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The cover of Range

Range

David Epstein, 2019

Early specialization is overrated. Broad sampling, late starts and ideas borrowed from other fields often lead to deeper learning, careers that fit better and fresh solutions to messy problems.

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14 parts, about 30 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Contrasts early specialization with a sampling period, using athletes, musicians and artists who found their path late
  • Divides problems into kind and wicked ones, explaining why narrow expertise helps in one and misleads in the other
  • Offers methods that slow learning now but help later, such as testing yourself, spacing out practice and mixing problem types

Who it is for

  • Career changers who worry they started too late
  • Parents deciding whether a child should specialize early
  • Teachers and managers who design training and teams

What the summary covers

  1. Roger vs. Tiger2 min
  2. The Cult of the Head Start2 min
  3. How the Wicked World Was Made2 min
  4. When Less of the Same Is More2 min
  5. Learning, Fast and Slow2 min
  6. Thinking Outside Experience3 min
  7. The Trouble with Too Much Grit3 min
  8. Flirting with Your Possible Selves2 min
  9. The Outsider Advantage2 min
  10. Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology2 min
  11. Fooled by Expertise2 min
  12. Learning to Drop Your Familiar Tools3 min
  13. Deliberate Amateurs2 min
  14. Expanding Your Range1 min

Recommended by

  • Malcolm GladwellStaff writer at The New Yorker and bestselling author
    For reasons I cannot explain, David Epstein manages to make me thoroughly enjoy the experience of being told that everything I thought about something was wrong. I loved Range.
  • Daniel H. PinkAuthor of Drive and A Whole New Mind
    Epstein is a deft writer, equally nimble at telling a great story and unpacking complicated science.
  • Adam GrantOrganizational psychologist and Wharton professor
    In a world that’s increasingly obsessed with specialization, star science writer David Epstein is here to convince you that the future may belong to generalists. It’s a captivating read that will leave you questioning the next steps in your career—and the way you raise your children.
  • Susan CainAuthor of Quiet
    It’s a joy to spend hours in the company of a writer as gifted as David Epstein. And the joy is all the greater when that writer shares so much crucial and revelatory information about performance, success, and education.
  • James ClearAuthor of Atomic Habits
    A goldmine of surprising insights. Makes you smarter with every page.
  • Sebastian JungerAuthor of The Perfect Storm
    Range elevates Epstein to one of the very best science writers at work today.
  • Maria KonnikovaAuthor of Mastermind and The Confidence Game
    Range will force you to rethink the nature of learning, thinking, and being, and reconsider what you thought you knew about optimal education and career paths—and how and why the most successful people in the world do what they do.
  • Daniel CoyleAuthor of The Culture Code and The Talent Code
    Brilliant, timely, and utterly impossible to put down. If you care about improving skill, innovation, and performance, you need to read this book.
  • Amanda RipleyAuthor of The Smartest Kids in the World
    Range is full of surprises and hope, a 21st century survival guide.
  • Bill GatesCofounder of Microsoft and chair of the Gates Foundation

About the author

  • David EpsteinAmerican journalist and former investigative reporter at ProPublica
    • Author of the number one New York Times best seller Range and of the New York Times best seller The Sports Gene, both translated into more than 30 languages.
    • Was a science and investigative reporter at ProPublica and host of the Slate podcast How To!
    • As a senior writer at Sports Illustrated he co authored the story that revealed Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had used steroids.
    • Holds master's degrees in environmental science and journalism from Columbia University.
    • Worked as an ecology researcher in the Arctic, studied geology and astronomy while living in the Sonoran Desert, and joined the crew of a seismic research vessel shortly after it had been attacked by pirates.
    • His two TED talks have been viewed more than 12 million times.
    • His story on sudden cardiac death in athletes was chosen by Columbia Journalism alumni as one of the top 100 stories of the last 100 years.

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