The #1 New York Times bestseller that has all America talking-with a new afterword on expanding your range-as seen on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, Morning Joe, CBS This Morning, and more.
"The most important business-and parenting-book of the year." -Forbes
"Urgent and important. . . an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance." -Daniel H. Pink
Shortlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world's top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.
David Epstein examined the world's most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields-especially those that are complex and unpredictable-generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They're also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can't see.
Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.
The #1 New York Times bestseller that has all America talking-with a new afterword on expanding your range-as seen on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, Morning Joe, CBS This Morning, and more.
"The most important business-and parenting-book of the year." -Forbes
"Urgent and important. . . an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance." -Daniel H. Pink
Shortlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you'll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world's top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.
David Epstein examined the world's most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields-especially those that are complex and unpredictable-generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They're also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can't see.
Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.
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, DC.
“A well-supported and smoothly written case on behalf of breadth
and late starts. . . . as David Epstein shows us, cultivating range
prepares us for the wickedly unanticipated.” —Wall Street
Journal
“I love this idea [Range], because I think of myself as a jack of
all trades.” — Fareed Zakaria, CNN
“The storytelling is so dramatic, the wielding of data so deft and
the lessons so strikingly framed that it’s never less than a
pleasure to read. . . . a wealth of thought-provoking material.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Range is a convincing, engaging survey of research and
anecdotes that confirm a thoughtful, collaborative world is also a
better and more innovative one.” —NPR
“For reasons I cannot explain, 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, author of Outliers and The Tipping Point
“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
“For too long, we’ve believed in a single path to excellence. Start
early, specialize soon, narrow your focus, aim for efficiency. But
in this groundbreaking book, David Epstein shows that in most
domains, the way to excel is something altogether different. Sample
widely, gain a breadth of experiences, take detours, and experiment
relentlessly. Epstein is a deft writer, equally nimble at telling a
great story and unpacking complicated science. And Range is an
urgent and important book, an essential read for bosses, parents,
coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance.” —Daniel
H. Pink, author of When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind
“In a world that’s increasingly obsessed with specialization, star
science writer David Epstein is here to convince you that the
future may belong to generalists. It’s a captivating read that will
leave you questioning the next steps in your career—and the way you
raise your children.” —Adam Grant, author of Give and Take and
Originals
“Range is a blueprint for a more thoughtful, collaborative
world – and it’s also really fun to read.” —NPR, Best Books of
2019
“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
“Range elevates Epstein to one of the very best science writers at
work today. The scope of the book—and the implications—are
breathtaking. I find myself applying what I've learned to almost
every aspect of my life.” —Sebastian Junger, author of Tribe, War,
and The Perfect Storm
“A goldmine of surprising insights. Makes you smarter with every
page.” —James Clear, New York Times best-selling author of Atomic
Habits
“Range will force you to rethink the nature of learning, thinking,
and being, and reconsider what you thought you knew about optimal
education and career paths—and how and why the most successful
people in the world do what they do. It's one of the most
thought-provoking and enlightening books I've read.” —Maria
Konnikova, author of Mastermind and The Confidence Game,
professional poker player
“A fresh, brisk look at creativity, learning, and the meaning of
achievement.” —Kirkus Reviews
“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
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