Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise - Hardcover

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, coauthor of Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics

Ericsson 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, author of Moonwalking with Einstein

From the world s reigning expert on expertise comes a powerful new approach to mastering almost any skill.
Anders Ericsson has made a career studying chess champions, violin virtuosos, star athletes, and memory mavens. Peak distills 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 findings have been lauded and debated, but never properly explained. So the idea of expertise still intimidates us we believe we need innate talent to excel, or think excelling seems prohibitively difficult. Peak belies both of these notions, proving that virtually all of us have the seeds of excellence within us it s just a question of nurturing them properly. Peak offers invaluable, often counterintuitive advice on setting goals, getting feedback, identifying patterns, and motivating yourself. Whether you want to stand out at work, improve your athletic performance, or help your child achieve academic goals, Ericsson s revolutionary methods will show you how to improve almost any skill that matters to you.

Peak offers more than just practical guidance, though. It demystifies the feats of many outstanding performers, from musical virtuosos to science prodigies to brain surgeons to entrepreneurs to professional athletes. It also offers compelling evidence that our schools are taking the wrong approach to education. And it shows us a convincing new view of the enormous potential we all possess.