The Greatest

The Quest for Sporting Perfection

By: Matthew Syed, Matthew Syed Consulting Ltd

Narrated by: Simon Slater

What can Roger Federer teach us about the secret of longevity?
What do the All Blacks have in common with improvised jazz musicians?
What can cognitive neuroscientists tell us about what happens to the brains of sportspeople when they perform?
And why did Johan Cruyff believe that beauty was more important than winning?

Matthew Syed, the 'Sports Journalist of the Year 2016', answers these questions and more in a fascinating, wide-ranging and provocative book about the mental game of sport.

How do we become the best that we can be, as individuals, teams and as organisations? Sport, with its innate sense of drama, its competitive edge, its psychological pressures, its sense of morality and its illusive quest for perfection, provides the answers.

(P)2017 John Murray Press©2017 Matthew Syed

Heard this all before, and from the same writer

If you've read Syed's other books -- Black Box Thinking, Bounce -- then you'll find nothing new here. Were it not for that fact, I'd probably give this three, or maybe even four, stars. The things he covers -- the mental approach to the game, etc. -- are interesting, but he already wrote about it. Imagine if Michael Lewis wrote a sequel to Moneyball that was almost exactly like Moneyball. The only reason to read it would be if you didn't read the original. So, if you haven't read Syed before, then I guess this is worth a listen. Though you're better off listening to his other books. Especially Black Box Thinking.

Repetitive, and very long winded.

I have read his other book, black box thinking and i felt this book was just repeating many of the facts.

If you haven't listened to his other books you might like this. But it just goes over the same topics and doesn't really offer anything new.

Ive returned the book.

Boring

Pointless and joyless. There are several books better than this slog. Is there a return feature?