In Physical: An American Checkup, author James McManus is one of many typical middle-aged, privileged Americans: he isn’t as active as he knows he should be, he likes his liquor and cigarettes, and he doesn’t think twice about getting a third helping of his wife’s cooking. Given his family’s long history of early heart attacks and death, these are not good things to be doing. Perhaps he isn’t like so many of us when he spends $8,000 to get a three-day physical at the Mayo Clinic, one of the best medical institutions in the world, but his experience oftentimes proves to be a hilarious and insightful look into not just the inner workings of such a prestigious clinic, but also into his own personal bad habits and impending mortality — habits that are shared by a great many of us.