The Longevity Bible: 8 Essential Strategies for Keeping Your Mind Sharp and Your Body Young [Hardcover]

Gary Small (Author), Gigi Vorgan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2006

From the author of The Memory Bible and The Memory Prescription, Dr. Gary Small's exciting, all-encompassing formula for living a longer and better life

Bestselling author and expert on aging Dr. Gary Small show us how to live longer, stronger, better lives in his new book, The Longevity Bible, by following simple guidelines such as a positive attitude, gratifying relationships, and lifelong education.

Comprised of advice on memory fitness, healthy diet, physical conditioning, and stress reduction, The Longevity Bible follows the stories of four typical readers in different stages of their lives, and how those lives are improved with his plans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Small (The Memory Bible; The Memory Prescription), chief of the UCLA Memory and Aging Research Center, offers eight essentials (positive outlook, mental and physical exercise, acceptance of change, are three) in this manual for a better, longer life. He takes a holistic approach to body and brain fitness, covering everything from meditation to diet and skillful makeup application. While his "essentials" likely won't be anything new to reasonably self-aware readers, the author does provide thought-provoking questionnaires, helpful step-by-step approaches to achieving various goals and detailed anecdotes about patients who have benefited from UCLA's programs. Information gleaned from UCLA's research lends credibility, and a section called Putting It All Together makes self-improvement efforts manageable, not overwhelming. The chapters that focus on memory are the most detailed; they include helpful tricks and challenging games that will surely inspire an increase in sales of crossword-puzzle books. Perhaps in recognition of the book's ambitiousness, a nine-page list of additional resources will prove handy for those who wish to further investigate some of the topics touched upon in the book. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

". . . informative and fun and encourage readers to apply his recommendations to their own lives." -- Library Journal

"An excellent, highly recommended book." -- Nicholas Perricone, M.D., bestselling author of The Perricone Prescription

"I recommend it as a comprehensive manual for protecting your health, both physical and mental, as you move through life." -- Andrew Weil, M.D., bestselling author of Healthy Aging --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (May 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401301843
• ISBN-13: 978-1401301842
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,164,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can staying positive really lengthen your life? :-), July 9, 2006

By 

Little Miss Cutey (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Longevity Bible: 8 Essential Strategies for Keeping Your Mind Sharp and Your Body Young (Hardcover)

Dr Gary Small is the director of the UCLA center on aging. His opinion is that happiness and positivity will actually increase and add years to your life expectancy.

This is an optimistic book that essentially says you can get smarter. We can do crossword puzzles and other challenging mental tasks will keep our brains sharp and young. He talks about 8 lifestyle stratagies that can dramatically reverse the ageing process. One is to sharpen the mind and apply the P's and Q's (perserverance, presense and quality - he goes into detail in the book). He talks about attitude. Optimism is better than pessimism. We need to mantain possitive outloks. We have to stay connected socially - if you are social you'll live longer rather than being a recluse. All these things can keep our immune stronger just by being happy. We have to reduce stress and say No (how many times do you say Yes to someone to please them and then upset yourself), and we have to cut loose toxic relationships that bring us down.

These are just some of the things he talks about and he does go in depth. When you read it right through, you can actually see how it makes sense and how you can incorporate these ideas into your life. It's a good read and eye-opening. It makes you want to go out and get into the best health (he talks about exercising too) we can get into. I want to try more Soduko's etc. I highly recommend this book.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holistic balance and optimism!, August 5, 2006

By 

Dr. Michael Brickey (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Longevity Bible: 8 Essential Strategies for Keeping Your Mind Sharp and Your Body Young (Hardcover)

What a delight. I was expecting yet another book on diet and exercise. Dr. Small, however, gives balance with only one chapter on diet and one on fitness. His other six essentials are mental and lifestyle. As Dr. Small put it, "Fix your brain and the rest will follow." The emphasis on a sharp mind, optimism, healthy relationships, finessing stress, environment, and using medicine well is right on. The advice is solidly based on research and clinical experience. The book is very practical and the writing has a wonderfully positive and upbeat tone. Well done! Michael Brickey, Ph.D., anti-aging psychologist and author of Defy Aging and 52 baby steps to Grow Young.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy This Book, June 3, 2006

By 

Carol Richards (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Longevity Bible: 8 Essential Strategies for Keeping Your Mind Sharp and Your Body Young (Hardcover)

I bought this book for my mother to help her learn ways to live long and healthy, but now I can't put it down. I love the diet chapter, and the exercise chapter is great -- it's easy to follow and has pictures that show every exercise. Written by a doctor who's spent his career helping people keep their brains healthy and thier bodies young, this is a book for all generations. I'm really glad I bought it and I guess I'll have to buy my Mom a copy of her own.