From the best-selling author of The Story of the Human Body, this highly engaging, landmark natural history of exercise is "endlessly fascinating and full of surprises" (Bill Bryson), as it seeks to answer a fundamental question: Were you born to run or rest?If exercise is healthy (so good for you!), why do many people dislike or avoid it? These engaging stories and explanations will revolutionize the way you think about exercising—not to mention sitting, sleeping, sprinting, weight lifting, playing, fighting, walking, jogging, and even dancing.“Strikes a perfect balance of scholarship, wit, and enthusiasm.” —Bill Bryson, New York Times best-selling author of The Body• If we are born to walk and run, why do most of us take it easy whenever possible?• Does running ruin your knees?• Should we do weights, cardio, or high-intensity training?• Is sitting really the new smoking?• Can you lose weight by walking?• And how do we make sense of the conflicting, anxiety-inducing information about
This highly engaging landmark work, a natural history of exercise—by the author of the best seller The Story of the Human Body—seeks to answer a fundamental question: were you born to run or rest?The
Originally published in 1935, this book provides a study of the powerful influence exercised by Ancient Greek culture on German writers from the eighteenth century onwards. The text takes as its starting point Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–68), who was of fundamental importance to the introduction of Hellenistic ideas within the German intellectual tradition. This is followed by a chronological discussion of other key figures, such as Goethe, Schiller and Heine, revealing the complicated relationship between these ideas and the expression of an explicitly Germanic identity. A detailed index and bibliography are also included, together with illustrative figures. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in German literature, Ancient Greece and literary criticism.
