A book review of Jamie Hale's Should I Eat the Yolk?

I've been a fan of Jamie Hale's work and aware of his reputation on the internet across the fitness community for quite a while now. After scouring the web looking for a well renowned authors book to read on my new Kindle, I instantly picked up a copy of Jamie's "Should I Eat the Yolk?" as soon as I seen it was available.

This review will be segregated into three parts: the first is layout; the second, and most important, is content; finishing off with price / cost rating. I don't do star ratings, so shutup and read what I've written if you're interested in what this book has to offer.

We'll start off with a quick snippet about the author, which is taken directly from Jamie's website and should establish his credibility as a prominent author and respected professional.

"Jamie Hale is Sports Conditioning Coach, author, outdoor enthusiast, fitness and nutrition consultant. He has contributed to numerous exercise and sports publications (nationally and internationally). He has authored six books. Jamie is a member of the World Marital Arts Hall of Fame in recognition of his conditioning work with Martial Artists. He is considered by most in the fitness industry as a specialist in agility and comprehensive fitness training. He is also known for his ability to get bodybuilders lean and dry as a bone for competition. To learn more abut Jamie visit his website at www.maxcondition.com."

Layout

The book is presented in a question & answer style format; followed by a formal investigation into the myth. I.e:

"Question: Should I eat the yolk?"

Answer: Yolks are nutritious and the cholesterol content is no big deal..

Investigation: 1 large egg contains about 5grams of fat, coming mostly from oleic acid..."

There are three chapters to this book: Chapter 1 - Health & Nutrition Claims; Chapter 2 - Exercise Claims; Chapter 3 - Finding The Right Diet For Weight Loss. The first two chapters make up the bulk of the book (which is around 140 pages in paperback I believe) and present a multitude of question and answer style questions proceeding with an investigation to follow. This is the theme of the book and it is consistant all the way through making it very easy reading on the eyes and also an excellent reference tool if you ever want to look up the answer to a question quickly.

Content

The first thing that needs to be said is that Jamie, as a human, possesses an excellent scientific mind. He is very logical when coming to his conclusions on various myths and intriguing questions that circulate within the exercise & nutrition community. This leads to an incredibly unbiased and objective analysis of every question poised in the book; just what you want when separating the dogma from reality. If you're after an extreme book that proposes radical theories, you may want to look elsewhere; you won't find anything except sophistication and attention to detail in Mr.Hale's book.

As mentioned in the layout, the book strategises to answer each question with conviction which is followed up by a more formal investigation. Examples of interesting questions include "Do high insulin levels cause obesity?", or "Does it matter where calories come from?... Or is a calorie a calorie, regardless...". There is an abundance of enticing questions that will inevitably draw you in seeking to know the answer if you are passionate or have been around the industry for a while. You will not be dissapointed with the answers either: there is no bullshit or tendancy to beat around the issue's laid out, and the answers always leave you thoroughly satisfied. Not much more needs to be said in that regard. Every common myth surrounding exercise & nutrition choices is covered by Jamie's talent to simplify answers and present them in laymen's terms.

Now the negative: I would argue the book is rather mundane and too objective. It may strike many of you as science in its essence; either way, I would've liked to see Jamie write in a more eccentric style, deviating from science in its essence and providing the reader with more enjoyment and giggles throughout the text. After all, a lot of the issue's have became absurdly funny over time that perhaps unfortunately dominate and allow many "professionals" to extort uneducated victims. On the contrary, perhaps Jamie felt this would've detracted from his credibility and objective writing that defines the book; or perhaps he just isn't the most humorous writer.

The lowdown is this: Jamie has managed to scrutinise and thoroughly answer an overwhelming amount of questions in "Should I Eat the Yolk?" and for that he deserves many plaudits. For a 140 page book to strike you with such conviction and empowment of knowledge, it's inevitable you'll be left happy with your new-found knowledge.

Jamie claimed this book was written for the lay public, but it's also an excellent academic reference guide for advanced followers and students of exercise & nutrition in helping them determine fact from fiction. I wouldn't put a necessary target audience on this book; there are some questions you'll know the answer to and some you won't. Overall it's very compelling and interesting whatever your level of knowledge.

Price / Value for Money

For just over £8 on Amazon you can do a lot worse. You won't have wasted your time reading this book and although that price might strike you as a bit on the heavy side for the amount of pages it contains, rest assured the content is well worth it and you will feel as though you've gained a lot and certainly saved a lot of time reading this book.