Third Edition, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

This book may save you life. Stress has been shown to be related to so many diseases (dis-ease) that after reading this book you will avoid stress like you would the plague and take it easy rather than go for dis-ease.

Sapolsky is one of the best science communicators that I have ever had the pleasure of reading or listening to on audio book. I'm now recommending this book to almost everyone I know. I originally heard of his work through Chris Ryan who wrote Sex At Dawn which is one of my all time favorites.

Robert Sapolsky does a fabulous job explaining complex biology and behaviour in a way that most literate people can understand. That being said, I still recommend this book for people in the field. It is a very entertaining read and Sapolsky's narrative style doesn't annoy even though he is explaining to a less knowledgable audience.

Of science books purporting to explain science for the non-scientist, this one actually does it (with interesting examples and wit). I enjoyed reading (and understanding) about which hormones influence what we feel, and how they are triggered.

Very informative, masterfully written, i honestly believe everyone should read it once. Somehow the author was capable of being both highly technical and interesting without being confusing. Really, an excellent writer who makes a somewhat scientific topic quite comical and fun to learn. Everyone should read it at least once in their lifetime.

Sapolsky is great at making the medical knowledge of stress physiology useful and palatable to normal people without dumbing it down. It had enough citations, references, and detailed explanations to satisfy the scientist in me, but was complete and accessible enough that my mother could get a lot out of it.

Also note that the 3rd edition is not just a new printing; it has major additions, updates and improvements over the 2nd.

This is a craftily and cleverly written book. Sapolsky is one of the great thinkers of our time, and he beautifully describes complex biophysiological workings with ease. His examples are highly entertaining, and he'll have even non-scientists discussing glucocorticoids, atherosclerosis, and the sympathetic nervous system at cocktail parties. A definite must-read.

Sapolsky’s book examines why stress and stress-related illnesses are rampant in humans. As the title suggests, prey on the Serengeti Plain, animals that are chased by fierce and fast predators, aren’t nearly so likely to suffer the ill effects of stress—despite living in a harsher world than most of humanity. To oversimplify, this has a lot to do with the fact that one downside of our big brains is an ability to obsess about what has happened and what might happen, and our sympathetic nervous system (i.e. the fight or flight mechanism) can be triggered even when there is no immediate threat in reality. In short, humans can uniquely worry themselves to death. Sapolsky gets into much great detail and lets the reader know what is known and what remains to be uncovered with respect to stress.

In almost 600 pages, arranged into 18 chapters, Sapolsky covers human stress in fine detail. While it’s a book written for a lay audience, it’s not a quick and easy read. The book discusses topics like the action of neurotransmitters and hormones, and, while it assumes no particular science background, it does assume a broadly educated and curious reader.

The chapters begin by looking at the stress mechanism from a physiological perspective. It then considers stress with respect to specific illnesses, the relationship between stress and various other topics in human being (e.g. sleep, pain, and memory.) The final chapter offers insight into how one can reduce one’s bad stress and one’s risk of stress-related illness. Among the most interesting topics are what personalities are particularly prone to stress-related illness and why psychological stress (as opposed to stress based in immediate real world stressors) is stressful.

Sapolsky has a sense of humor and knows how to convey information to a non-expert audience, but this isn’t the simplest book on the subject. It’s an investment of time and energy to complete reading this book, but it’s worth it if one’s interest in the subject is extensive enough. One of the strengths of the book is that it stays firmly in the realm of science. Because stress has been wrongly considered a fluff subject, many of the works on the topic—even those by individuals with MD or PhD after their names—have been new-agey or pseudo-scientific. This book stays firmly in the realm of science. Sapolsky explains what the studies have shown, and he tells the reader clearly when there is a dearth of evidence or contradictory findings.

If the reader has a deep interest in stress-related health problems, I’d highly recommend this book.

A great book - very insightful and unique viewpoint that consolidates current understanding of stress-linked disorders, and how people generally respond to their environment. I'll join the other 5-star reviews on here, no doubt.

This book presents a very relevant topic in a format that is both informative and entertaining. The physiological and psychological components provide an intriguing overview of understanding the causes of stress. The intermittent bits of dry wit really keep the book flowing along.

A great book - very insightful and unique viewpoint that consolidates current understanding of stress-linked disorders, and how people generally respond to their environment. I'll join the other 5-star reviews on here, no doubt.

This book presents a very relevant topic in a format that is both informative and entertaining. The physiological and psychological components provide an intriguing overview of understanding the causes of stress. The intermittent bits of dry wit really keep the book flowing along.

This book is amazing. I remember in nursing school when we had a complex process to understand we were always told to "Take it down to the celluar level". This book does just that, it covers the endocrine system in a way that makes sense; also how it relates to stress and the impact on the human body. I am so pleased I bought this book, read it slowly and take in all the information it has to offer.
Love it!

When reading advice books it's pretty rare to think "this book was written for me" yet if you suffer from panic attacks that's exactly what will happen when you crack open When Zebra's Don't get Ulcers. Sapolsky made me laugh, he made me cringe, and most importantly he led me to draw some serious correlations between his examples and my own personal experiences. This book has helped me imensly, while at the same time simply being an excellent fun read. I highly recommend to both readers looking for answers about panic attacks & stress related issues, or someone looking for a fun read. On a side note the audible version is excellent as well.

Awesome book with lots of insights. It was an eye opener for me for lots of health issues that we come across but do not know why it occurs. Also a best book to learn what stress can cause to a person based on medical science exploration.

This is the first Sapolsky book I read. In twenty years of subsequent reading on this subject I've found none that surpass its content its wisdom, or its humorous description of a such a complex phenomenon.

My favourite scientist and author of one of the funniest books ever written, 'A Primate's Memoir'. I emailed him about it in the early 2000's as I just adore it so and the excellent fellow was kind enough to write back and wish me Merry Christmas. I'll never forget it and I do read his works ever few months to stay sane. DO NOT miss out on the works and spoken words of one of the greats!

Saplosky does a great job of bringing physiological processes into terms that the general population can understand. He uses great, witty analogies and good humor to make sense of the physiology of stress.

This book is for anyone who has experienced stress to any degree. It goes into the biology behind stress, as well as how to cope with it. The author does explain it can be scary initially to learn how it impacts us emotionally, physically & mentally, but he also explains how to cope with it once you really understand what stress is.

I was procrastinating having to read another book for my class, mainly because I didnt want to get a dictionary out to look up definitions for big words, but my professor said that this book was an easy read and that we would totally get it. There are some big words, but the author explain it in an understandable way. I have enjoyed what I am learning. When I got this book, I had planned on reselling it back - not intending to keep it, but I have highlighted and made notations that I plan on keeping it in my personal library.