“Range is an urgent and important book, an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance.” —Daniel H. Pink
What's the most effective path to success in any domain? It's not what you think.
Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you’ll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world’s top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.
David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.
Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.
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"In this Brett Easton Ellis provides a compelling observation on life and American culture from his early career in the 1980's with Less Than Zero and American Pyscho, to Post 9-11, to Post Trump.
Not clear on what his political ideology is, he shines a mirror on the hypocrisy of their irrational, woke, identity politics of today's left which he sees as drifting toward irrationality, exclusion and intolerance. I am neither left or right and I appreciate him using this book to demonstrate a cooler head toward political tolerance as America continues to shift, as it has always done.
I enjoyed that he narrated the book as well. "
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Ed (5 out of 5 stars)