what-it-feels-like

by jacobs-a-j

Have you ever wondered what it feelsto be stuck in a tornado?“[It] is exactly the feel of a freight train approaching—that low, ever-louder howl and the shuddering ground.”to participate in an orgy?“And all the while, the thought that keeps going through your mind (and through the cab ride home, and into breakfast the next day): ‘I’m at an orgy! I’m at an orgy!’”to have a severe stutter?“The thing is, there’s a disconnect thing between my mind and my tongue. My mind’s processing a thousand words a minute, and the tongue is only squeezing out ten or twelve.”to be a mob hitman?“It’s nerve-racking. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. Anybody who’s any good at this is concentrating with every nerve in their body, trying to get it done right and trying not to get caught.”to be 105 years old?“I was born in 1897 and I’ve seen a lot in the world. I’ve seen everything there is to see. You look back and tell yourself, ‘What have I been doing all these years?’”If these tidbits whet your appetite for real, first-person accounts of some of life’s most exhilarating, harrowing, or downright strange experiences, then you’ll be sucked in by Esquire What It Feels Like . Collected by the ever-curious editors of Esquire magazine, here are more than fifty gripping tales—straight from the mouths of the people who’ve lived them.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Humor

Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I thought these short stories were very interesting.....I only wish I knew what happened to these people afterward!

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esquire Presents: What It Feels Like by A.J. Jacobs (Editor)(Three Rivers Press 2003)(155.9). This is a collection of columns written by A.J. Jacobs for Esquire Magazine under the title "What It Feels Like." In these columns, the author posed a question, and the answer was a several-paragraph long response in the first person from someone to whom it had happened (e.g., "What it feels like to be attacked by a bear", "What it feels like to be struck by lightning", "What it feels like to be addicted to heroin."). These are often jaw-droppingly candid responses. I read this little book at one sitting and wished for more. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 8/15/14.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so much a "book" as a collection of short excerpts from Esquire articles, or maybe pieces that were intended as Esquire articles but didn't make the cut. I assume that it is or was given out for free with Esquire subscriptions.

All of the various experiences described are mildly interesting, but none remarkably so, as least in these tellings. Each individual piece is about a thirty-second read, so not a bad read for a day where you are going to spend a lot of time waiting for things to happen.

[Nine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty nice book! The focus is very much on physical sensation, with only the most basic background info; I like that it doesn't stray far off-topic. There are a whole lot of different things in here, like being bitten by a shark, having OCD, being in solitary confinement, being in a coma, being very tall or very short, transitioning, and so on. Really interesting, and allowing people to describe their experiences in their own words means there isn't a sensationalist tone. Also, nice design.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pretty much a devotee of this author. Although he only actually edits this, I presumed it would carry his mark. Not so much. I skipped the entries on orgies, sex changes, and mob hitsters. Interested to note that Melchizadek greeted the woman who "died", and the entry on surviving a plane crash was gripping. Short quick reads.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

What fun! Did you ever wonder what it felt like to have a shark crunch down on your head or to win the lottery or to go on a hunger strike or to survive a tornado from inside a trailer in Mississippi or to have amnesia? This is your reference.

I first became aware of some of these stories when they appeared in Esquire. Several of them stuck in my head, especially the tale of Sir Rannulph Fiennes getting frostbite as he tried to reach the North Pole alone. Having his fingers freeze was bad enough, but when he returned home, the doctors refused to amputate the dead fingertips until the surrounding flesh recuperated. Fiennes found that bumping his ruined fingers was excruciating, so he did a little home surgery with a hacksaw. “Going through the bones was quick difficult,” he reports.

Other details are just as memorable. Being struck by lightning is like the feeling of having every case of flu you’ve ever had – at the same time. The prelude to an epileptic seizure is feeling like having warm water poured over your body, but the scariest part is feeling the paralysis creep over your on body part at a time. When you have leprosy, you have to quit smoking because you don’t know you’ve burned yourself until you smell your flesh cooking.

The largest problem I have with this book is that the entries aren’t actual “stories.” Most of them are simply vignettes, describing the occurrence of interest without any lead-in or follow-up. This makes for quick and admittedly entertaining reading, but I found myself craving some context. How did the victims feel about their experiences? How did those experiences impact or change their sufferers’ lives?

Most of the pieces aren’t even written by the people who experienced them, but are “as told to.” While this guarantees a certain level of, shall we say, literacy, it also means that stories by the same ghostwriters have similar cadences and vocabularies. This may be more of a problem for me, since I read a lot of first-person stories, than for the average reader.

So other than the fact that What It Feels Like is not Morbid Curiosity, I enjoyed reading this book immensely. Search it out…then count your blessings.

This review originally appeared in Morbid Curiosity #8.

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book this afternoon. It was a very fast read. And I'm kind of glad, because it was sort of a downer. It sounded so interesting, right? But in reality, it was only kinda interesting, and depressing.

It's a bunch of short essays about different crazy experiences. They are really short (1-3 pages), so you don't get any deep life lessons or follow up. You just get the basic experience, in a couple paragraphs.

So, in one chapter I imagined almost being killed in a tornado, then I was being gored by a bull, then I was a hit man killing someone, then I had anorexia, then multiple personalities, then got shot in the head. It was one right after another. Even the ones that were supposed to be fun were not that cool sounding. Like the orgy (by the way, not on my fun list) just talked about how the people in the orgy with you were not necessarily very good looking.

I was kind of desperate for it to end. I hope I don't dream about bear attacks and epileptic seizures.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this- you don't have to first hand feel... ever again.
(All written on first-hand accounts. All written by the person's own creative voice.)

Some of my faves:
What It Feels Like to be Attacked by a Swarm of African Killer Bees
What It Feels Like to Touch Fake Boobs
What it Feels Like to Have Fake Boobs
What It Feels Like to Have Multiple Personalities (which I often feel)
What It Feels Like to Participate in an Orgy (which I often am asked to join)
What It Feels Like to Be 105 Years Old
What It Feels like to Die

.... and more!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read a book so fast in my life. It helps that it's small, has pictures, and is broken into easy-to-read passages, but considering I was wiping away boogers, peanut butter, and dog slobber while trying to read this, I think I read this pretty quickly. Many stories are gut-wrenching, many made me gasp in pity or horror, many made me want to know what had come of the people profiled. Truly a must-read.

[Alli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this only a 4 out of 5, because it wasn't actually written by AJ Jacobs, and also, because while on the whole the collection was very interesting, there were about 5 essays that I just wasn't a fan of. Don't know why, really... but the ratings wouldn't let me give a 4.5, when that's really what I meant.

[Sebastian Stabinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book consists of short texts in which people explain what it feels like to experience something. Crashing in a plane, being attacked by a bear, walking on the moon, ...

The main complaint that I have is the fact that the stories are very, very short and therefore more often than not also very shallow.

One of the rare cases where a book twice as big would have been a good thing.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really quick but fascinating read...a nice, safe, voyeuristic way to experience things like being shot in the head (gored by a bull, have fake boobs, undergo an exorcism, etc) without having to actually go through it.

[xq · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a quick read - i would've liked some of the stories to be longer, but since a few of them were for Esquire originally, i understand why they're short.

fun little book, nice collection of essays.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for my short attention span, I suppose, but nearly every little (1-4 pages) account of whatever just left me wanting more, or wanting to smack the person for not talking about the thing(s) that were -really- interesting.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stories from people who survived disasters, accidents, addictions, or have won awards, born differently than the average person, and descriptions by the more adventurous peoples of the world.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is just alright. I read it when it first came out and at the time it was quite good. When I look back on that book now I can see how irrelevant it would be today, considering how much more interesting information is available on the internet.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is basically a collection of very short first person accounts. They're not poorly written but they're all so short that no story really has enough time to grab you.

If you keep a bathroom book, this would be a good candidate. Otherwise, meh.

[Sin Pretextos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to have when you have small moments to read. They are all interesting stories that are short and unique. Some of these stories you would think only happen in movies. I enjoyed the book, felt like I was at a party talking to different people about bizarre things that happened to them.

[Jerry Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, interesting diversion if you have an hour or so to kill. It really doesn't take much longer to read. Nothing in depth here.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

good for a plane ride, that is about it

[Chrishna · Rating 4 out of 5]

From getting hit by lightening to dying! A great, fast and fun read.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

My only complaint is that I felt like some of the experiences lacked detail. Otherwise an enjoyable read.

[Rob Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not exactly a world changing book, but there were a few good 1-pagers in there. What it felt like to be attacked by killer bees sounded scary (and kind of hilarious).

[Carly Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

WAY too short! What a fantastic compilation of stories. I keep hoping a part II will come out . . .

[Kristi Bumpus · Rating 2 out of 5]

A neat book in theory, but there really wasn't much to it ... each of the excerpts left me with more questions. Just wasn't enough substance to suit me.

[Gemma Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick read that was full of interesting stories, more like reading a blog in book form, it doesn't take up much time so if you get a chance have a look.

[Citesc · Rating 4 out of 5]

good examples but too short examples, sometimes.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of these stories are so interesting, but so short. I wanted longer descriptions.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it in about an an hour. Not terribly thrilling, although I found "What It Feels Like To Be Attacked By African Killer Bee's" quite amusing.

[Allegra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one so much and the way it was organized, that I bought copies for some of my reading friends as Christmas gifts and they all enjoyed it too.