Non Fiction Bestsellers - "At Home" and "Dukan Diet"

According to The Age newpaper’s bestsellers list for independent booksellers (week ending June 5) two new non fiction books have made the list – At Home by Bill Bryson and The Dukan Diet by Pierre Dukan.

I’ve been reading a lot about the former in The Age lately as it has been featured a few times in different sections. While I am a newcomer to Bryson’s books, I did find interesting his history of science in A Short History of Everything, which you may recall from an earlier post, I listened to in audio book format on our long drive to Sydney at Easter. This time, Bryson tackles the theme of domestic history, primarily in Britain and America, using his house built in 1851 as the blueprint for stories about the people, craftsmen, and health of the time.  I’m not sure whether this book will capture the imagination of all his followers, as the appeal of this topic is probably not as universal across genders as that of his previous books. Maybe one to have a look at though.

My initial reaction to the second book, The Dukan Diet by Pierre Dukan, was that it sounded like a new fad diet book, so I googled it to find out why so many people are buying the book. In an article by the UK newspaper, The Daily Mail, in April this year, phrases such as “Have you ever wondered why most French women appear to be so effortlessly chic and slender, whatever their age? “ and “It acknowledges the innate pleasure to be had from eating and, incredibly, promises efficient weight loss while eating unlimited quantities of real food” caught my attention.

It appears this diet has been popular in France for 10 years and reminds me of the CSIRO diet that was popular in Australia a few years ago, in that it focusses on protein as the secret to its success.  It advocates one day a week being a protein only day, and features a staged approach, in that after the initial restricted diet to drop the desired weight quickly, it then reintroduces healthy food progressively into diet. I recall that at the time that the CSIRO diet was popular, there was a lot of criticism by nutritionists and dietitions about the high amount of protein that was recommended in the diet.  A while ago I read the book French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano which was interesting. Unlike the Dukan Diet, Guiliano maintains that the secrets are controlling the portion size, minimal consumption of processed food and the amount of physical exercise all those Parisian women get climbing the stairs to their 5th floor apartment!