Customer Reviews

Physical: An American Checkup

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I had mixed emotions after reading this book. First off, I had a hard time relating to someone who got an "executive checkup" (for many thousands of dollars) at the Mayo Clinic. How many of us are so lucky? How many of us have health insurance or savings that would cover that?

But I DID relate to McManus as he wrote about his own mortality, something that weighs pretty heavily on those of us in the "prime" of our midlife years. Hearburn was a "new" experience I could have done without, along with the beginnings of arthritis and a waistline that is no longer naturally trim but which takes hours in the gym to maintain (sigh). Rising cholesterol and a daily regimen of fiber additives forced me to modify some of my dietary habits. So I looked forward to any suggestions or revelations McManus might share about living more healthily.

I've also become concerned about the state of health care in our country, something which is explored in this book. So there WERE parts of this book which maintained my attention. Perhaps it would do the same for others in their middle years.

But would it hold the interest of the average reader, some of whom may be far younger than 40, 50 and up? I'm not convinced of that. Perhaps the "politics of medicine" sections might stir those readers to action. But those sections are set amid some very personal anecdotes and (I confess) I felt envious that most of us couldn't have the detailed exam that McManus had. So how relevant is it to the average reader? One has to wonder.

By the way, is it only me or did anyone else find the cover photo a bit disconcerting? That gloved hand...looking like it was ready to probe...EWWWWW.

I must admit I was curious to read a book that detailed the plight of the middle aged male going in for a physical especially being in health care myself. I was curious to read his oberservations. However, What I got was a liberal political agenda with a smattering of info on actually getting a high dollar Mayo Clinic physical.

The first 1/3 of the book talks about his complete experience at the Mayo Clinic. However, from then on he takes liberty to bash Christians, President Bush, creation, and anything else remotely to the right of moderate.

The author needs to do a better job of researching his facts. He missed the boat on stem cell research as well as evolution. The author repeatedly tries to 'prove' his case or facts by using op ed columns instead of concrete documented research. Real facts are backed up by scientific research not op ed pieces of people who agree with you.

Part of the book includes the author's frustration with the illness' of his kids. He whines repeatedly that they are sick and President Bush and science is keeping his grow kid with diabetes down b/c they won't fund embyro stem cell research. However, the author fails to check or reference the many advances that adult stem cells HAVE ALREADY DONE FOR PEOPLE.

Finally, as a healthcare provider, I look to solve the problems of my patients instead of just treating symptoms, I was not happy with the author's constant quest to find a pill, injection, QUICK FIX to cure all his and his families woes. If we took responsibility for our actions, many healthcare problems would go away.

This book is very light on the physical (in fact part of getting a physical is poked fun at by the author) and heavy on a very left leaning liberal political agenda. (I would not have minded this if the book was well researched and spent more time on the actual physical).

Save your money on this one and if you're remotely curious check it out from the public library.

Had the focus remained on the Mayo Clinic experience, this book would have been worthwhile. However, it quickly became evident that the author had been sent through the Mayo physical in search of a magazine article that never took shape. Thus, it became an even weaker storyline for a book then made up of the author's assorted rants to fill the final 2/3 of the book. Interestingly, the author seems to have little respect for the Mayo physical in light of the cost but cost then goes unmentioned when one of his children needs treatment for a serious injury.

Avoid this author's political soapboxing, circular logic, pop-culture references, and redundant rants. He grasped at straws to fill the final two thirds of the book and it is a painful read. McManus shows us that there's a clear difference between the terms "Best-Seller" and "Best-Writer".

This extended discourse on health issues has its moments. If you're intrigued by the idea of a middle-aged guy's perspective on medical testing, the differences between what we're advised and how we choose to live, an impassioned argument for stem cell reserach, and other explorations, you find this a worthwhile amble. This is not a self-help guide to better health. Anyone with firm viewpoint against stem cell research might want to steer clear.

The author navigates the realities of the medical system to come
up with the story of a man who gets an $8000. checkup at the Mayo
Clinic to find out that he drinks too much and is too sedentary.
Shortly afterward, the man confronts his cardio health and
genetic handicaps. Modern medicine can prolong life up to a
decade or more provided that we cooperate with life style changes.

The authors ask that we eat fruits and veggies, reduce carbs,
drink more water, reduce alcohol and limit protein portions to no more than a deck of cards volumetrically. In addition, physicians
should spend more time educating and treating patients instead
of working on paperwork. There is a brief discussion on the
benefits of somatic nuclear transfer without cloning.

This work will help craft a long-term plan for better health.
As such, it is worth the price charged. A strength of the work
is its description of how to interface with your personal
physician. i.e. the questions to pose, monitoring/follow up,
nutritional planning

This work will assist you in transcending the paperwork of the medical encounter in favor of an intensive discussion and follow-up on treatment-related issues. The work emphasizes areas of a medical examination which patients rarely question and physicians may overlook due to the pressure to reduce patient waiting queues.

not quite as engrossing as "Postively Fifth Street", his FABULOUS book on poker and the Binion murder, but good nonetheless. A fascinating look at the Mayo Clinic and the state of American health care today. A little too much regarding stem cell research for my tastes, but overall, another fine offering from an author with a very appealing style.