Title: The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance
Author: David Epstein
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| via Barnes & Noble |
In my exploration of sports books, I'm always on the lookout for those that would be enjoyable for non-fans. I think it's a reasonable measure for books in any genre but more importantly for me personally, such a book is one I can safely recommend to my wife. My dear bride is a voracious reader with a life list to put all of us to shame. However, to say she is not a sports fan is comparable to saying a duck is not a water balloon. But I still make modest efforts to convert her from time to time. Giving her the right book to read is as strong a tactic as any. The Sports Gene is a good candidate.
For starters, the book is very well-written. David Epstein follows in the grand tradition of gifted Sports Illustrated staff writers. Also, I think the anecdotal style and the attention to broader topics beyond sports are selling points for the general-interest reader.
Make no mistake, there's plenty to love for sports fans, too. The book opens with a story about Hall of Fame-caliber baseball players being completely flummoxed by Jennie Finch, the world's best softball pitcher. Turns out, despite all their physical gifts (average eyesight for Major League hitters is 20/11 in the right eye, 20/12 in the left), batters rely heavily on a highly refined mental database for recognizing pitches even before the ball leaves the hurler's hand. The same goes for tennis players reading an opponent's serve and chess grandmasters processing positions on the board. Take away that database, as in the case of facing an ace softball pitcher, and all of the expert hitter's advantages fly out the window. The book is filled with peak-behind-the-curtain revelations such as this.
I spoil nothing by sharing the book's conclusion as Epstein lays it out plainly in the book's introduction. Athletic success is dependent upon the combination of both nature and nurture. All the talent in the world will only take you so far if you don't put in the work. Similarly, a stellar work ethic, while admirable, is rarely enough to reach the top of the medal podium without the help of a genetic advantage or two.
Please join us and share your own review of your best read from the past month. This month's link list is below. I'll keep it open until the end of the day. I'll post June's tomorrow. Meetings are the last Friday of each month. Next gathering is June 27th.
'batters rely heavily on a highly refined mental database for recognizing pitches even before the ball leaves the hurler's hand.'
ReplyDeleteHow is such a thing discovered?
It was always assumed that baseball players had quicker reflexes than average but when they were actually tested for it, reaction times were not appreciably faster. Their eye sight, as described above, is off the charts but that still wasn't enough to explain how they're able to process sufficient information between when the ball leaves the pitcher's hand to when it crosses the plate to be able to recognize pitches. So, they were tested for other visual cues. Turns out, hitters can tell a lot about where a pitch is going just from the positioning of a pitcher's arm in still shots - enough, with a lifetime of experience, to be able to make a reasonable guess in time to hit the ball.
DeleteInteresting, but not sure how they prove these things. Maybe I'll have to read this and find out ;-)
ReplyDeleteA lot of it has to do with DNA analysis and how it relates to physical characteristics that are known to give an advantage in athletic competition. For instance, if someone's body naturally produces more hemoglobin, s/he as an advantage in endurance competitions. If you belong to a tribe in Kenya whose members typically produce more hemoglobin as an adaptation to living at high altitude, you already have a leg up on the competition at the Boston Marathon. It's not a guarantee of success but it definitely helps.
DeleteOh! This sounds cool! My boys are really big in sports and travel for competition--we've seen a lot of elite athletes in our years. Olympic athletes and the like. It's clear that these athletes are a cut above, in many ways.
ReplyDeleteOne thing is for sure, it is the honing of natural talent that shapes an athlete into an elite athlete.
I work in the performing arts. I see kids with wasted natural talent all the time. I also see plenty with fantastic attitudes who I know will only ever make it so far (bless them). Every once in a while, you'll find one who has both. You build your program around those kids.
DeleteI'm going to love reading everyone's picks today! I have to admit, one of the best reasons for joining up on this is that I can get great ideas for books to add to my already-too-large TBR pile.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I'm so glad you've joined us, Stephanie, and I hope you'll get loads of great new book ideas.
DeleteI remember hearing about those long distance runners. Did not know about batters though!
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot more about track and field athletes than those in team sports as their accomplishments are more easily quantifiable. However, there are a few keen insights into team sports, too. Here's one: while height is an obvious advantage in basketball, arm span is a more reliable indicator of success in the NBA.
DeleteThis book would be the perfect gift for my husband. Thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! I hope he enjoys it.
DeleteThe talent has to be backed up by lots of hard work.
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt. As one of the scientists interviewed remarked, you don't see Olympians jumping up off the couch.
DeleteI heard a number of interviews with this author when the book came out, and was intrigued. Radio Lab has a good overview you might enjoy: http://www.radiolab.org/story/runners/ I was left with the impression that prowess was far more due to nurture (training) than nature, however. I will probably check the book out at some point.
ReplyDeleteI remember the interviews when the book first came out. A lot of the hubbub at the time had to do with the 10,000 hours rule, a long held belief that it takes 10,000 hours to achieve world class mastery of anything: tennis, the violin, chess, whatever. In the book, Epstein introduces the theory early, then spends the rest of the text debunking it.
DeleteThat actually sounds like a book I'd enjoy, especially with my daughter's whole softball thing, right now.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your thoughts, should you read it.
DeleteWill it explain why I lack sports genes all together and why I suck so completely at ANY athletic venture I have ever undertaken? LOL
ReplyDeleteAll joking aside, despite a lack of enthusiasm for sports, this actually sounds like a book and a theory I would be very interested in exploring.
It's fascinating stuff, a book to consider in light of the aspiring archers in your family.
DeleteThis is a sweet post Armchair Squid! I agree that success is dependent upon nature and nurture but it only takes you so far. I'm half Jamacian, so there's hope! I wish you an amaze-balls Friday!
ReplyDeleteIs your family from Trelawny? That is the parish - population 74,000 - in northwest Jamaica from which most of the world class sprinters hail, including Usain Bolt.
DeleteHope you're having a great weekend, Maurice!
Thanks for delivering the gist of this book so succinctly - like your wife, sports are so not my thang. It does sound interesting though. Hey! Maybe I'll pick it up for my daddio for Father's Day. Thanks for the gift idea for the hardest man in the world to buy for. :)
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. I actually got the book as a gift from my father - not a sports fan at all.
DeleteI've heard of this book, but haven't read it. I think I may have listened to the same Radio Lab program as Stephanie that said that nurture is needed to develop any natural talents to an elite level. It's an interesting idea, and I'm always looking for non fiction that's fun to read.
ReplyDeleteI think this one is digestible for those who aren't sports fans. It's an interesting exploration of the practical applications and limitations of genetic mapping, if nothing else.
DeleteSounds interesting! I have wondered about some of those questions you posed. So it would seem that it takes more than practice, practice, practice to become an elite athlete.
ReplyDeleteYou can't make it without the work. That much is clear. But some start with definite advantages that are little more than accidents of birth.
DeleteThis sounds very interesting and sound like fsomething that you would like.
ReplyDeleteI must tell you I just enjoy watching sports and not into all the theory behind it all.
I know like any endeavor one needs to be inclined (blessed ?) with some ability. Then practice, practice practice. Like a pianist I think your need that part of your soul ? ability that leads you.
The x always had to fill the running play by plays and mark them down. he would always get mad that I just wanted to watch the games, and visit as many stadiums as I could.
Believe me Baltimore has the best food !
cheers, parsnip
opps the last part was, when I watch baseball
DeleteA few years ago, I decided to learn to keep score. I'm grateful to have learned but I'd much rather sit, relax and enjoy the game. I love your idea of visiting as many stadiums as possible.
DeleteI'm not much of an athlete but this looks like an interesting read. Definitely like something my son would be interested in.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I think there's enough for the general interest reader to enjoy. I take it your son's an athlete? Which sports?
DeleteI too heard this author interviewed on NPR, and it sounds like a fascinating read.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell? The conclusion drawn here strikes me as similar to what he says accounts for successful people: a combination of hard work and good opportunity (in this case, good genes) :)
I ran track in college, and quickly found I was lacking in both columns...
I have not read the book but have seen him interviewed. I think he and Epstein would agree on plenty.
DeleteAlso, since I'm new to this site :), I have to ask about the name of your blog. It is so delightfully odd and unexpected. Are you willing to divulge?
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a better story for this. Maybe I should make one up. My original thought was Armchair Sports Fan but, not surprisingly, that was already taken. Since the mid-'90s, truly for almost as long as I've had an e-mail account, my online identity has been The Squid. At the time, it was just a word I pulled out of the air. It stuck.
DeleteI think many of the sports books you've mentioned would be of interest to me, despite me not being a huge sports fan. I follow Aussie Rules football, but couldn't care less about most other sports. I do enjoy watching tennis, and gymnastics, and diving!
ReplyDeleteAussie Rules - terrifying sport! I had some friends in Japan who played on a team. Bones were broken.
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