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  • The Sports Gene

  • Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance
  • Written by: David Epstein
  • Narrated by: David Epstein
  • Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (99 ratings)

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The Sports Gene cover art

The Sports Gene

Written by: David Epstein
Narrated by: David Epstein
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Publisher's Summary

"In high school, I wondered whether the Jamaican Americans who made our track team so successful might carry some special speed gene from their tiny island. In college, I ran against Kenyans, and wondered whether endurance genes might have traveled with them from East Africa. At the same time, I began to notice that a training group on my team could consist of five men who run next to one another, stride for stride, day after day, and nonetheless turn out five entirely different runners. How could this be?"

We all knew a star athlete in high school. The one who made it look so easy. He was the starting quarterback and shortstop; she was the all-state point guard and high-jumper. Naturals. Or were they? The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training?

The truth is far messier than a simple dichotomy between nature and nurture. In the decade since the sequencing of the human genome, researchers have slowly begun to uncover how the relationship between biological endowments and a competitor’s training environment affects athleticism. Sports scientists have gradually entered the era of modern genetic research. In this controversial and engaging exploration of athletic success, Sports Illustrated senior writer David Epstein tackles the great nature vs. nurture debate and traces how far science has come in solving this great riddle.

©2013 David Epstein (P)2013 Gildan Media LLC

What the critics say

"Step by surprising step, David Epstein takes our hand, grips our mind, and leads us deeper and deeper into the fascinating jungle of sports and genetics... until we finally begin to see the miracle we've been watching in our stadiums and on our TV screens all our lives.” (Gary Smith, Sports Illustrated writer and four-time National Magazine Award winner)

What listeners say about The Sports Gene

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  • Overall
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informative

A little hard to get into initially, once he began discussing people as it related to the science it became deeply interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in how to get a bit better, faster or enjoy their sport a little more.

The accents when speaking quotes were not necessary.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great read

To say that this book was interesting and engaging would be an understatement! Absolutely loved it!

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

the sports gene

the voice acting was horrendous, specifically the accents..
The story was incredible.
the information is important

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • KH
  • 2022-08-24

Accents

For some reason the narrator decided to imitate accents of people quoted in the book with extremely variable quality and accuracy. It’s a good book but the accents in the narration really take away from the listening experience.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting book

The book and writing are excellent, they should skip the terrible accents during the radingt.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A must read for sports professionals & enthusiasts

I really enjoyed this book. Its heavy on the science but presented in an easy to understand way. So much great information here, as a professional sports coach my cogs were constantly turning thinking about how the topics and concepts apply to my sport and how I train athletes.

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very enlightening!!

loved this books look on genetics and sports! confirmed a lot of my suspicions on why we all do things better or worse than others

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Truly enlightening

If you have a vague interest in the world of high performance athletics and the role evolution and genetics takes in this venture, then this book is for you.

Full of great example stories and truly enlightening studies, readers/listeners will learn things they’ve never even considered. Well worth the listen! #Audible1

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Amazing performance by master of voice didguises

Came for the insight on training, stayed for the voice impersonations. Seriously though, amazing book.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

a interesting story about the relationship bsgenes

I really enjoyed listening to this book. the one critique that I have about it however is the character voiceovers could have been spoken with the normal voice and not with accents

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