Synopses & Reviews
A New York Times bestselling author explores cutting-edge brain science to learn where talent comes from, how it grows--and how we can make ourselves smarter.
How does a penniless Russian tennis club with one indoor court create more top 20 women players than the entire United States? How did a small town in rural Italy produce the dozens of painters and sculptors who ignited the Italian Renaissance? Why are so many great soccer players from Brazil?
Where does talent come from, and how does it grow?
New research has revealed that myelin, once considered an inert form of insulation for brain cells, may be the holy grail of acquiring skill. Journalist Daniel Coyle spent years investigating talent hotbeds, interviewing world-class practitioners (top soccer players, violinists, fighter, pilots, artists, and bank robbers) and neuroscientists. In clear, accessible language, he presents a solid strategy for skill acquisition--in athletics, fine arts, languages, science or math--that can be successfully applied through a person's entire lifespan.
Review
"I only wish I'd never before used the words 'breakthrough' or 'breathtaking' or 'magisterial' or 'stunning achievement' or 'your world will never be the same after you read this book.' Then I could be using them for the first and only time as I describe my reaction to Daniel Coyle's
The Talent Code. I am even willing to 'guarantee' that you will not read a more important and useful book in 2009, or pretty much any other year. And if all that's not enough, it's also 'a helluva good read.'"
--Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence Tom Peters
Review
"Coyle's work becomes as motivational as the stories he presents. John Farrell reads with a voice that is at once firm yet highly identifiable. The resulting recording serves as a fine instructional guide for those searching for how to fulfill their dreams."
--Publishers Weekly
Review
"[Farrell] lays out the technical information and fascinating case histories with unwavering respect for the author's contribution to adult learning."
--AudioFile
Synopsis
Where does talent come from? How does it grow? The surprising answer begins with a substance in our brains: myelin.
Until recently myelin was considered an inert form of insulation for brain cells. New research has revealed that it is much more--that it may in fact be the holy grail of acquiring skill. What's even more exciting is that it grows in response to activities that we can control.
Coyle reveals the simple yet powerful mechanisms through which human beings acquire skill: the kinds of practice, motivation, and coaching that grow myelin the fastest. Through visits to the world's best soccer players, bank robbers, violinists, fighter pilots, artists, and skateboarders, and to the labs where myelin is being investigated, this compelling and instructive book will transform the way we view talent and enable all of us to develop our full potential.
About the Author
DANIEL COYLE is the author of The Talent Code and the New York Times bestseller Lance Armstrongs War and Hardball: A Season in the Projects. A contributing editor of Outside magazine, he lives with his wife and four children in Homer, Alaska and Cleveland, Ohio.JOHN FARRELL made his stage debut in high school in the title role of Barbara Garson's political satire "Macbird". Since then, he has made thousands of appearances onstage, on camera and in front of the microphone. Among his many credits are numerous radio and tv commercials, documentaries, audio books and the voice of Franklin, the wise old British car, in the "Auto B. Goode" cartoon series. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Jeanine.