical advisers and a 53-page task list, Jacobs set to work. He subjected his body to a brutal regime of exercise programmes - extreme chewing, anti-gravity yoga and shoeless jogging to name only a few; sampled every miracle diet going, beginning with the 'coffee, booze and chocolate' plan through the 'Rastafarian diet' to raw foodism; as well as sharpening his eyes and mind, testing every known method, and the patience of his long-suffering wife, in his quest to become as healthy as humanly possible. Drop Dead Healthy is a hilarious account of one man's painful journey from slob to superman, and a fascinating and eye-opening examination of what it really means to be healthy. Revealing the ugly truth about the assumptions and obsessions we have about our bodies, this might just be the healthiest book you'll ever read.

"You may know A.J. Jacobs as the man who attempted to read the Encyclopedia Britannica from cover-to-cover. Or you may have been introduced to him when he spent a year trying to follow the Bible as literally as possible. He returns once again with another seemingly impossible task--that of becoming the healthiest man alive. As with his earlier books, Jacobs brings his quick wit, self-deprecating humor, and journalistic eye to the experiment. He leaves no health stone unturned: from literally running his errands and wearing noise-cancelling headphones for hours a day to rigging a desk that he can work at while walking on the treadmill (there are instructions at the end for those interested), Jacobs chronicles the good, bad, and ugly of trying to attain "perfect" health. Jacobs' writing is breezy, informational, and entertaining, and he manages to achieve the near impossible--discussing issues of health without sounding preachy. --Caley Anderson in amazon.com.

In "My Life as an Experiment," bestselling author A. J. Jacobs embarks on ten quirky quests, including living as a woman and practicing radical honesty. Through humor and insight, he explores life's big issues, from love to politics, while undergoing unique experiments that challenge his perspective on everyday life.