About the Book
"David Epstein manages to make me thoroughly enjoy the experience of being told that everything I thought about something was wrong. I loved Range." Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Outliers.
Range is the ground-breaking and exhilarating New York Times bestselling exploration into how to be successful in the 21st Century, from David Epstein the acclaimed author of The Sports Gene.
What if everything you have been taught about how to succeed in life was wrong?
From the '10,000 hours rule' to the power of Tiger parenting, we have been taught that success in any field requires early specialization and many hours of deliberate practice. And, worse, that if you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up with those who got a head start.
This is completely wrong.
In this landmark book, David Epstein shows that the way to excel is by sampling widely, gaining a breadth of experiences, taking detours, experimenting relentlessly, juggling many interests - in other words, by developing range.
Studying the world's most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, and scientists Epstein discovered that in most fields - especially those that are complex and unpredictable - generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. They are also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can't see. Range proves that by spreading your knowledge across multiple domains is the key to success rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area.
Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range explains how to maintain the benefits of breadth, diverse experience and interdisciplinary thinking in a world that increasingly demands, hyper-specialization.
PRAISE FOR RANGE
"I want to give Range to any kid who is being forced to take violin lessons-but really wants to learn the drums; to any programmer who secretly dreams of becoming a psychologist; to everyone who wants humans to thrive in an age of robots. Range is full of surprises and hope, a 21st century survival guide." Amanda Ripley, author of The Smartest Kids in the World.
"An assiduously researched and accessible argument for being a jack of all trades." O Magazine, Best Nonfiction Books Coming in 2019
"Brilliant, timely, and utterly impossible to put down. If you care about improving skill, innovation, and performance, you need to read this book." Daniel Coyle, author of The Culture Code and The Talent Code
"A fresh, brisk look at creativity, learning, and the meaning of achievement." Kirkus Reviews
"It's a joy to spend hours in the company of a writer as gifted as David Epstein. And the joy is all the greater when that writer shares so much crucial and revelatory information about performance, success, and education." Susan Cain, author of Quiet
Table of Contents:
Introduction - i: Roger vs. Tiger Chapter - 1: The Cult of the Head Start Chapter - 2: How the Wicked World Was Made Chapter - 3: When Less of the Same Is More Chapter - 4: Learning, Fast and Slow Chapter - 5: Thinking Outside Experience Chapter - 6: Finding Your Match Chapter - 7: Flirting with Your Possible Selves Chapter - 8: The Outsider Advantage Chapter - 9: Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology Chapter - 10: Fooled by Experience Chapter - 11: Learning to Drop Your Familiar Tools Chapter - 12: Deliberate Amateurs Section - ii: Conclusion: Expanding Your Range Acknowledgements - iii: Acknowledgements Section - iv: Notes Index - v: Index
About the Author :
David Epstein is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene. He has master's degrees in environmental science and journalism and has worked as an investigative reporter for ProPublica and a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Review :
David Epstein manages to make me thoroughly enjoy the experience of being told that everything I thought about something was wrong. I loved Range
Fabulous . . . If you are interested in champions' journeys, this is for you
It’s a joy to spend hours in the company of a writer as gifted as David Epstein. And the joy is all the greater when that writer shares so much crucial and revelatory information about performance, success, and education
An urgent and important book, an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance
A captivating read that will leave you questioning the next steps in your career—and the way you raise your children
Extraordinary
A goldmine of surprising insights. Makes you smarter with every page
Brilliant, timely, and utterly impossible to put down. If you care about improving skill, innovation, and performance, you need to read this book
I want to give Range to . . . everyone who wants humans to thrive in an age of robots. Range is full of surprises and hope, a 21st century survival guide
The storytelling is so dramatic, the wielding of data so deft and the lessons so strikingly framed …[it’s] a pleasure to read . . . Range offers such a wealth of thought-provoking material
Range elevates Epstein to one of the very best science writers at work today. The scope of the book—and the implications—are breathtaking
One of the most thought-provoking and enlightening books I’ve read
A fresh, brisk look at creativity, learning, and the meaning of achievement
An assiduously researched and accessible argument for being a jack of all trades
Range is a convincing, engaging survey of research and anecdotes that confirm a thoughtful, collaborative world is also a better and more innovative one
As David Epstein shows us, cultivating range prepares us for the wickedly unanticipated . . . a well-supported and smoothly written case on behalf of breadth and late starts
A clear and unfussy writer . . . this book is likely to resonate strongly with most teachers
Anyone contemplating a change of career late in life will find Range immensely reassuring. If you calculate that you don't have 10,000 hours left in which you can reasonably practice, you can use your range to connect ideas and use your varied experience.
Masterful. Perfect holiday reading
The most important business – and parenting – book of the year
An important book
