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  • The Sports Gene

  • Talent, Practice and the Truth About Success
  • By: David Epstein
  • Narrated by: David Epstein
  • Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (89 ratings)

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The Sports Gene

By: David Epstein
Narrated by: David Epstein
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Publisher's Summary

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. He 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. Throughout, The Sports Gene forces us to rethink the very nature of success.

©2013 David Epstein (P)2013 Gildan Media LLC. Published in the UK by Random House Audiobooks

What listeners say about The Sports Gene

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting

A really interesting listen future could unravel many mysteries.

We could see supreme athletes being made in labs.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing content, terrible accents

The book content is fascinating and explain in a way that is meaningful and easy to grasp.

Only gripe is the narrator’s absolutely shocking accents. The Jamaican accent sounds more Australian than the Australian accent. It’s incredibly grating and almost enough to stop listening.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

stop with the accents!!

Interesting book, great content, but I wish the reader would stop doing the accents of every person interviewed. They are all terrible. Just rest the text!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Easy to understand yet incredibly deep

Incredible book, an amazing display of just some of our genetic intricacies. I pride myself in being scientifically literate and there were few things on display in this book which I already knew, far more were insightful enough to change the way I view genetics and evolution.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting Story, Uncomfortable accents

Good book, has lots of information, presents it well in a linear manner. A few topics could have spent a bit more time on and linked better to other chapters.
The accents the narrator attempted were a bit offensive though.

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