Why people recommend it
The Way of the Iceman by Wim Hof is a non-fiction book outlining the controversial Dutch extreme athlete's philosophies, cold-exposure techniques, and breathing exercises. The book was a focal point of discussion during a multi-part investigative series on the Behind the Bastards podcast in September 2023, as well as an interview on On Purpose with Jay Shetty in November 2020. On Jay Shetty's podcast, the host introduced the publication as a comprehensive guide allowing readers to access Hof's globally taught methods directly through the text. Conversely, on Behind the Bastards, host Robert Evans offered a deeply critical analysis of the book across multiple episodes. Evans highlighted how the publication handled gaps in Hof's personal history, noting that it provided very little detail regarding the period between a family tragedy and Hof's rise to public prominence. Additionally, Evans pointed out strange biographical claims within the text, such as Hof's unusual assertions regarding his birth alongside a twin brother, and analyzed how the book offered a different version of the author's origin story concerning his entry into extreme cold-weather feats compared to later retellings. Evans characterized the book as poorly written and off-putting, yet nonetheless valuable as an intriguing window into the mythology constructed around its creator's extraordinary claims.
Who recommended it
- Robert Evans Discussed
- Jay Shetty Recommended
Robert Evans — 13 mentions
“his book The Way of the Iceman gives us very little detail on the long gap between olea's suicide and his rise to prominence”
“His book, The Way of the Iceman, gives us very little detail on the long gap between Olea's suicide and his rise to prominence.”
“in his book The Way of the Iceman he claims he came out as something of a surprise quote after his mother had given birth to his twin brother Andre”
“In his book The Way of the Iceman, he claims he came out as something of a surprise, quote, "after his mother had given birth to his twin brother, Andre."”
“uh in this book The Way of the IC man he is credited along with Cohen dong uh I don't know you know you know these names it's Danish names like I'm doing my best here whatever uh as the author of this book”
“in the way of the Iceman though he gives a different story as to why he decides to get into Conquering the mountains and doing weird cold weather stuff”
“now in the way of the ican he claims that this process started when he was nine and that his interest was sparked by his older brother who had hitch tied around the Middle East and the Far East”
“but oddly enough he doesn't list it as part of his journey in the way of the Iceman there he goes for a more exotic story claiming that he traveled to India as a young adult”
“in his R I'm not sure that's how that works it is not how that works”
“the way of the Iceman came out in 2017 but you can find articles from the 2020s where he tells the canal story instead I do find that book to be the most interesting version of his backstory in part because of how badly written and off-putting it is”
“The Way of the Iceman came out in 2017, but you can find articles from the 2020s where he tells the canal story instead. I do find that book to be the most interesting version of his backstory in part because of how badly written and off-putting it is.”
“in 2017 in the way of the Iceman he also will sometimes just say that she was depressed”
“here's how he relates the same story in his 2017 book The Way of the icem man”
Jay Shetty — 1 mention
“whim teaches his method in seminars all over the world but today we're going to talk about how you can find it all in this book the wim hof method”