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A review by choirqueer
The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance by David Epstein
4.0
Since I generally have absolutely no interest in sports, I would not ordinarily have chosen to read this book. But I made some ignorant comments about the subject matter when a friend was discussing the book a few months ago, and since I am allergic to being the kind of person who makes ignorant comments about a book I haven't even read, I had to go out and find the book so that I could actually know what I was talking about. It was clear that this topic was important to my friend, and I wanted to better understand it.
I can honestly say that I am really glad I read this book. I learned a lot of very interesting things. It is written well enough that even someone like me, who knows nearly nothing about any sport at all, could understand it. It presents the facts in a clear and interesting way, demonstrating both the science and the narratives behind each piece of information. It also seemed to me that the author did a really good job of navigating the potentially thorny issues inherent in making comparisons between different ethnic/racial groups, though I would be interested to hear others' perspectives on this.
I can honestly say that I am really glad I read this book. I learned a lot of very interesting things. It is written well enough that even someone like me, who knows nearly nothing about any sport at all, could understand it. It presents the facts in a clear and interesting way, demonstrating both the science and the narratives behind each piece of information. It also seemed to me that the author did a really good job of navigating the potentially thorny issues inherent in making comparisons between different ethnic/racial groups, though I would be interested to hear others' perspectives on this.