The book follows the author in the most surprising talent hotbeds like a tennis court in Moscow, a soccer field in São Paolo, a vocal studio in Dallas, or a baseball-mad island in the Caribbean. We learn about the “secrets” behind the top performers like the best soccer players, bank robbers, violinists, or fighter pilots. We meet scientists, coaches, and teachers that are explaining their discoveries concerning the acquisition of skills.

If Peak by Anders Ericson is the best book to learn about the path to expertise, The Talent Code is the best supplement to understand the role of deep practice (aka deliberate practice) from a low-level viewpoint. You will learn about myelin, the substance that wraps the neural circuits you trigger through practice and that increases signal strength, speed, and accuracy. The more you practice, the more myelin you build. Myelin is for sure promising and represents the core argument of this book.

I read a lot about learning. It’s one of the best books on the subject of excellence. It can replace advantageously an often-cited book, Outliers, which fails short in comparison.