• Bounce

  • Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success
  • By: Matthew Syed
  • Narrated by: James Clamp
  • Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (709 ratings)

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Bounce  By  cover art

Bounce

By: Matthew Syed
Narrated by: James Clamp
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Publisher's summary

Why have all the sprinters who have run the 100 meters in under 10 seconds been black?

What's one thing Mozart, Venus Williams, and Michelangelo have in common?

Is it good to praise a child's intelligence?

Why are baseball players so superstitious?

Few things in life are more satisfying than beating a rival. We love to win and hate to lose, whether it's on the playing field or at the ballot box, in the office or in the classroom. In this bold new look at human behavior, award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature: why we win, why we don't, and how we really play the game of life.

Bounce reveals how competition - the most vivid, primal, and dramatic of human pursuits - provides vital insight into many of the most controversial issues of our time, from biology and economics, to psychology and culture, to genetics and race, to sports and politics.

Backed by cutting-edge scientific research and case studies, Syed shatters long-held myths about meritocracy, talent, performance, and the mind. He explains why some people thrive under pressure and others choke, and weighs the value of innate ability against that of practice, hard work, and will. From sex to math, from the motivation of children to the culture of big business, Bounce shows how competition provides a master key with which to unlock the mysteries of the world.

p> PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2010 Matthew Syed (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Bounce

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very eye opening

Very eye opening, especially if you're new to the talent versus effort debate. The book started being a bit too close to Malcom Gladwell's "Outliers", which it quotes several times, but the 1st person experiences from the author bring a very good perspective and great examples. Very well narrated as well. Highly recommend.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

takes us beyond Outliers

Fabulous narration. Matthew Syed does a deeper dive into what drives talent, beyond where Gladwell took us. Well researched insights are worth plowing through some familiar ground to get there.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my favorite books

I have been collecting Self Development books for years but I got to say this one is one of the best. It gives you a clear goal, if you want to be best in your field you need to invest 10 years or 10000 hours to hone your skills, it is not about the talent. Syed provides lot of data to support this argument and it got me to set up a new goals instantly :)

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8 people found this helpful

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

Great book about top performance

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. It explains very interesting aspects of top performances in sports and other areas. It's one of the few books I've read that discusses the phenomenon of "choking under pressure". (Come on researchers, do more research on choking.)

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

great book from an essential perspective

the chapter on drugs felt out of place, but the rest of the book was awesome. even if you are familiar with some of the content (as i was from reading outliers and other similar books), the material in this book is more exhaustive, and Syed's perspective on the topic (as a world champion and an outlier himself) is essential to understanding topics like expert chunking (e.g. the part where he plays tennis with a pro). great book

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

a knockoff of Gladwell

Very interesting book if you've never read Malcom Gladwell's work - if you have, don't waste your time on Bounce.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Not Recommeded Unless You Really Like Ping Pong

Most of this book is autobiographical accounts from the author's past as a ping pong champion. He was so moved by his own accomplishments as a ping pong champion (I can assure you I'm not kidding), that he wanted to examine what set the greats apart from the rest of the population. Aside from a few interesting studies I found this book unoriginal, especially since the author quoted the book "Outliers" several times. I found myself wishing I would've purchased Gladwell's book instead.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Malcolm Gladwell should sue!!

The first 75% of this book is the same or very similar information that malcolm galdwell talks about in his book outliers.. and the other part is filled with the author inflating his ego about his supposed "table tennis" fame. Grueling to get all the way through. Would not recommend.

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3 people found this helpful

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

You've heard this book before

The book shameles replays theories and stories from Outliers, Talent is Overrated among others. There's nothing new to to subject, and the fact that the author is a an ex-athlete and not an expert on the subject tells a lot about the book

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2 people found this helpful

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

Good summary of better books on human performance

Peak, Range, The Sports Gene, Art of the Impossible, and Mindset all do a better job of explaining the ideas of this book namely how to achieve greatness. However, Syed does a decent job of summarizing albeit with some missing information on Flow and genetics.

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1 person found this helpful