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The Sports Gene: Talent, Practice and the Truth About Success Paperback – 2 Jan 2014

by David Epstein (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 36 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Yellow Jersey (2 Jan. 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 022409162X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0224091626
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 12,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"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)

Book Description

An entertaining and thought-provoking examination of the truth behind talent and success.

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Customer Reviews

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA Brief Summary and Review
By A. D. Thibeault on 13 Aug. 2013
Format: Hardcover
*A full executive summary of this book is available at newbooksinbrief dot com.

What does it take to become an elite athlete? The intuitive answer for most of us is that it probably takes some lucky genes on the one hand, and a whole heck of a lot of hard work on the other. Specifically, that we may need to be blessed with a particular body type to excel at a particular sport or discipline (after all, elite marathon runners tend to look far different than elite NFL running backs, who in turn tend to look far different than elite swimmers), but that beyond this it is practice and diligence that paves the way to success. When we look at the science, though--as sports writer David Epstein does in his new book The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance--we find that the story is much more complicated than this. In general terms we find that nature and nurture interact at every step of the way in the development of an elite athlete, and that biology plays far more of a role (and in far more ways) than we may have expected.

To begin with, when it comes to physiology, we find that genetics not only has a large role to play in influencing our height and skeletal structure (as we would expect), but that genes also influence physiology in many other ways that are important when it comes to elite sports.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsWhat Makes a Perfect Athlete?
By Charles TOP 1000 REVIEWER on 31 Aug. 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Many people believe that they can achieve anything if only they try hard enough, often Malcolm Gladwell's '10,000 hour rule' ( "the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours") is used to back up this claim. It can be very inspiring to people to think that they can be good at anything if they try hard enough, but is it actually true?

A quick look at the National Basketball Association (NBA) of America shows that being tall helps a lot in basketball. It turns out that 17% of men over 7' and between 20 and 40 in the U.S. are playing in the NBA right now. Even the 'smaller' players have extra longs arms for their height. Unless basketball players train to be taller I think it's fair to say genetics play a big part!

Donald Thomas became world high jump champion in 2007 with only eight months of training. It appears Donald has long legs for his height and a huge Achilles tendon which is very important for jumping but there are probably lots of other things we don't know about helping him as well. Since entering the professional circle Donald has not improved one centimeter contradicting the you-need-to-train-to-get-better rule!

If you think that it's purely a case of nature then you might like to know about high jumper Stefan Holm, he compensated for been smaller than average (for a high jumper ) by perfecting a sprinting approach where he hit a top speed of around nineteen miles per hour, probably faster than any other jumper in the world. To accommodate that speed, he had to start taking off from farther and farther away from the bar. He improved year by year eventually winning gold in the Olympics.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsNature and Nurture - obvious? Fascinating fresh view.
By M. Hillmann on 26 May 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
The 10,000 hour rule, which emphasises the importance of practice and training in achieving world class sporting success, was popularised by Malcolm Gladwell and Mathew Sayid in “Bounce”. In this meticulously researched book written in a compulsive story telling style, Epstein argues that the studies undertaken by K. Anders Ericsson – the so-called father of the 10,000 hour rule – do not address the existence of genetically based talent because their work begins with subjects of high achievement in music or sports. When most of humanity has already been screened out of a study before it begins, the study has nothing to say about the existence or non existence of innate talent.
Trelawny is a tiny parish in north west Jamaica. Sprinters and jumpers from Trelawny won 8 medals at the Beijing Olympics – more than entire countries won the in the entire Olympics. 32 marathon runners from the Kalenjin tribe in Kenya ran a sub 2hours10 minute marathon in one month in October 2011. Only 17 Americans in history have run sub 2.10. This is convincing evidence of the existence of the sports gene. Epstein looks, in some detail, at the genetic exceptions that these Jamaican and Kalenjin populations exhibit – the ACTN3 “sprint gene” prevalent among Jamaican people and the genetic make up of Kalenjin that gives them a particular linear build with narrow hips, and long , thin limbs.

But Epstein does not ignore the cultural and environmental factors. For example, the immense popularity of athletics and its passport to fame and fortune among impoverished west Indians, or kids running long distances to school at altitude in Kenya, and again the route out of poverty that athletic success can provide.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent

Excellent

Published 2 months ago by Richard Heyes
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Highly recommend seller. A great read for someone doing sports and conditioning coaching.

Published 3 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A really interesting and informative book to anyone who is interested in or plays sport. Top class.

Published 10 months ago by Henri
4.0 out of 5 starsFascinating read, if a little heavy going in places

A fascinating book that analyses what separates elite sportsmen and women from not just the average sportsperson, but also from the average Joe. Read more

Published 10 months ago by G Marwaha
5.0 out of 5 starsRead This

If you are interested in the title, you will enjoy this book. If you are interested in sports, physiology, exercise, or genetics, you will enjoy this book. Read more

Published 10 months ago by brad
5.0 out of 5 starsGood value for money

A present

Published 14 months ago by trevorandwendy
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

brilliant

Published 15 months ago by andrew murray
5.0 out of 5 starsI bought this book having read it referenced in a ...

I bought this book having read it referenced in a number of articles relating to the nature/nurture argument and it was fascinating reading. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Mr E J Bonner
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Changes the way you think about nature:nurture

Published 17 months ago by George Scott Davison
5.0 out of 5 starsWell worth a read - excellent popular science

A fascinating read. It tells compelling stories to illuminate the science of genealogy.

Published 19 months ago by Alex Quigley

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