This review is based on an ARC of Ingredients which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Penguin/Dutton).

Maaaaaybe closer to 3.75 stars, solely because this was a lot of reading for a decidedly inconclusive conclusion. But that is the problem with books that seek the truth of a majorly debatable question (i.e. Are Cheetos gonna kill you?)

In Ingredients George Zaidan takes you through an unforgettable exploration (à la Mary Roach) of chemistry in the search for an answer to a multitude of questions concerning modernity and mortality.

Despite being a little frustrating (in the sense that there was no solid yes or no conclusion), I can definitely say that from reading Ingredients I Learned Something™. As long as I can say that, I believe that the nonfiction book has served its purpose. And furthermore, while Learning Something™, I laughed my tuchus off! Ingredients is educational and entertaining, so it's a win-win in my book!

All that said, insert disclaimer here: I am a huge nerd, I enjoy reading statistics, and the theoretical experiments (as well as the real-world ones) had me totally rapt. I can see how a lot of people might find this book dense and--if not for the humor--mind-numbing. As for the humor, it was immature and vulgar, but it was funny. (I'm a total prude though, so I must admit that my sense of humor is different from the general populace's.)

As a whole, I can see this book being a hit for the nonfiction market. Fans of Mary Roach are definitely going to dig Ingredients.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me at 33%. It was way too sciencey for me, and though it was presented almost cartoonish (assumingly to “dumb it down” for non-sciencey people), I still didn’t get it. It was over my head and I wasn’t understanding.

You know what? I really enjoyed this book and actually laughed out loud at multiple parts of it. I did not know that this would be comedic going into the book, but it certainly is and I thoroughly enjoyed it for that fact! I learned a bit of organic chemistry, some nutritional science, and laughed. I call that a huge win! Seriously, this was a surprisingly enjoyable book and I highly recommend it for all!

I feel kind of conflicted about this book. Some of it was really easy to understand, and some of it seemed way over my head in the chemistry and stats areas. I do think, however, that it will find readership at my library, so I'm adding the title to my next order.

This book was mind blowing, it makes you really stop and think about all the things that are put into our food that we eat without another thought

Excellent book of explaining what we put in us is on us. The book is not about what goes into our food, it is about the scientific data of the ingredients.

I will start off by saying that I hate giving bad reviews and I feel horrible for rating books under four stars.

I requested this book based off of the cover alone. I thought it was going to be about learning what ingredients were in our foods and learning about what we were putting in our bodies. I was disappointed with how little I learned with this book and how broad and random the information was. I feel the the focus of the book was all over the place-- there could have been four different books within this book if more research, depth, and information were put into each section.

I was also turned off by the language, or use of language, within the book. When an author continually uses improper grammar, language, semantics, capitalization, etc. they lose credibility as a reliable source in my opinion. I felt like I was reading an online blog rather than a book I would pay money for.

Thank you Netgalley and Dutton for this ARC.

This was not as good as I hoped. Reading the description and topics that were covered it was going to very informative and maybe some slanted a little more towards statics and just a little more scientific. It definitely shows that the author has a chemistry background. It covers arguments of is processed food, smoking ( and we know it is bad) bad for you and a comparison to vaping and is coffee bad for you too. Two stories I did find interesting was the tragic story of the lady sunbather and dietary habits of a five year-old with a very narrow diet. I received an ARC from Netgalley for a far an honest review.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I've been mulling the prospect of writing this review over in my mind over and over again, torn about what I would write and how I could articulate my thoughts accurately. Up until the last two chapters, I adored this book. Zaidan is hilarious, and his explanations/explorations into studies, the history of processing food, and ingredients were easy, fun, and memorable to read. All along I was thinking of how many people I wanted to recommend this book to. It was refreshing to read about how studies are not infallible, the scientific process has its flaws, and there is so much more to be explored.

And then I got to the end, and all he had written basically came undone with a "but none of this matters anyway, you only live so long, don't read studies because you're not a scientist, just trust the FDA and the CDC" sort of statement (not a direct quote). I couldn't believe my eyes. And then he made a comment about vaccinations and I was just done. From a chemist who wrote a book examining the flaws in studies and the effects of different chemicals/ingredients on the body, I don't understand how Zaidan can conclude his book with such ridiculous statements. Any scientist knows that science is never settled. Yes, a scientific education is incredible, but that doesn't rule the average citizen out from understanding science as a rule. And vaccinations, just like any other medical product, are always and should always be under scrutiny for safety and effectiveness. Parents are absolutely entitled to examine evidence and make their own conclusions based on the information available and their knowledge of their children.

I leave this book rather conflicted. It was fun, yes, but Zaidan kind of shot himself in the foot by the end.

Great science writing and humor

I love this book. Author George Zaidan provides a great overview of the foods we eat and of the stuff we put on the skin, but the emphasis is on the former. He does a great job of explaining the science using excellent analogies. He also writes in a conversational tone and with a great sense of humor. Even the footnotes and acknowledgements are worth reading. The book does more than just talk about ingredients. It also discusses the process of science, what makes a good study and how to interpret them. But this is all done in a fun way and Zaidan is not the least bit pedantic. The only science book I’ve read that showed this good a sense of humor is “Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death” by Brenna Hasset. I strongly recommend both these books.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

This book was clearly over my head. SO much information, and it was very complicated.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. It was a DNF, though I skimmed through most of it.

Zaidan spends most of his time trying to make science fun with humor. However, his attempts to make things funny started to feel relentless pretty early in the book. Since I was interested in the topic, I didn't need everything to be a joke to read it. Consequently, I tired of pretty quickly.

My overall takeaway on the book's message is that science regarding food is unreliable and studies have a lot of ways they can go wrong. This left me feeling that he really didn't have any conclusions, besides scientists make a lot of mistakes.

I think there are better choices in this category if you want to read about health and food related topics.

Zaidan answers questions, I'm sure, of which many if us wonder. Explains the science, chemistry behind them and where the fault lays with different stories. Subjects include, pre-processed food, is vaping betters than cigarettes, does sun screen actually work, and is coffee good or bad? Many other common things as well. He does so in a witty manner, using graphs, data collected and the pot hole theory if measurement.

Parts of this were very interesting, though I thought at times he over explained. I have to admit chemistry is not my forte, in fact it is one of my weakest subjects. Of course, it didn't help that my teacher was an elderly gentleman, who spoke in s monotone. I can definitely see where statisticians and budding chemists will understand much more of this than I. I did get answers though and loved seeing the molecule dance steps.

ARC from Netgalley.