Author:Anders Ericsson,Robert Pool
'Anyone who wants to get better at anything should read Peak.' Fortune
Do you want to stand out at work, improve your athletic or musical performance, or help your child achieve academic goals?
Anders Ericsson has made a career studying chess champions, violin virtuosos, star athletes, and memory mavens. Peak distils three decades of myth-shattering research into a powerful learning strategy that is fundamentally different from the way people traditionally think about acquiring new abilities. Ericsson's revolutionary methods will show you how to improve at almost any skill that matters to you, and that you don't have to be a genius to achieve extraordinary things.
'Remarkable...who among us doesn't want to learn how to get better at life?' Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of Freakonomics
'This book...could truly change the world' Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein
Most “important” books aren’t much fun to read. Most fun books aren’t very important. But with Peak, Anders Ericsson (with great work from Robert Pool) has hit the daily double. After all, who among us doesn’t want to learn how to get better at life? A remarkable distillation of a remarkable lifetime of work
—— Stephen J. Dubner, bestselling author of FREAKONOMICSOffer[s] an optimistic anti-determinism that ought to influence how people educate children, manage employees and spend their time.
—— The EconomistThis book is a breakthrough, a lyrical, powerful, science-based narrative that actually shows us how to get better (much better) at the things we care about.
—— Seth Godin, author of LINCHPINThe science of excellence can be divided into two eras: before Ericsson and after Ericsson. His groundbreaking work, captured in this brilliantly useful book, provides us with a blueprint for achieving the most important and life-changing work a person can achieve: to become a little bit better each day.
—— Daniel Coyle, bestselling author of THE TALENT CODEEricsson's research has revolutionized how we think about human achievement. He has found that what separates the best of us from the rest is not innate talent but simply the right kind of training and practice. If everyone would take the lessons of this book to heart, it could truly change the world.
—— Joshua Foer, bestselling author of MOONWALKING WITH EINSTEINAn invaluable exploration into the details of what makes the difference between simply going through the motions (for 10,000 hours!) and practising to reap significant improvement. A thought-provoking and extremely useful book.
—— Harriet Beveridge, author of WILL IT MAKE THE BOAT GO FASTER?His ultimate message is an uplifting, optimistic one and should be applauded.
—— Nick Rennison , Daily MailInvaluable.
—— David Didau , Learning SpyThe work of the academic psychologist Anders Ericsson has inspired half a dozen popular accounts of the relationship between talent and effort. This year, with the science writer Robert Pool, he produced a book of his own, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise (Bodley Head), which may be the liveliest and clearest of the lot.
—— Leo Robson , Books of the Year, New StatesmanThe clear style helps cast new light on a subject I thought I understood. I found his discussion of mental representations and the distinction between purposeful and deliberate practice especially illuminating
—— Leaning Spy, Book of the Year[A] rich and practical paean to nonconformity.
—— FortuneOriginals succeeds by marrying sound research and insightful anecdotes to a breezy narrative style
—— The GuardianPart of the fun of Grant’s book is that he redeems behaviors we typically regard with puritan disdain. . . . Thought-provoking.
—— The New York Times Book ReviewOne of the most original thinkers of our time.
—— Travel Extra MagazineSolomon is an attentive and inquisitive anatomist of the ways that art is made within a society.
—— Alex Clark , Times Literary SupplementSolomon has an outsider’s eagle eye. A dazzling volume.
—— Sara Wheeler , Spectator, Book of the Year[A] wonderful collection of essays… Dip in and out, and you will be richly rewarded over and again.
—— Erica Wagner , New StatesmanThis is a book to open the eyes and broaden the mind.
—— World of CruisingAs always, Solomon gets into the far corners of things, including people’s minds… He’s also very sharp on South Africa, China, Libya, Romania, and Brexit Britain, among others. He’s an expert on turmoil.
—— William Leith , Evening Standard