Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World Hardcover – Illustrated, 28 May 2019

These sorts of populist pseudo science books invariably race along and carry you with them until you are pulled up by a ‘fact’ that you happen to know isn’t true. David Epstein’s somewhat counter intuitive notion that generalists triumph over specialists may or may have some merit. However, a key argument that the 2014 German World Cup winning squad was stacked with players who’d come late to football and were ‘typically late specialists’ simply isn’t correct. Many of them had played for their national side at Under 17, 19 and 21 level and were attached during that time to major clubs. This might not leap out at American readers but European sports fans would know Epstein’s claim doesn’t ring true. Which, of course, makes you wonder what else he glosses over or fudges. Despite having shelled out on an appealing looking book and thesis I gave up at that point- page 8!

I was encouraged by the early chapters, first 80 pages or so, it kept to the point of the title and gave good examples.Unfortunately at around 100 pages or so - Chapter 5 or thereabouts - the quality of writing deteriorated significantly with normal conventions on grammar and punctuation seemingly ignored. I gave up soon after that as the writing became so disjointed and irritating.I tried dipping in to later chapters and the quality of writing had seemed to improve but there was so much rambling that by the time the point of each description had been reached I didn't care.I was disappointed since I have long been a believer in what was said in the early pages but the book just didn't do it justice.

The idea that deep and early specialisation is necessary for attainment had made its way everywhere, including the idea that enjoyment comes from mastery: exhortations to immerse ourselves in deliberate practice. Tiger mums, ping pong champions, the ever present Polgar sister story.Range is a very welcome antidote - well argued and looking at a range of research as well as illustrative stories: offsetting Tiger Woods with Federer or the German Football team, creativity in science, mastery of multiple instruments.I was fascinated to read for example how Darwin was a massive collaborator, not just the barnacle super-specialist I had assumed; or the struggles of Kepler as he reached to conceive of new possibilities.A really good book, and I hope it has the impact it deserves.

What’s the difference between Roger Federer and Tiger Woods? Epstein describes their background and training, all the way to their present-day status and concluded that Tiger Woods’ path was an ‘unwavering specialization’ whereas Federer is that of a more relaxed, wide ranging trial of other sports before he gave up the others to concentrate on tennis. Federer’s path is more common, Epstein noted, but less well-known.This book is about getting range, not depth – at least not too quickly. Citing the works of Daniel Kahneman, Philip Tetlock, and many others, Epstein proffered the view that it is better to be the fox that knows many things rather than the hedgehog who only knows one big thing.In science, Epstein, citing James Flynn, noted that, ‘students learned the facts of their specific field without understanding how science should work in order to draw true conclusions’. ‘One good tool is rarely enough’ he writes, ‘in a complex, interconnected rapidly changing world’. Epstein, however, is not against specialization, but is voicing thoughts of a wider range.

Every parent should read this book. Every person who feels they've started late or perhaps haven't started yet...nothing is comparable, other than to your own experiences, and your next discovery. It makes for an exciting and curiosity filled life.

I bought this book off the back of a mention in Steve Kotler's 'The Art of Impossible'. Kotler framed 'Range' as a counter argument to Ericsson and Pool's work on deliberate practise and specialisation presented in 'Peak', which I thoroughly enjoyed and got a lot of pratical learning tips from that have improved my skill learning significantly. Naturally I was curious to read responses to their findings, to get a wider appreciation for the topic of learning.Unfortunately 70% of 'Range' turned our to be annecdotal. If studies are used to inform statements, most aren't referenced. It feels like the author recieved some advice to couch his lessons within stories and took it to an almost satirical extreme.Every chapter starts with a story more suited to a fiction or narrative-history novel than a scientific text. I bought the book to learn more about the contemporary scientific discoveries around generalisation vs specialisation as advertised in the book's marketing. If I wanted 8 pages of highly subjective descriptive writing for every actual insight I'd read a sci fi novel.It's frustrating because I do believe there might be valuable insight here, but because most of it is packed within contextually-bare stories highly edited to fit a narrative, it's nigh impossible to weed fact from assumption.I recommend just reading each chapter heading and then skipping straight to the last two pages of each, to get a brief summary of the argument without wasting your time on the fluff. Then use those topics as jumping-on points for futher study.Still, it's well edited, the writing flows and there are some interesting points to chew on floating in a soup of pointless filler so two stars overall.

I am a generalist and this book is a pleasant difference from the 'jack of all trades...' thinking that many people see. It's a well written and thorough view of why having a breadth of skills, knowledge and experience can be valuable. It was a very encouraging and enjoyable read for me.