Readers may feel overwhelmed at Epstein’s avalanche of genetic and physiological studies, but few will put down this...
What makes a great athlete? Being born with talent was the traditional answer, but like so many traditions, it is under attack.
In his first book, Sports Illustrated senior writer Epstein makes no secret of his debt to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers (2008), in which the author famously argued that success owes less to inherited ability (i.e., genes) than to intense practice and circumstance (i.e., luck). While agreeing with many critics that Gladwell oversimplifies, Epstein admits that he is on to something and proceeds to apply Gladwell’s approach (many scientific studies and entertaining anecdotes; lucid, accessible prose) to athletic prowess. Genes definitely contribute to great performance. Jumpers benefit if born with a longer, stiffer Achilles tendon. Baseball players have superior visual acuity, and major leaguers see better than minor leaguers. Practice definitely helps, but, ironically, the ability to benefit from training is partly inherited, as is the will to train obsessively. However, even the most dedicated athlete is out of luck without genes that produce the right body type. Africans have longer legs and slimmer hips, allowing them to run faster. Caucasians are stockier, with thicker, stronger upper bodies. Of the 81 men who have run the 100 meters in less than 10 seconds, 80 are black, but sub-Saharan Africans have never won an Olympic weight-lifting medal. Epstein turns up no single sports gene. Hundreds exist, and researchers are nowhere near understanding their interactions. They seem more essential (but still not sufficient) for physical than intellectual achievement.
Readers may feel overwhelmed at Epstein’s avalanche of genetic and physiological studies, but few will put down this deliciously contrarian exploration of great athletic feats.Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59184-511-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Current
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An uneven and frequently arcane account of last year's dramatic Ryder Cup golf tournament. The Ryder Cup—a biannual tournament pitting an American team against an elite European squad—has in recent years grown from a virtual afterthought to one of the game's premier events. Last September, at the Oak Hill course in Rochester, N.Y., the American team nursed a sizable lead going into the final day of play, only to see it slip away to a European squad that mounted one of the game's truly great comebacks. Unlike most golf tournaments, which appeal mainly to players and fans, this Ryder Cup had something for everyone: high-pressure play and high stakes; flag-waving patriotism and international intrigue; and ample human drama, including the gut-wrenching story of Curtis Strange, a usually steady golfer experiencing hard times. His three consecutive bad holes on the last afternoon of play allowed the European side to surge ahead. Unfortunately, author Rosaforte (a senior writer for Sports Illustrated) makes poor use of this material, most notably by offering sloppy analogies to explain the obvious, such as why a tie (a result that favors the defending champion) is ``like kissing your sister'' when ``your sister is Cindy Crawford,'' while allowing less obvious golf phenomena to go unexplained, such as why a shot ``189 yards from the front of the green, uphill, into a left-to-right quartering breeze'' would call for a 3-iron. And the text is littered with ham-fisted phrases such as ``neither man dared to blink, the Spanish bullfighter or the bull from Minnesota'' (describing Sunday's match between Seve Ballesteros and Tom Lehman). A dramatic contest that should have been of interest to nongolfers is put out of reach of all but the most devoted hackers. (8 pages photos, not seen) (Author tour)
Pub Date: June 14, 1996
ISBN: 0-312-14351-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1996
A fresh perspective on the season when premier players such as Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, and Bob Feller returned from WW II. Against the backdrop of the Nuremberg trials and a nation awash in the uncertainties of a postwar economy, spring training was a welcome diversion. In all, 500 major leaguers had served in the armed forces; Turner (The Culture of Hope, 1995, etc.) focuses on players from the pennant-winning Red Sox and Cardinals but also examines the return of DiMaggio, who'd been gone since 1942, and Feller, who had missed almost four full seasons. Some players, such as Musial, had it relatively easy during the war. Teammate Harry Walker, on the other hand, contracted spinal meningitis while at Ft. Riley, saw intense combat in Germany, and was a much-decorated veteran. As Turner follows the pennant races, he takes a look at the blossoming of rookies such as the Pirates' Ralph Kiner and the sad case of the Senators' Cecil Travis, a shortstop who had batted .359 in 1941 but who was unable to overcome frostbitten feet and four years of military life. In recounting the final days of the pennant races and the World Series, the author pays particular attention to the contributions made by the returning veterans and the impact they made on their teams' fortunes. Feller, whose Indians were out of it, finished with an astonishing 348 strikeouts in 371 innings, 10 shutouts, and a no-hitter. DiMaggio, injured early on, had, for him, a so-so season. The Cardinals, stacked with returning stars, defeated the Red Sox in the World Series on Enos Slaughter's famed ``Mad Dash'' from first base on a single off the bat of Harry Walker. Turner's writing could be livelier, but baseball fans will enjoy this account of a unique season. (45 b&w photos and drawings, not seen)
Pub Date: June 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8050-2645-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1996
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