The Sports Gene
Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance
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Narrated by:
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David Epstein
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By:
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David Epstein
About this listen
"In high school, I wondered whether the Jamaican Americans who made our track team so successful might carry some special speed gene from their tiny island. In college, I ran against Kenyans, and wondered whether endurance genes might have traveled with them from East Africa. At the same time, I began to notice that a training group on my team could consist of five men who run next to one another, stride for stride, day after day, and nonetheless turn out five entirely different runners. How could this be?"
We all knew a star athlete in high school. The one who made it look so easy. He was the starting quarterback and shortstop; she was the all-state point guard and high-jumper. Naturals. Or were they? The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training?
The truth is far messier than a simple dichotomy between nature and nurture. In the decade since the sequencing of the human genome, researchers have slowly begun to uncover how the relationship between biological endowments and a competitor’s training environment affects athleticism. Sports scientists have gradually entered the era of modern genetic research. In this controversial and engaging exploration of athletic success, Sports Illustrated senior writer David Epstein tackles the great nature vs. nurture debate and traces how far science has come in solving this great riddle.
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14 Minutes is the memoir of Alberto Salazar, the most accomplished, charismatic, and controversial marathoner in history. The narrative follows Alberto's boyhood in New England, his rise to stardom at the University of Oregon, his dramatic victories in the New York City and Boston Marathons, his long malaise due to injuries, which resulted in a near-suicidal depression; his resurgence due to intense spiritual experiences and discipline; his close alliance with Phil Knight and the Nike corporation; and describes his numerous near-death experiences.
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Terrible and Distracting Narration
- By Mark on 06-04-14
By: Alberto Salazar, and others
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The First 20 Minutes
- Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer
- By: Gretchen Reynolds
- Narrated by: Karen Saltus
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Every Wednesday, Gretchen Reynolds singlehandedly influences how millions of Americans work out. In her Phys Ed column for The New York Times, she debunks myths, spurs conversation, and creates arguments among her readers by questioning widely held beliefs about exercise. Expanding upon her popular columns, Reynolds tackles the questions we all have and (sometimes) ask about exercise.
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A great read, but a little too carb centric.
- By Simon on 08-30-12
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Smarter
- The New Science of Building Brain Power
- By: Dan Hurley
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Expanding upon one of the most-read New York Times Magazine features of 2012, Smarter penetrates the hot new field of intelligence research to reveal what researchers call a revolution in human intellectual abilities. Shattering decades of dogma, scientists began publishing studies in 2008 showing that "fluid intelligence" - the ability to learn, solve novel problems, and get to the heart of things - can be increased through training. But is it all just hype?
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People Who Like This Sort of Thing....
- By W Perry Hall on 10-10-15
By: Dan Hurley
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The Performance Cortex
- How Neuroscience Is Redefining Athletic Genius
- By: Zach Schonbrun
- Narrated by: Thomas Vincent Kelly
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Why couldn't Michael Jordan, master athlete that he was, hit a baseball? Why can't modern robotics come close to replicating the dexterity of a five-year-old? Why do good quarterbacks always seem to know where their receivers are?In this deeply researched book, sports and business reporter Zach Schonbrun explores what actually drives human movement and its spectacular potential. The groundbreaking work of two neuroscientists in Major League Baseball is only the beginning.
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Excellent!
- By MD on 07-01-23
By: Zach Schonbrun
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The Talent Code
- Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How.
- By: Daniel Coyle
- Narrated by: John Farrell
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on cutting-edge neurology and firsthand research gathered on journeys to nine of the world’s talent hotbeds - from the baseball fields of the Caribbean to a classical-music academy in upstate New York - Coyle identifies the three key elements that will allow you to develop your gifts and optimize your performance in sports, art, music, math, or just about anything.
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Okay read. Won’t read a second time
- By Chad J Guidry on 08-18-20
By: Daniel Coyle
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Win at All Costs
- Inside Nike Running and Its Culture of Deception
- By: Matt Hart
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In May 2017, journalist Matt Hart received a USB drive containing a single file—a 4.7-megabyte PDF named “Tic Toc, Tic Toc. . . .” He quickly realized he was in possession of a stolen report prepared a year earlier by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, part of an investigation into legendary running coach Alberto Salazar, an endocrinologist named Dr. Jeffrey Brown, and cheating by Nike-sponsored runners. Combining sports drama and business exposé, Win at All Costs tells the full story of Nike’s running program, uncovering a corporate win-at-all-costs culture.
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Nicely done
- By Pete Sakalowsky on 09-23-21
By: Matt Hart
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The Playmaker's Advantage
- By: Leonard Zaichkowsky, Daniel Peterson
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Coaches search for it. Parents dream of it. Fans love it. Athletes want it. The Playmaker on any sports team possesses it: an elusive, intangible quality combining anticipation, perception, and decision-making skills. This quality raises their game above the competition and allows them to pass when no one else can, anticipate the movement of opponents, and avoid costly mental mistakes, thus holding the team together. Using today's technology and tools, it is now possible to understand, assess, and train this sixth sense rather than just hope it magically appears.
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Applies to all aspects of life, coaching and business
- By Dave on 12-27-19
By: Leonard Zaichkowsky, and others
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Head in the Game
- The Mental Engineering of the World's Greatest Athletes
- By: Brandon Sneed
- Narrated by: Nicholas Tecosky
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Moneyball showed how statistics were revolutionizing baseball. The Sports Gene revealed the role genetics play in sports. Now, Head in the Game examines the next evolution: how mental engineering - the manipulation of the cognitive processes of the brain - can make gifted athletes even better.
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Boring. Nothing to do with Athletes
- By Hunter Davidson on 08-16-18
By: Brandon Sneed
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Tomorrowland
- Our Journey From Science Fiction to Science Fact
- By: Steven Kotler
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, Discover bestselling author Steven Kotler has written extensively about those pivotal moments when science fiction became science fact...and fundamentally reshaped the world. Now he gathers the best of his best, updated and expanded upon, to guide listeners on a mind-bending tour of the far frontier, and how these advances are radically transforming our lives.
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Covers a lot of different topics in many industries
- By ErnieA on 06-27-15
By: Steven Kotler
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The End of the Perfect 10
- The Making and Breaking of Gymnastics' Top Score from Nadia to Now
- By: Dvora Meyers
- Narrated by: Elise Arsenault
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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It was the team finals of women's gymnastics in the 2012 Olympics, and McKayla Maroney was on top of her game. The 16-year-old US gymnast was performing arguably the best vault of all time, launching herself unimaginably high into the air and sticking a flawless landing. When her score came, many were baffled: 16.233. Three-tenths of a point stood between her and a perfect score. If that vault wasn't perfection, what was?
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Book's great--reader's performance is TERRIBLE
- By AB on 12-14-18
By: Dvora Meyers
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Excellent content, mediocre narrator
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Excellent content, mediocre narrator
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For the athlete to learn mindfulness....
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The 25th anniversary edition of the number-one New York Times best seller and Sports Illustrated's best football book of all time, with a new afterword by the author. Return once again to the timeless account of the Permian Panthers of Odessa - the winningest high school football team in Texas history.
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Keep This In Mind When You Listen
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Have you ever wanted to learn a language or pick up an instrument, only to become too daunted by the task at hand? Expert performance guru Anders Ericsson has made a career of studying chess champions, violin virtuosos, star athletes, and memory mavens. Peak condenses three decades of original research to introduce an incredibly powerful approach to learning that is fundamentally different from the way people traditionally think about acquiring a skill.
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Offers more wisdom than even intended
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The Inner Game of Tennis
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This phenomenally successful guide has become a touchstone for hundreds of thousands of people. Not just for tennis players, or even just for athletes in general, this handbook works for anybody who wants to improve their performance in any activity, from playing music to getting ahead at work.
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For anyone who wants to perform
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What listeners say about The Sports Gene
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- James
- 10-20-13
Brilliantly researched and narrated.
Ever since I started competing in Track and Field, as far back as freshman year in High School, I was always fascinated with athletic performance, and what contributed to an elite athlete’s athletic performance.
This book finally cleared up that mystery. The answer - no surprise - is a combination of Nature and Nurture - one needs to have the right genetics (i.e. ‘hardware’), to be able to respond to training, but also the right ‘software’ (i.e. the training itself).
Here are a few factoids from the book that I found especially facinating:
the single best predictor of a major league hitters batting average is not reaction time but visual acuity. A study of this comparing batting averages of elite players (even as far back as Ted Williams) all had eyesight around 20/10 - some with score of 20/8 - approaching the biological limit of human sight. This allowed the players to not only see the type of pitch being thrown in the 1/16th of a second it takes to leave the pitchers hand - but gave them the ability to mentally process this information in milliseconds, based on subconsciously viewing the the ball’s trajectory, spin and pitchers’ shoulder (i.e. they had the hardware (eyesight) but the software part (thousands of hours of batting practice) imprinted these patterns on their brain.
A study of Kenyan marathon runners (some of the best distance runners in the world) found NO difference in Vo2 MAX, hemoglobin levels or other physical trains when compared to european runners. What made Kenyans so great? For any given size Kenyans evolved with very narrow leg bones, which made their legs 1-2 lbs lighter than the europeans. A study done showed that even 1/10th of 1lb lighter leg weight contributes to 8% greater running efficiency. That’s why sneaker companies strive to make lighter shoes. Kenyans have significantly more efficient running as a result. Another factor of the Kenyans is that they train at altitudes of 6,000 - 8,000 feet, which is considered ideal for adaptation to endurance. Lastly, Kenyans have a system whereby all students are required to train for endurance sports - so they have a lot more people to choose from.
What makes a great sprinter - someone with long legs relative to body height, with narrow hips, high concentration of fast-twitch muscle fibers, and a center of gravity that’s 3 cms above the navel. It just so happens that Jamaicans have evolved with this set of physiology - but they also have a structured system whereby they seek out the best of the best and have an elaborate training system when they find athletes with potential.
About 6 in 1,000 people come ‘out of the box’ with elite genes - and this blows away the 10,000 hours rule (a reference to the book Outliers by Malcom Gladwell) which states that the average time it takes to become elite - is based on 10,000 of ‘deliberate practice’ - in all fields from music, sports or Chess. Not so. The original study of this had a range from 1,000 hours to 40,000 hours. The book talked about the 2007 world champion high jumper - who literally took up the sport 7 months prior to competing - and his first jump ever (taken on a dare when he was in high school - he cleared 7 feet.
The book gave many more examples and was written in a very eloquent manner.Overall - the book reinforced the point that all people benefit from training. But to be elite, you need to have the right genetic factors specific to the sport AND the right training.
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- Philip
- 08-28-15
Great book, distractingly read
Would you listen to The Sports Gene again? Why?
The Sports Gene is organized, scientific, and engaging. It artfully avoids the traps of racism by sticking to the facts and biology of extreme sports and related genetic studies.
Any additional comments?
Unfortunately, the narrator used voices to imitate various scientists and characters from other countries that he presumed were average affected accents. This was so peculiar as to be distracting. He would have been better off to have read the book straight and spent more time on the rhythm and melody of his tone.
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- Troy
- 03-28-17
2 thumbs up from "not a sports fan"
I've always been active, playing sports growing up and now train a bit to keep my health in check, but I've never been one to "watch the game" on tv or look for the sports section of a newspaper. Regardless, this book was a fascinating trip from start to finish, due mostly to the fantastic storytelling, but also because of my love for science and the discoveries that it leads us to. This book was great and I highly recommend it to anyone, not just the sports fanatics, but also those who just love a great story and who can handle an enquisical look in the mirror, at us, the human race, at our deepest level.
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- Michigan Reader
- 06-18-19
This book was so interesting!
I'm not really a sports fan, but am an information junkie and this was right up my alley. I really enjoyed listening to it and learned a lot.
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- R. Rhodes
- 05-03-17
Really interesting
This book has a lot of interesting data and stories on the impacts of genetics on human performance. Kept me interested and entertained throughout.
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- RJB
- 05-02-22
Excellent
One of the most interesting and well researched books I’ve read in long time. Many topics I’ve thought about for decades all wrapped into some very interesting anecdotes all over the world.
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- R. T.
- 03-28-23
Former athlete
As a former athlete in the sport of track-and-field I greatly give much respect to this book. This book has great insight for someone who is currently getting into their skill set in any particular sport but it is also be great for someone who might be an up-and-coming coach.
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- Alilambo
- 07-08-23
Fabulous book, terrible narration
Fabulous book, terrible narration. So much interesting science. Too bad the narrator felt it necessary to speak in a “woman’s” voice and use terrible foreign accents when narrating direct quotes. I found this distracting and demeaning.
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- nate vorwaller
- 01-07-24
Interesting subject matter.
The reader shouldn't try to imitate accents when he reads quotes. It is very annoying.
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- Ryan
- 08-21-13
Very informative and well researched
Would you listen to The Sports Gene again? Why?
Yes, this book is packed with so much interesting information I feel like I need to listen again and take notes.
Would you recommend The Sports Gene to your friends? Why or why not?
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about sports and elite athletes.
Did the narration match the pace of the story?
The narration was very appropriate and well done. However, I was a little distracted and turned off when the narrator tried to match the accents of the many individuals that were interviewed.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, it was not. Sometimes I needed to stop listening to process the information that was being given. This isn't a Dan Brown or Vince Flynn page turner.
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7 people found this helpful