The Sports Gene

Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance

By: David Epstein

Narrated by: David Epstein

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

"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.

©2013 David Epstein (P)2013 Gildan Media LLC

Critic reviews

"Step by surprising step, David Epstein takes our hand, grips our mind, and leads us deeper and deeper into the fascinating jungle of sports and genetics... until we finally begin to see the miracle we've been watching in our stadiums and on our TV screens all our lives.” (Gary Smith, Sports Illustrated writer and four-time National Magazine Award winner)

On the mark!

A really well written book that explains the influence of genetics, training, and adaption on athletic performance. I'm a marathon runner and am really into exercise physiology, but even if you're not, I think you'll find the author's explanations interesting, informative, and easy to understand.

Love it

Great book to listen to after listening to Outliers, listen to both and figure out what works for you in whatever it is you're going for.

Good

Excellent story. Interesting, well paced informative. Major fail on the voice accents, truly annoying especially if you have heard those individuals speak. But still highly recommend overall.

A thorough look at what makes an athlete.

I really enjoyed the content but wished that the narrator would stop using accents what quoting. Any accent that wasn't North American was cringe worthy.

Very thoroughly researched and well written

I loved listening to this break-down of athletes and their performances and what might be the reason they are so good. Is it personal drive, determination and work ethic or were they just born with ability. Actually the answer is yes...

Illuminating, Informative, Entertaining, Empowering

Epstein does a nice job balancing groundbreaking science with insight and intrigue. He keeps the humanity center stage throughout rather than drifting too far into beakers and vials. Highly recommend

Absolutely loved it!

What made the experience of listening to The Sports Gene the most enjoyable?

As a past competitive athlete and current sports nutritionist myself, I found this book very captivating! Many times I was reminiscent of my personal memories as an athlete and found I was able to relate my personal experience and questions about athletic performance to the stories in this book.

It really makes all of the information we learn in classes applicable and connected. Epstein makes me appreciate the wonders of the human body even more than I did before. I felt like he didn't directly argue for or against any one side of the nature vs. nurture argument, rather he kept telling stories of all these different athletes who are so individually unique and excel in surprising ways; he lets the reader make the decision on what they want to support.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in science, the human body, sports, biology, or competition.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely! I listened to this book while I was driving, walking to class, sitting around at home, and any other time I wasn't doing school work.

FAVORITE book!!

So interesting if you have both an interest in sports and science! The book is filled with fascinating research.

interesting

I enjoyed the first half of the book the most. 2nd half dragged a bit, for example spending too long on the Kenyans.

Popular science

The author does an excellent job of presenting scientific facts in a compelling and untechnical way. Fascinating book. Especially good as a follow up to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers.

Unfortunately Epstein is not the best reader of his own work, but it didn't affect the book's page-turner status.