They look like get-rich-quick but there are some real nuggets of truth in there; but the hard work is well disguised.
Take for example the 4-Hour body's section on ultrarunning. I'm training for a marathon so I know how hard it is, yet the way it's written about in the book is (to my recollection - don't have my copy here) "20 minutes 3 times a week and you can run 50K". Then you read closer, and closer, and there are detailed training schedules with some long runs, and it's actually sensible - but the initial wow is definitely along the lines of snake oil.
I think Tim just knows what will get people to bite, but underneath it all he also knows how to achieve (most of) the things he writes about.
Take for example the 4-Hour body's section on ultrarunning. I'm training for a marathon so I know how hard it is, yet the way it's written about in the book is (to my recollection - don't have my copy here) "20 minutes 3 times a week and you can run 50K". Then you read closer, and closer, and there are detailed training schedules with some long runs, and it's actually sensible - but the initial wow is definitely along the lines of snake oil.
I think Tim just knows what will get people to bite, but underneath it all he also knows how to achieve (most of) the things he writes about.