Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
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- Create Date：2021-05-15 08:51:23
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：David Epstein
- ISBN：0735214506
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Summary
The #1 New York Times bestseller that has all America talking: as seen/heard on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS， Morning Joe， CBS This Morning， The Bill Simmons Podcast， Rich Roll， and more。
"Fascinating。 。 。 。 If you're a generalist who has ever felt overshadowed by your specialist colleagues， this book is for you。" --Bill Gates
"The most important business--and parenting--book of the year。" --Forbes
"Urgent and important。 。 。 an essential read for bosses， parents， coaches， and anyone who cares about improving performance。" --Daniel H。 Pink
Shortlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill， play an instrument， or lead their field should start early， focus intensely， and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible。 If you dabble or delay， you'll never catch up to the people who got a head start。 But a closer look at research on the world's top performers， from professional athletes to Nobel laureates， shows that early specialization is the exception， not the rule。
David Epstein examined the world's most successful athletes， artists， musicians， inventors， forecasters and scientists。 He discovered that in most fields--especially those that are complex and unpredictable--generalists， not specialists， are primed to excel。 Generalists often find their path late， and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one。 They're also more creative， more agile， and able to make connections their more specialized peers can't see。
Provocative， rigorous， and engrossing， Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency。 Failing a test is the best way to learn。 Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers。 The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area。 As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans， people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive。
"Fascinating。 。 。 。 If you're a generalist who has ever felt overshadowed by your specialist colleagues， this book is for you。" --Bill Gates
"The most important business--and parenting--book of the year。" --Forbes
"Urgent and important。 。 。 an essential read for bosses， parents， coaches， and anyone who cares about improving performance。" --Daniel H。 Pink
Shortlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill， play an instrument， or lead their field should start early， focus intensely， and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible。 If you dabble or delay， you'll never catch up to the people who got a head start。 But a closer look at research on the world's top performers， from professional athletes to Nobel laureates， shows that early specialization is the exception， not the rule。
David Epstein examined the world's most successful athletes， artists， musicians， inventors， forecasters and scientists。 He discovered that in most fields--especially those that are complex and unpredictable--generalists， not specialists， are primed to excel。 Generalists often find their path late， and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one。 They're also more creative， more agile， and able to make connections their more specialized peers can't see。
Provocative， rigorous， and engrossing， Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency。 Failing a test is the best way to learn。 Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers。 The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area。 As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans， people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive。
Reviews
Matthew Kern
，
At first I thought this was a rebuttal of the 10，000 hour mentality， that one needs to do something for 10，000 hours to master or become expert at it。 I soon realized that this book is more a complement than an antithesis。 Epstein does not， in the end， reject the idea that you need to practice a ton to become an expert， but he proposes that a breadth of experience and knowledge does make you better at one thing。 It not only allows you to find your real passions， but also allows you to overcome c At first I thought this was a rebuttal of the 10，000 hour mentality， that one needs to do something for 10，000 hours to master or become expert at it。 I soon realized that this book is more a complement than an antithesis。 Epstein does not， in the end， reject the idea that you need to practice a ton to become an expert， but he proposes that a breadth of experience and knowledge does make you better at one thing。 It not only allows you to find your real passions， but also allows you to overcome challenges with insights gained from other fields of study。I quite enjoyed this book。 It ran a little long。 I would guess Epstein could have chopped another quarter of the content to provide something a bit more punchy and direct。Here's a list of my key takeaways* Be careful to classify yourself， as we are always changing。* The world demands diverse thinkers， not repetitive performers。 Repetition can be automated。* Mastery still takes hours and hours， but the breadth of experience can often be empowering before a passion is focused on （Roger Federer）。* Lateral thinking （Nintendo）， taking discovered technology and applying it in inventive ways， is just as powerful and perhaps more useful than vertical thinking， improving upon established procedures （Intel）。* Quitting is fine。 Changing direction is fine。* A problem well-put is a problem half-solved。 。。。more
Sarah
，
one of the category that this book could fall into is parenting ， I recommend it highly for anyone， from highschool graduates to someone going to retirement。。。 and for all in between
asih simanis
，
This book is a 305 page long argument for the sake of “Range”， and as an argument to convince people of the importance of not rushing to Specialize， this book has done its Job。 It tries to present us stories from various field （from sports， arts， business and science） that offer a glimpse on how the biggest breakthrough were typically done by people who have “Range”， or a broader sense of things。 I do have several problems with the book。As someone who considers myself as a generalist to begin wi This book is a 305 page long argument for the sake of “Range”， and as an argument to convince people of the importance of not rushing to Specialize， this book has done its Job。 It tries to present us stories from various field （from sports， arts， business and science） that offer a glimpse on how the biggest breakthrough were typically done by people who have “Range”， or a broader sense of things。 I do have several problems with the book。As someone who considers myself as a generalist to begin with， I felt that （especially in the beginning）， the book is a little too self-masturbating to my taste。 I usually take up a book to learn from it， to be challenged by it， to be convinced of a different perspective。 Yet for several chapters I felt that the book is only stroking my ego， trying to tell me that my life choices is not so bad。 Of course it feels good， but it doesn’t really take me anywhere。 Only somewhere in the middle was the book interesting again， showing stories that were challenging （to me）， which made me suddenly question whether I am not too “narrow minded”， and how I could possibly add more breadth to my life。But this curiosity that he had built was not answered well with a definite “how” to be a generalist。 （Spoiler alert）， his answer is simply to continue experimenting with our lives as we go。 Good advice I agree with， but not a good enough reason to read a book looking for answers。 So 305 pages （and 12 chapters） later my verdict of the book is this: if you are a generalist， and you happen to need encouragement to live your life， this book is for you。 But don’t seek for anything other than comfort。 The problem of the book might have stemmed from the authors own background of being a journalist， and him （ironically） sticking to his specialty， without giving a more “range”-full story telling。 The book could’ve benefitted with more data driven story telling， that perhaps would’ve been possible if he had chosen to write it with a second author。 Doing a playful conversation between story telling， and data driven understanding—quantitative vs qualitative。But then again that’s just my opinion—and taste。 。。。more
Candace
，
3。5 - A little more academically written than what I had hoped - but enjoyed。 Think it would have been better to read than listen - that way I could have easily re-read a couple portions and skimmed others。。。。。
KC
，
Along with “How to be everything，” I have to admit that this book is more of a self-validating indulgence than it is a diligent， detached search for objective truth。 The author’s main thesis is that breadth， rather than depth， offers more value personally， professionally， and to society。 The reasoning goes like this: covering multiple， seemingly unrelated areas of interest engages abstract thinking in ways it otherwise would not。 Rather than task-completion， goal-oriented instincts， cross-domain Along with “How to be everything，” I have to admit that this book is more of a self-validating indulgence than it is a diligent， detached search for objective truth。 The author’s main thesis is that breadth， rather than depth， offers more value personally， professionally， and to society。 The reasoning goes like this: covering multiple， seemingly unrelated areas of interest engages abstract thinking in ways it otherwise would not。 Rather than task-completion， goal-oriented instincts， cross-domain work requires the activation of parts of the brain that can see the “big picture” and understand concepts of interrelatedness and cause-and-effect that otherwise would be missed。 The strongest piece of data presented about this point is the effect of modernization on IQ， known as the “Flynn effect”。 Modernization was a key factor in the development of abstract thought。 Premodern people were more concrete thinkers and could only see one side of an issue， while modern people are more able to conceptualize and see the bigger picture。 It at first seemed like the premodern villagers had an understanding of the world that was more detailed than what they could have learned from experience。 But upon closer inspection， we found that they are actually just deeply familiar with their surroundings。 As soon as they were forced to enter a way of thinking that was outside their scope of experience， they proved incapable of doing so。 Modernization， mass communication， and the evolving workplace have forced the general masses into learning more broad skillsets， and apparently， IQ has improved as result。But that is really just one point。 The main takeaway is that those with skill sets and foundational knowledge spanning multiple disciplines are positioned to understand and engage with problems， issues， and reality itself in ways that narrow—even if deep—expertise cannot achieve。 。。。more
Priyadarshee Dasmohapatra
，
I have personal reasons to like this book。 I have meandered early in my career。 The book does justice in addressing the question of why seeking range is useful， even when one might have difficulty in justifying the detours。 Above all， life is a beautiful experiment。
Donovan Borg
，
Whilst there isn't anything inherently wrong with specialisation， this book shows that head starts are vastly overrated and that specialising early （in sport， music， academia） does not equate to greatness。。Yet another info-heavy read by Epstein， but very enlightening。 Whilst there isn't anything inherently wrong with specialisation， this book shows that head starts are vastly overrated and that specialising early （in sport， music， academia） does not equate to greatness。。Yet another info-heavy read by Epstein， but very enlightening。 。。。more
Vanessa
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Many good quotes but wow what a drag to read。 Feel like this could be condensed into a long essay lol a book is not needed
Joe Finch
，
Being in talent acquisition for 15 years， all corporate America trains you to look for is specialization。 Every job description wants very narrowly specific skills， and candidates who have bounced around industries and roles are deemed unviable。 This book was so refreshingly woke in capturing the amazing value generalists and broader thinking people provide a business。 Whether you’re an athlete， violinist， in NASA， or a marketing guru， this will change the way you view the path to success。 I wil Being in talent acquisition for 15 years， all corporate America trains you to look for is specialization。 Every job description wants very narrowly specific skills， and candidates who have bounced around industries and roles are deemed unviable。 This book was so refreshingly woke in capturing the amazing value generalists and broader thinking people provide a business。 Whether you’re an athlete， violinist， in NASA， or a marketing guru， this will change the way you view the path to success。 I will especially be plugging this book to recruiting colleagues， as it offers a whole new light on the types of candidates we should be considering for hire。 Excellent， original concepts， and really well thought out thesis as to why broader can be better。 。。。more
Chrisanne
，
The chapters， largely， present good info that supports the main idea of the chapters。 The stories are intriguing。 However， I'm not sure that the overarching theme of the book was proven。 Read it。 And tell me what you think。 It's definitely an enjoyable book。 The chapters， largely， present good info that supports the main idea of the chapters。 The stories are intriguing。 However， I'm not sure that the overarching theme of the book was proven。 Read it。 And tell me what you think。 It's definitely an enjoyable book。 。。。more
Holli
，
I am sure the fact that I was having my own little late start angst contributed to my enjoyment of this book。 Also I am already biased towards not making kids specialize at a young age so having this opinion confirmed probably helped too。 In the tradition of popular nonfiction this book puts forth a premise and then finds studies and individuals to paint a broad picture。 In this case the premise is that hyperspecialization is not the only road to success and that broad knowledge might trump dee I am sure the fact that I was having my own little late start angst contributed to my enjoyment of this book。 Also I am already biased towards not making kids specialize at a young age so having this opinion confirmed probably helped too。 In the tradition of popular nonfiction this book puts forth a premise and then finds studies and individuals to paint a broad picture。 In this case the premise is that hyperspecialization is not the only road to success and that broad knowledge might trump deep knowledge in multiple ways。 In some ways this almost seems like it should be intuitive and yet when I talk to parents or look at my own fears I see that worry about being "behind" in chosen skills or professions abounds。 I think the book is careful to not overstate its thesis and does recognize that specialization has its merits but then we all seem to recognize this "fact"so it doesn't dwell much on it。 There were several interesting chapters that will stick with me。 The conversation about how struggle is what leads to true learning and the example of how most school room learning is about gaming a system was particularly interesting。 I also know nothing about Nintendo so loved learning how the philosophy of using old technology in new ways catapulted it to new heights。 Oh and can we talk about how often specialists get future predictions wrong？ That was a little scary。 I appreciate the importance of listening to experts but there is no denying that blinders and siloing have a huge impact。 。。。more
Sean Owen
，
Another one of those cliched popular non-fiction books。 I'm not sure why I even bother with these。 They all follow the same formula: start with a straw man argument that no rational person actually believes then demolish the myth you just created。 The best of these books could have been interesting long magazine-length articles but almost none of them （this book included） justify a book-length treatment。 In his quest to fill pages Epstein wanders all over the place and includes all kinds of bare Another one of those cliched popular non-fiction books。 I'm not sure why I even bother with these。 They all follow the same formula: start with a straw man argument that no rational person actually believes then demolish the myth you just created。 The best of these books could have been interesting long magazine-length articles but almost none of them （this book included） justify a book-length treatment。 In his quest to fill pages Epstein wanders all over the place and includes all kinds of barely related subjects。 The core argument here is that the idea of specializing early and practicing deliberately and extensively is the key to mastery only really works for a limited amount of subjects。 The subjects where early specialization plays a key role are like classical music where the goal is to precisely follow clear and rigid guidelines。 But the early specialization approach and narrow focus end up being a handicap for fields where the scope is wide and creativity is important like jazz。 None of this is earth-shattering， but according to the formula of this kind of popular fiction the author pretends like this is some earth-shattering revelation。The best part of the book is when Epstein raises the possibility that generalization is actually becoming more important as we are able to access information and computational power more easily than ever。 At the same time， there's a greater push towards hyper-specialization in professional training。There are all kinds of lapses and missed opportunities。 The author talks about the concept of hedgehogs and foxes without talking about Isiah Berlin （and honestly if you're interested in the subject just go read him instead）。 Another big problem is when he goes on to talk about Einstein as a broad generalist thinker， but without ever really talking about the fact that Einstein had pretty much done everything important he was ever going to do by the time he was 26。 Clearly， age and an open mind go hand in hand。 There are all kinds of examples of this and most of us can relate to getting stuck in our ways as we get older。 Yet the author never really explores the parallel tracks of moving further along in expertise in one's field while one ages and becomes more fixed in one's ways。Popular non-fiction and science as genres are pretty much broken。 I'm sure it has something to do with the decline of high-quality magazines。 Someone should write an article， not a book， on that。 。。。more
Paloma
，
Although I agreed with the main point presented by the author， I found the book very repetitive。。。 it got to a point where I didn’t truly appreciate the value of an extra chapter。
Landon Cheben
，
This book was had an interesting parallel to Angela Duckworth’s “Grit”。 It highlighted the need for a range of skills to increase your ability， understanding， and capability on a scale larger than a single task。 This is divergent from some 10，000-hour followers who see Tiger Woods， who started playing golf at 2， as the only way to become great。 There are a lot of examples throughout the book to expand on this idea。 While I was reading， I couldn’t help correlate to life in the military。 Every yea This book was had an interesting parallel to Angela Duckworth’s “Grit”。 It highlighted the need for a range of skills to increase your ability， understanding， and capability on a scale larger than a single task。 This is divergent from some 10，000-hour followers who see Tiger Woods， who started playing golf at 2， as the only way to become great。 There are a lot of examples throughout the book to expand on this idea。 While I was reading， I couldn’t help correlate to life in the military。 Every year or two， you are switching jobs and learning something new。 While I personally agree this is essentially to gain a broader understanding of the system， thus making you capable to lead with more perspective， I think the military misses the mark in the time between role moves。 Deliberate development in each area is usually lacking， with an unsubstantial amount of time to learn the area， generate ideas to improve， then test / implement those ideas。 Stability in a specific role in rare。 I would highly recommend this book to round out the thought of a person needing to be extremely specialized to be successful。 That may not always （and usually isn’t） be the case。 。。。more
Aditya Pal
，
It's one of those books which are cool to read but at the end of it， you find yourself questioning what the takeaway was。 It's one of those books which are cool to read but at the end of it， you find yourself questioning what the takeaway was。 。。。more
Devina Heriyanto
，
The book opens with two childhood stories from two athletes: Tiger Woods and Roger Federer。 While both are on top of their fields， the way they get there couldn't be more different。 Woods has focused on golf ever since before he learned to talk， while Federer dabbled in various sports before finally specializing in tennis。 In other words: Woods is an early specialist and Federer was a generalist first before becoming a tennis player。Epstein's first main thesis for this book is that how we should The book opens with two childhood stories from two athletes: Tiger Woods and Roger Federer。 While both are on top of their fields， the way they get there couldn't be more different。 Woods has focused on golf ever since before he learned to talk， while Federer dabbled in various sports before finally specializing in tennis。 In other words: Woods is an early specialist and Federer was a generalist first before becoming a tennis player。Epstein's first main thesis for this book is that how we should be focusing on the stories of Federers in the world because early specialists are the exceptions rather than the rule。 Being a generalist has at least two benefits: first is the luxury of exploration， which results in better match quality between the person and the job， and second is the enriched abilities and knowledge， which can boost performance and creative thinking even once the person has specialized in one field。The larger point that Epstein is trying to make is that we should be more flexible: both in terms of our own lives， and for other people who might be making a career change later than society's expectation。 We should have more room in our life for exploration， not hastily choosing a specialization because that will give us an early start in career courses。 Then， we also have to know when to call it quits。 Even if we have specialized in one field for a certain period of time， we might find it to be unsuitable for our contemporary self due to the fact that we have also become another person as we age。As for the latter， we should rethink the rigidity of our experience requirement because not every job requires long relevant experience due to the volatile nature of the work， and that seemingly irrelevant experience can be useful later as it provides another perspective that could be key to innovation and problem-solving。In defending the generalists， Epstein argues that people with "breadth" （varying interests or skillset） have exceptional performance and problem-solving quality due to their ability to apply knowledge and insight from one field to another。 That said， merely being a generalist is not enough to "triumph in a specialized world": one needs to also have the critical and lateral thinking to fully unlock their ability。Despite its focus on the generalist， Range also offers a bit of advice for the specialists: to get out of their deep trench and see the world， in order to avoid becoming stuck at one problem and make more connections with knowledge and insights from other fields。All in all， Range has a plethora of insights and nuggets， backed with a lot of stories to prove its point。 However， the book seems to lack structure， which makes it rather difficult to form a coherent argument。 To use an analogy from inside the book， Range is like a dark horse: it has an unusually winding path， but it excels at the end anyway。 。。。more
Conner Burridge
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Incredibly insightful in an intuitive way。
Bonnie Smith
，
Much better than his previous book！ And very affirming
Shubha
，
Overrated 🤭
Alan
，
This book summarizes the life mantra that I live by and strive for。Specialists have their places in the world but generalists are needed just as much cohesion。Life is full of breadths of problems and it only makes sense to solve by adaptation and constant out-of-box thinking by including cross-disciplinary knowledges。Too often career paths focus on getting one thing right and early specializer focus on one breadth of skill and neglect other variety of disciplines。 hyper-specializing in my world This book summarizes the life mantra that I live by and strive for。Specialists have their places in the world but generalists are needed just as much cohesion。Life is full of breadths of problems and it only makes sense to solve by adaptation and constant out-of-box thinking by including cross-disciplinary knowledges。Too often career paths focus on getting one thing right and early specializer focus on one breadth of skill and neglect other variety of disciplines。 hyper-specializing in my world often create lob-sided views and causes catastrophic dependencies。 over-certificating suffers from application or integrating of knowledge earned from each of the steps。I think anyone that is looking to further their career/life goals need to start looking at not just what they are comfortable knowing。 Life outcomes are not known but experimented。Happiness is not achieved only one way。Not all obstacles need to be cleared of the life's path， Sometimes you have to find ways to walk around it。 。。。more
Miran
，
After having trouble going through first 100+ pages as they seemed to be going into too much detail about playing music and examples which didn't interest me too much， the book became better and better going to the end。It is very useful for a parent who is trying to find a way to give the best advice to his children regarding possible careers。 Breadth is very common sense and it resonates with my philosophy。 After having trouble going through first 100+ pages as they seemed to be going into too much detail about playing music and examples which didn't interest me too much， the book became better and better going to the end。It is very useful for a parent who is trying to find a way to give the best advice to his children regarding possible careers。 Breadth is very common sense and it resonates with my philosophy。 。。。more
Lalit Mohan
，
In the general scheme of scheme of things， having fun is more important than thinking generality will make you better。 This book was probably more surprising to experts than generalists？
Jessica ✌︎
，
3。5 stars
Rita
，
It was interesting; perhaps I liked it because this book validated my recent decision to switch careers。 I haven’t read enough nonfiction to give a proper review （I feel that the more books I read within a genre， the more critical I become）。
Mike
，
Interesting take on the risks of overspecialization and benefits of range in wicked learning environments
Samer Salem
，
“You are not behind”。 A strong case for taking a breath from a hyper efficiency mindset and allowing the balance needed of experimentation and meandering。 Exposing the myth of the early starter advantage and showing how with the increasingly complex challenges society is taking on breadth and cross functional connections tempered with specialization in an area or a few areas can yield a more fruitful career and in my eyes a more fruitful life。
Jenel Cope
，
Rare that a book can be mind-blowing and yet life affirming in one package。。。kind of think it's one of those books everyone should read。 Rare that a book can be mind-blowing and yet life affirming in one package。。。kind of think it's one of those books everyone should read。 。。。more
Santiago Zapata Serna
，
EspectacularCómo hacer frente a las demandas del mundo de hoy。 Acá una perspectiva más。 Una que es más comprensiva， holistica， amplia。
Ruth Uhlemann
，
Any Charlotte Mason educator can tell you how the words "making connections" speaks to their heart。 This book is brim full of the reasons I believe a broad and diverse education is far more valuable than a specialized one。 Plus it's incredibly entertaining and fast paced， making it a joy to read。 I highly recommend for anyone interested in the psychology or theory of learning。 Any Charlotte Mason educator can tell you how the words "making connections" speaks to their heart。 This book is brim full of the reasons I believe a broad and diverse education is far more valuable than a specialized one。 Plus it's incredibly entertaining and fast paced， making it a joy to read。 I highly recommend for anyone interested in the psychology or theory of learning。 。。。more
Melissa Mangano
，