The Rise of Superman

Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance

By: Steven Kotler

Narrated by: Jeff Cummings

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

In this groundbreaking book, New York Times bestselling author Steven Kotler decodes the mystery of ultimate human performance. Drawing on over a decade of research and first-hand reporting with dozens of top action and adventure sports athletes like big wave legend Laird Hamilton, big mountain snowboarder Jeremy Jones, and skateboarding pioneer Danny Way, Kotler explores the frontier science of “flow”, an optimal state of consciousness in which we perform and feel our best.

Building a bridge between the extreme and the mainstream, The Rise of Superman explains how these athletes are using flow to do the impossible and how we can use this information to radically accelerate performance in our own lives.

At its core, this is a book about profound possibility; about what is actually possible for our species; about where - if anywhere - our limits lie.

©2014 Steven Kotler (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

There is no way some of these reviews are real

If there was any sort of narrative whatsoever, or if it wasn't so formulaic.

Extreme sport story > FLOW!!!! > Repeat

Admittedly I couldn't finish it. It was grueling.

Less Hyperbole, Please

I'll admit up front, I didn't finish this book. I had high hopes after hearing an interview with the author, but... well, I can't claim to be the best athlete, but speaking as someone with a footing in the world of art, when somebody makes the claim that a certain move in a given sport is "the equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa with a steak knife shoved through his eye"... all bets are off. That statement is beyond meaningless, and there are so many more like this that it renders the discussion just as meaningless. I'd put down a fiction book if it were written like that. From nonfiction, there's no excuse. I skipped ahead in the book from there hoping for more meat and potatoes. I didn't find much beyond more anecdotes, hyperbole, and very little practical application. I'll go again at a later date now that I know what to expect, but as of this review, I'm just disappointed. Hyperbole may be the name of the game when dealing with extreme sports, but I was looking for something else.

Still unclear

Still not clear how to get into flow with out being on the edge of death

Book of Pseudoscience and Cargo Cult Science

ESP, shared consciousness, precognition? This is the biggest book of pseudoscience, cargo cult science I've ever read. A real gallery of new age science illiteracy that I'm afraid the average reader of this book may not be equip to deal with.

Full of tremendous exaggerations and little to no critical thinking. If you are someone like myself you'll be vexed by the fallacious lines of reasoning (look at all of these anecdotes man, this my value research data!) and the, "all these people can't be wrong" mindset of the author. If I knew this was the kind of book I was getting I have never have gotten it.

If you goal is to hear a collection of 'cool' anecdotal stories of a few extreme athletes then be my guest listen away and ignore all the scientific claims he makes just be safe. Otherwise you will not find anything of value there.

PS: The title of this book should be changed.

Please note, I only read 66% of the book so far wishing it would get to talking about the things mentioned in his big think video, but it did not.

Should have a different title

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Listening was fine I had no problems with the narration of the title book.

Would you ever listen to anything by Steven Kotler again?

Not if the book is anything like this one.

Would you be willing to try another one of Jeff Cummings’s performances?

Yeah he's awesome.

What character would you cut from The Rise of Superman?

The book is mainly a bunch of stories compiled by surfers, skateboarders and mountain climbers. No real "science" at all. Just a bunch of pseudo science nonsense about these people who have entered the flow state. So I would cut out the nonsense and put more actual research into the book.

Any additional comments?

Extremely disappointed in this "book." I had the hopes after the first hour they would stop talking about the "extreme athletes" that have reached the flow state but it ended up just being story after story of the same thing. This was my first attempt at an audiobook and I have been let down. I listened to only about half of it. Terrible experience.

It's hard to take a book seriously that

Says things such as, "that was like painting the Mona Lisa upside down and blind folded". Actual quote to describe doing a skateboard jump over the Great Wall of china.

Not a very good practical guide

This book was an interesting introduction to the idea of flow. But the majority of the book is essentially stories of the multitude of impressive feats accomplished by extreme athletes. It's less so a practical guide (as much as a practical guide to reaching this state might be possible) to achieve flow - which really is more of what I was hoping for.

Nevertheless I will likely go over this book again and listen to select chapters.

Rise of the super car salesman

I made it exactly 5 minutes into this book before Jeff Cummings, infomercial-used car salesman delivery, had me thinking it might be better to dive head first off my balcony, than continue to listen.

GREAT title, mediocre execution.

Kotler cites the work of better scientists and better writers. If you're interested in FLOW, read Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. If you're interested in Flourishing, read the book by Martin Seligman. There are better places to get better info from the people who did the work, not just compiled stories.

Come on Kotler, you're a superstar, don't give us the cliff notes from the other guys!

Trying to swallow the empirical

I think this idea needs more work and the conclusions are 'half baked'. I am not convinced that this 'flow' state is anything more than body hormones, or mild case of temporary brain malfunction or possibly temporary brain enhancement. I had trouble getting through this book as the descriptions of the 'extreme sports' was a little too 'California' for my liking and the science seemed a little light on. I am not convinced that anyone can experience these mind altering episodes and not sure if it is a good idea that anybody should. I did not enjoy this book and am sorry I devoted the hours I listen to it. Glad I didn't buy a hard copy as I would have never finished it and I would have a reminder of the waste of money. Sorry Mr Kotler, your book isn't quite that good. Keep at it and I am sure you'll strike the right note.

90% boring drivel

I found the title misleading- there is very little to here to learn about achieving flow in your own life. What useful knowledge there is could have been summarised in 20 minutes of audio. Seriously, I counted 5 1/2 hours into the book and there was absolutely nothing of interest, other than repetitive, over elaborate stories of skateboarders, skiers snd skydivers performing crazy stunts. The chapters seem pointless as every chapter sounds the same. I kept listening and had my hopes lifted I the chapter that promised to show you how to achieve flow. Yet again it revealed nothing but more repetitive stunt stories. A few helpful hints, but these are merely bullet point summaries of revelations in the much more useful book "Flow".
Overall, a complete waste of time. If not for Jeff Cummings captivating voice, I'd have turned off in the first hour.

Average pop Psychology

Annoyingly 'over-narrated'. The author leaps to some pretty questionable implications based on a lot of the time what seems to be purely subjective opinion while referencing peer reviewed studies.

Rubbish, nothing practical or actionable

What would have made The Rise of Superman better?

This was just a long rambling geared towards "dudes" who do snowboarding, BMXing, Extreme Skiing, or anything else that classifies as an adrenalin shot. There is nothing practical in it for regular sportsmen who run, bike, or do anything more mainstream.

Would you ever listen to anything by Steven Kotler again?

No. This book is pretty much a complete waste of 8-9hrs for most people.

What aspect of Jeff Cummings’s performance might you have changed?

He did a decent job, but you can't polish a turd.

What character would you cut from The Rise of Superman?

All of them. Seriously.

Any additional comments?

Get Lore Of Running instead.

Very repetitive!!!

The author talks about flow but does not really tell you how to get into the flow, other than jumping off a bridge and being scared to death and that gets you in the flow, I was expecting so much more:( I got a refund with 2 hours to go :(

Excellent: Motivation and Education

I've now listened to this multiple times and feel I learn something new with each listening!
The best and easiest way to a natural high and accelerated learning!

Lots of examples of the state of flow, but…

Loads of cool stories about extreme sports and how records have been defeated by being in state of flow, but you won’t learn how to turn on/off flow state

very interesting

like the topic - liked the book .... bit of thinking outside the box and you can bring this into your day to day

In the words of John McEnroe… you cannot be serious

Rubbish… absolute waste of time. Nothing remotely useful offered. This might be the most boring book I have listened too.

Peak performance was a great book, this was lack lustre

You don’t need both. Peak performance from Steven kotler was brilliant. This was soooo boring and mundane. Didn’t learn anything new and the narrators voice was so hard to follow.

Fascinating and inspiring

Hearing what others have done and what is possible helps inspire me to break past my own barriers and assumptions. It is also fascinating to hear about.