Physical is the story of a hard-living, happily married, middle-aged American (the author) who gets a three-day "executive checkup" at the Mayo Clinic and is thereby forced to confront his mortality, not to mention glove-wearing doctors and the pair of dominatrix-esque technicians who supervise his stress test quite strictly. James McManus must understand his revised actuarial odds in the light of his not-so-long-lived forebears and the fact that his youngest children are only six and five years old. He has to survive his own cardiovascular system, inherited habits, and genetic handicaps long enough to see Bea and Grace into adulthood. But with so much at stake, and in spite of his terror of death, he may not have the willpower to follow the Mayo clinicians' advice.
On a related health front, McManus's twenty-nine-year-old daughter, Bridget, has lived with juvenile diabetes since she was four, and the Bush Administration's opposition to the stem cell research that could save her life makes him feel like he "might have to do something rash." Meanwhile, should he have a vasectomy? Or try for another child, having lost his only son? How much longer will he be able to perform such manly feats without Viagra? Is his grateful wife sleeping with the brilliant ophthalmological surgeon who saved their daughter's vision? Physical negotiates the political and medical forks in the labyrinth of our health care system and calls for sanity and enlightenment in the stem cell research wars. It's a no-holds-barred, wrenching, but often hilarious portrait of the looming mortality of a privileged generation that can't believe the party's winding down, if not over.
James McManus, the author of Positively Fifth Street and four novels, including Going to the Sun, is the poker columnist for The New York Times. In 2001 he received the Peter Lisagor Award for sports journalism. A portion of Physical that appeared in Esquire has been anthologized in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, Best American Magazine Writing, and Best American Political Writing. He teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Physical is the story of a hard-living, happily married, middle-aged American (the author) who gets a three-day "executive checkup" at the Mayo Clinic and is thereby forced to confront his mortality, not to mention glove-wearing doctors and the pair of dominatrix-esque technicians who supervise his stress test quite strictly. James McManus must understand his revised actuarial odds in the light of his not-so-long-lived forebears and the fact that his youngest children are only six and five years old. He has to survive his own cardiovascular system, inherited habits, and genetic handicaps long enough to see Bea and Grace into adulthood. But with so much at stake, and in spite of his terror of death, he may not have the willpower to follow the Mayo clinicians' advice.
On a related health front, McManus's twenty-nine-year-old daughter, Bridget, has lived with juvenile diabetes since she was four, and the Bush Administration's opposition to the stem cell research that could save her life makes him feel like he "might have to do something rash." Meanwhile, should he have a vasectomy? Or try for another child, having lost his only son? How much longer will he be able to perform such manly feats without Viagra? Is his grateful wife sleeping with the brilliant ophthalmological surgeon who saved their daughter's vision? Physical negotiates the political and medical forks in the labyrinth of our health care system and calls for sanity and enlightenment in the stem cell research wars. It's a no-holds-barred, wrenching, but often hilarious portrait of the looming mortality of a privileged generation that can't believe the party's winding down, if not over.
On a related health front, McManus's twenty-nine-year-old daughter, Bridget, has lived with juvenile diabetes since she was four, and the Bush Administration's opposition to the stem cell research that could save her life makes him feel like he "might have to do something rash." Meanwhile, should he have a vasectomy? Or try for another child, having lost his only son? How much longer will he be able to perform such manly feats without Viagra? Is his grateful wife sleeping with the brilliant ophthalmological surgeon who saved their daughter's vision? Physical negotiates the political and medical forks in the labyrinth of our health care system and calls for sanity and enlightenment in the stem cell research wars. It's a no-holds-barred, wrenching, but often hilarious portrait of the looming mortality of a privileged generation that can't believe the party's winding down, if not over.
"The majority of us find medical matters an intimidating mystery. McManus's grab bag of personal anecdote, medical history and polemic offers an entertaining and often insightful look at one man's experience with the healthcare system. If there's any message to take away from McManus's book, it's to enjoy your good health so long as you still have it. Once you lose it, getting it back is an all consuming task."—Ed Nawotka, San Francisco Chronicle
"McManus's jeremiads about George W. Bush's 'fixed-in-Sakrete' mentality can be just as compelling as his comic observations about his Mayo trip, and he has more than a few tart rejoinders to conservative attitudes about stem-cell research."—Chicago Sun-Times
"[McManus] addresses a topic that should concern everyone including faddish cardplayers—our national health. For a magazine assignment McManus undergoes the Mayo Clinic's storied 'executive physical,' including an undignified but essential colonoscopy. McManus's $8,484.25 Mayo checkup? Harper's picked up the tab, but as he notes, 45 million Americans have no health coverage at all. If you're one of 'em, good luck getting that colonoscopy."—Jerome Ludwig, Chicago Reader
"When New York Times poker columnist McManus visited the Mayo Clinic for an extensive—and invasive—physical, he came face-to-face with the newest realization of millions of baby boomers: mortality. Furthermore, to live to the fullest extent his remaining years in this mortal coil, he would have to clean up his act. Easier said than done for the fiftysomething lover of rich foods, hard liquor, and the occasional postprandial cigarette. Undergoing Mayo's three-day, head-to-toe, inside-and-out, executive physical induces self-deprecating reflection on the consequences of a lifetime of indulgences. While he wants to be around when his two youngest daughters graduate from college, he knows the road ahead will be tough. With his unusual lifestyle (long nights of poker), love for baked ziti, and a family history of heart disease, he's being asked to make some serious sacrifices. Will he succeed? Tune in next book. In the meantime, McManus uses the lighthearted account of his physical to launch serious-as-a-heart-attack discussion of the current state of health care in the U.S., zeroing in on stem-cell research (he has a 30-year-old daughter with juvenile diabetes) and blasting government policies that impair progress by limiting research possibilities."—Donna Chavez, Booklist (starred review)
"As McManus admits, he's been spending too much time on his duff, playing poker and eating third helpings of his wife's cooking. He also likes his liquor and his postprandial cigarette—all bad things given his family history of early heart attacks and death. In this disjointed, sometimes uproarious, sometimes powerful book, Mcmanus describes his experience of the über-physical—the executive physical at the Mayo Clinic. McManus does amazing high-energy riffs on themes like our belief in our own immortality, and assesses the manner and personalities of his doctors as keenly as they examine him. One wonders whether he needed an $8,000 physical to learn he should exercise more, eat and drink less and cut out the smoking, but the tour of the remarkable Mayo Clinic and the best physical money can buy is well worthwhile. Equally strong is a recounting of his older daughter Bridget's struggle with juvenile diabetes, which leads to forceful . . . rants against President Bush for virtually banning embryonic stem cell research (which could lead to a cure for diabetes)."—Publishers Weekly
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
As McManus (author of the bestselling Positively Fifth Street) admits, he's been spending too much time on his duff, playing poker and eating third helpings of his wife's cooking. He also likes his liquor and his postprandial cigarette—all bad things given his family history of early heart attacks and death. In this disjointed, sometimes uproarious, sometimes powerful book, Mcmanus describes his experience of the über-physical—the executive physical at the Mayo Clinic. McManus does amazing high-energy riffs on themes like our belief in our own immortality, and assesses the manner and personalities of his doctors as keenly as they examine him. One wonders whether he needed an $8,000 physical to learn he should exercise more, eat and drink less and cut out the smoking, but the tour of the remarkable Mayo Clinic and the best physical money can buy is well worthwhile. Equally strong is a recounting of his older daughter Bridget's struggle with juvenile diabetes, which leads to forceful but repetitious rants against President Bush for virtually banning embryonic stem cell research (which could lead to a cure for diabetes). Odd detours into other areas of McManus's physical life, like his reluctance to have a vasectomy, are less gratifying, and the book doesn't really add up to a look at health care in America today.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Bookmarks Magazine
McManus, journalist, novelist, and the author of the wildly popular Positively Fifth Street (2003), a compelling tale of big-stakes gambling at the 2000 World Series of Poker, follows that book with an account of his own mortality. The author's irreverent sense of humor is his strength. The highly readable story, however, suffers a fate similar to that of many magazine articles-cum-books—namely, the short piece's inability to shoulder the weight of further examination and the addition of larger, more serious issues, including the suicide of a son and the fragility of his other children's health. The critical reception of Physical suffers perhaps as much from the success of Positively Fifth Street as from the disjointedness of the narrative at hand.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Repetitive and not all that compelling,
By
This review is from: Physical: An American Checkup (Audio CD)
I wanted to like this book, I really did. I love reading about the art and career of medicine, and this book sounded right up my alley!
But basically all that happened in this book is the author goes for some tests at the Mayo clinic and is surprised to find that his drinking, smoking, and high stress haven't put him in the greatest condition to care for his second, younger family (his children with his second wife are only 5 and 6). There is a bit of interesting information in here about the Mayo clinic, some history of medicine, and general info about certain common diseases and maladies, but nothing so interesting that it made me feel excited about continuing. Later in the book, he gets on a rant about stem-cell research and how he had hoped that it could help his diabetic daughter live a longer life, but how deeply disappointing it is that the Bush administration won't allow federal funding for this kind of research. I agree with him passionately on this topic, but even my sympathies were tried by the amount of times he returned to that same rant. I think a good editor could have really helped in that regard. So this book gets a disappointed 3 stars from me. I got some information out of it, but I didn't get any earth-shattering insights from it, and I didn't really find his personal musings about his health all that interesting.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious and thought-provoking sequel to Positively Fifth Street,
By Aaron C. Brown (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Physical: An American Checkup (Hardcover)
I don't think I'm spoiling anything by revealing Jenny gets her revenge for the lap dance and the World Series of Poker winnings did not cause fundamental changes in the McManus household (most of the book appears to have been written before he discovered how successful PFS would be). In this installment, McManus is sent to cover his super-physical at the Mayo Clinic (by Harper's) and stem cell research politics in Washington (by Esquire); in place of the WSOP and Binion Murder Trial of PSF. This book, like the last, is illuminated with his massive common sense, exceeded only by his human ability to ignore that sense.
At first, the title and subtitle refer to his Mayo examination, but the book rapidly transcends that to mean both the uncomfortable awareness of our bodies as physical entities, meat puppets, and the state of medical care as a checkup on the social health of America. Despite the always-amusing tone, McManus pulls no punches, discussing the suicide of his son, the horrors of juvenile diabetes in one daughter and the dramatic eye injury of another; along with many unpleasant deaths of friends and strangers. He unflinchingly details invasive procedures and unpopular body fluids. But even when terrified, enraged, grossed out or lecturing, the author remains unshakably, deeply, humbly, human. PFS certainly did not create the poker boom, but it came along at the inflection point and instantly became the thinking man's guide to the modern tournament poker world. Five years later as the steepening of the mortality curve becomes noticeable to boomers, good cholesterol and blood pressure readings become better than royal flushes. Questions about the economics and ethics of health care are rising to the top of the political agenda. The book is astonishingly well-written, filled with poetic riffs on decidedly difficult topics for poetry. It is painfully honest, without being at all painful to read. Some of the lines will resonate in your head for days, from the sheer beauty of the language; but they never get in the way of the storytelling. This is a great book, as fun to read as Positively Fifth Street, but on a topic that will do you more good, or, if not, show you how to be happy while ignoring your own good.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mildly interesting,
By
This review is from: Physical: An American Checkup (Hardcover)
I imagine many readers in the author's age range who pick up this book hoping for new insights into modern health care or tips on obtaining the best physical for their dollars will find nothing new. The author is fortunate to have an employer willing to stand the cost of the workup at Mayo. Although he's happy with the outcome, he'd probably have been able to produce a more interesting piece if he'd had more wrong with him. He turned out to be a fairly typical middle-aged physical specimen who needed to lose a few pounds and get his cholesterol and triglycerides down. And it cost someone about 8,000 dollars to have Mayo's verify this. Unfortunately, most of us can't afford this sort of comprehensive exam (the fact that it's referred to as the "executive" exam suggests the target market), and it's way beyond the level of checkup Medicare will spring for as the annual physical it permits each recipient.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The truth is, I don't think I'm going to die. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mayo Clinic, Grandma Grace, New York, White House, Peter Rabiah, George Bush, South Korean, Evanston Hospital, Lynn Martin, Only Christianity, United States, Las Vegas, President Bush, Biopolis Park, Dennis Hughes, Grandpa Jim, John Kerry, Karl Rove, Mistress Jodie, Philip Morris, University of Illinois, World Series of Poker, Yul Brynner New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The truth is, I don't think I'm going to die. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mayo Clinic, Grandma Grace, New York, White House, Peter Rabiah, George Bush, South Korean, Evanston Hospital, Lynn Martin, Only Christianity, United States, Las Vegas, President Bush, Biopolis Park, Dennis Hughes, Grandpa Jim, John Kerry, Karl Rove, Mistress Jodie, Philip Morris, University of Illinois, World Series of Poker, Yul Brynner New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 27
books:
See all 27 books this book cites
2
books
cite this book:
- Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight for Everybody by Donald Hensrud on page 27, page 101, and page 211
- Dark Harbor: A Poem by Mark Strand on page 3, and page 81
- How We Die by Sherwin B. Nuland on page 219, and page 221
- Anna Karenina (Oprah's Book Club) by Leo Tolstoy on page 35
- Ghost Waves by James McManus in Front Matter
See all 27 books this book cites
- The Best American Science & Nature Writing 2005 (Best American) by Tim Folger in Back Matter
- The Best American Science & Nature Writing 2005 by Tim Folger in Back Matter
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