What Doesn't Kill Us by Scott Carney - Non Fiction - Paperback

Details
Condition: BRAND NEW
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781911617549
Publisher: Scribe UK
Age Range: Adult

Overview
What Doesn't Kill Us is Scott Carney's New York Times bestselling investigation into the Wim Hof Method and the science of deliberate discomfort. Blending immersive journalism with hard physiology, Carney travels from a Polish farmhouse to underwater weight training and a shorts-only ascent of Mt Kilimanjaro. The result is a gripping, evidence-led exploration of how cold exposure, controlled breathing, and short bursts of stress can switch on dormant evolutionary strength, offering readers a genuinely practical route to resilience, immunity, and mental clarity.

About the Book
Award-winning investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney set out to debunk Dutch extreme-athlete Wim Hof, whose claims to control body temperature through breathing and mindset sounded implausible. Instead, a sceptical assignment turned into a four-year global odyssey. Carney hyperventilates alongside Hof devotees in a freezing Polish farmhouse, undergoes underwater strength training in California, and eventually summits Kilimanjaro wearing nothing but shorts and running shoes. Along the way he interviews physiologists, elite athletes, and everyday practitioners, weaving together their testimony with a rigorous look at what's actually happening inside the body during cold exposure, breathwork, and metabolic stress. Far from a simple endorsement, the book interrogates both the promise and the risk of pushing past comfort, examining the biochemistry of adaptation, the immune-boosting effects of controlled cold, and the psychological shifts that come from voluntarily seeking out hardship. Carney's central thesis, that modern life has engineered discomfort out of our existence to our detriment, is argued with narrative verve and considerable nuance, making this as much a piece of investigative reportage as a self-improvement manual. It's a book for sceptics and believers alike, delivering both a ripping true story and a genuinely useful toolkit for anyone wanting to build physical and mental resilience.

• Combines investigative journalism with first-hand experimentation and clear, actionable takeaways.
• Explains the physiology behind cold exposure, breathwork, and the Wim Hof Method.
• Offers practical protocols readers can safely adapt for home practice or athletic training.
• Balances enthusiasm for extreme methods with honest safety considerations and scientific scrutiny.
• A New York Times bestseller and Book of the Year pick for the Evening Standard and The Times.

About the Author
Scott Carney is an award-winning investigative journalist and anthropologist whose work blends narrative nonfiction with ethnography. A contributing editor at Wired and Playboy, his reporting has also appeared in Mother Jones, Foreign Policy, and Men's Journal. Known for immersive, participatory investigations, Carney has spent his career testing extraordinary claims about the human body and mind, and What Doesn't Kill Us is widely regarded as his defining exploration of the science of human potential and deliberate discomfort.

Why You'll Love This Book
A pacy, honest, science-backed read that turns extreme wellness trends into a practical, tested toolkit — ideal for anyone curious about cold therapy, breathwork, or building genuine physical resilience.

Please Note: This listing is for the UK edition (ISBN 9781911617549) as shown in the product photos. Cover design may vary slightly between print runs.