The 4-Hour Body: The Real App You Are Working On Is An App Called Yourself (Review)

Tim Ferriss is a 33-year-old Silicon Valley angel investor, consultant, Singularity University advisor, and former entrepreneur who in 2007 published a book called The 4-Hour Workweek ; in 2008 won Wired 's "Greatest Self-Promoter of All Time" prize; and last month published a sort-of-sequel, The 4-Hour Body . His books seem roughly equally divided between really worthwhile, interesting advice and totally ridiculous crap. What's most interesting about them is their approach. In his own bizarre yet effective way, Ferriss has become the world's first hacker-guru. And I hate to admit it, but I must confess: I have halfway become a devotee. The 4-Hour Body attacks self-improvement in the same way Silicon Valley startups strive for success: data-driven decision-making, A/B testing, iterative development, willingness to pivot. This isn't new. A sizeable subset of the hacker community has been "hacking their body" for years, and sites like Lifehacker have grown around that approach. Ferriss, though, is the first to promulgate that ethos to the general population - and he has been wildly (and deservedly) successful. 4-Hour Body rocketed straight to the top of the New York Times bestseller list.