The Sports Gene
Talent, Practice and the Truth About Success
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:2nd Jan '14
Should be back in stock very soon
An entertaining and thought-provoking examination of the truth behind talent and success.
Offers an exploration of athletic success. This book shows why some skills that we imagine are innate are not - like the bullet-fast reactions of a baseball player - and why other characteristics that we assume are entirely voluntary, like the motivation to practice, might in fact have important genetic components.
‘A wonderful book. Thoughtful…fascinating’ Malcolm Gladwell
Do you believe some people are born athletes?
Is sporting talent innate or something that can be achieved through endurance and practise?
In this ground-breaking and entertaining exploration of athletic success, award-winning writer David Epstein gets to the heart of the great nature vs. nurture debate, and explodes myths about how and why humans excel.
Along the way, Epstein:
- Exposes the flaws in the so-called 10,000-hour rule that states that rigorous practice from a young age is the only route to success.
- Shows why some skills that we imagine are innate are not – like the bullet-fast reactions of a baseball player.
- Uncovers why other characteristics that we assume are entirely voluntary, like the motivation to practice, might in fact have important genetic components.
Throughout, The Sports Gene forces us to rethink the very nature of success.
A wonderful book. Thoughtful... fascinating. -- Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers
Provides a powerful and convincing analysis of how genes influence all our lives, especially the careers of elite sportsmen * The Times *
A fascinating, thought-provoking look at the leading edge of sports performance, written by a guy who knows the territory. David, besides being a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, was a collegiate runner for Columbia University. More to the point, he’s a terrific researcher and a fine, thoughtful writer -- Dan Coyle, author of The Talent Code
Full credit to David Epstein, a Sports Illustrated journalist with a serious and deep knowledge of genetics and sports science, for his terrific and unblinking new book, The Sports Gene, a timely corrective to the talent-denial industry -- Ed Smith * New Statesman *
Endlessly fascinating -- John Harding * Daily Mail *
Epstein’s book does not try to simplify the argument, but it does provide a welcome corrective to those who have deliberately underplayed the notion that genetic make-up is irrelevant -- Mike Atherton * The Times *
David Epstein's illuminating synthesis of the latest research into the nature v nurture debate as applied to sport -- Simon Redfern * Independent *
Provoking spirited debate about the merits of the 10,000 hour rule -- Rick Broadbent * The Times *
An important book on the relative roles of genes and environment—nature and nurture—in the building of a professional athlete ... bound to put the cat among the pigeons * Wall Street Journal *
Captivating...fascinating...His answer to the questions “Nature or nurture?” is both. If that sounds like a hedge, it isn’t: instead, it’s a testament to the author’s close attention to nuance. * New York Times *
- Short-listed for William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2013 (UK)
- Short-listed for PEN/ ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing 2014 (UK)
ISBN: 9780224091626
Dimensions: 198mm x 130mm x 22mm
Weight: 250g
352 pages