The Sports Gene

For athletes, is it genetic or is it the environment creating talent through training?  That is the focus in David Epstein’s book called The Sports Gene.  One of our star student athletes provided this as their favorite book, a person who can run a mile in less than 4:18…. need I say more?  Epstein’s book searches the labs and all relevant studies being done to identify if genetically people are pre-disposed based on their DNA for competing at an elite level.  He himself was a college track star, so much of the book focuses on stories about track and field stars from the 1970s through today, though he also gives glimpses into golfers (Tiger Woods), basketball (the champion Bulls players), Olympic stars in multiple events, cricket, and football.  Is it nature or nurture?  Every time he seems to be leaning one direction, more information about the other area gives more credible evidence to suggest the opposite.  I learned some interesting tidbits about being born where altitudes are higher and it playing a role in the size of lung capacity, wing-span of NBA players in Africans being significantly different than Europeans, the 10,000 hour rule (for practice) in becoming an expert in an activity (a large focus in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers as well.  Each chapter followed an athlete or a medical question about the genetics of a people and how it impacted the success of an athlete.  Two of the most compelling stories focused on baseball scouts who identified that athletes with a 20/11 vision were more likely to be successful and they focused on two future National League Rookie of the Year winners – Eric Karros and Mike Piazza, both initially not seen as MLB material.  The second was the stories and comparison of two high jumpers, one who never jumped before and one who practiced the 10,000 hours.  Wonder who did best?  For every rule there is an exception.  For those interested in going in sports medicine or just interested in how the elite athlete becomes the best, you learn there is both, nurture and nature.  I would even suggest, there is something that is missing, the ability to have a mind that allows one to “go through the wall” – never give up.  I was surprised he didn’t bring in the neuroscience argument.  A captivating read and one I would recommend to anyone wanting to know a bit more about the best of the best on the field! 

Thirteen Reasons Why

Finally starting to get into the “reading zone” again.  The upcoming weeks are filled with my last few weeks of professional commitments with the associations, which means… reading time!  Today I began and finished Thirteen Reasons Why, a NY Times bestseller, by Jay Asher.  I love the writing technique and story flow.  Brilliant.  It is a teen story about a high school female who takes her life, but before she does, she tapes the story leading to her tragic decision and the thirteen people who were apart of her life’s struggle, and then sends it to them after her death.  Wow…  Imagine Clay Jenson’s surprise when he opens a box that is unlabeled and finds “old school” cassette tapes with no message.  This is followed by a tragic car accident a week previous to the mysterious tapes.  Enter the strange world of a young fellow high school peer who has just committed suicide and when he hits “play” he hears her story.  But wait, he is instructed to send the tapes when done to the next person on the list, another classmate.  Clay learns “blow by blow” Hannah Baker’s lonely life and the bullying and made up stories that led to her taking her life.  The thirteen people will forever by bound by the tapes (and each other) when they learn more about how things happened, including other tragedies that occurred along the way.  Through Clay’s revelation of love for the deceased without ever getting to do so, you have a gripping story.  Asher, writing his first teen novel, does an outstanding job of weaving the lives of the thirteen students together with intrigue and drama.  This is a great book club read, and reflection for high schoolers who face peer pressure every day.  I thoroughly enjoyed this one-day book read.

The Invention of Wings

A skillfully written book by Susan Monk Kidd titled The Invention of Wings.  The book is loosely based on the real life of two sisters, Sarah and Nina Grimke.  The story is set in the early 1800s and captures thirty years of moments for the two sisters and their life growing up in the heartland of slavery, Charleston, South Carolina.   Sarah, a brilliant young woman, is scolded by her parents (and the local church leaders, for her actions in teaching her assigned slave Hetty, known as “Handful,” to read and write.  The author uses the technique of interchanging the stories from the point of view of the two women, the slave owner, and the enslaved.  Over a thirty year period, Sarah transforms from a woman who is born before her time (not able to follow her dreams of being a lawyer because she is a woman) into a Quaker, Civil Rights activist, and Women Suffragist activist.  Yes she is way before her time!  Sarah is caught between two worlds, the one her family forces her to live in and the one she knows is right, fighting against the evils of enslaving black people.  The author notes in her endnotes that Handful’s story is somewhat fictitious, but for the benefit of this story, she does a beautiful job of noting what likely happened.  Handful and her mother, Charlotte (who eventually escapes), live in a time where despicable actions and roles are thrust upon an innocent people caught in the greed and degradation of white people, using their privilege to force them into slavery.  The two character’s connections stay strong, though Sarah leaves Charleston, falls in love with a widowed man, changes her religious faith, and faces the challenge of being a woman in a world that expects her to look good and serve her family.  This is a beautiful story that tears at your heart knowing that life is never fair.  We have the chance to be reminded of the evils of our ancestors and how innocent people were captive to the “ruling class”.  The story also offers hope.  It illustrates how one determined woman can go and start the change that we desperately needed at a time when few took action.  The historical pieces regarding Grimke’s life are true and give a glimpse into the various challenges she faced.  A definite addition to the book club list!