Top Dog

The Science of Winning and Losing

By: Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman

Narrated by: Po Bronson

New York Times Bestseller

Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman's work changes the national dialogue. Beyond their bestselling books, you know them from commentary and features in the New York Times, CNN, NPR, Time, Newsweek, Wired, New York, and more. E-mail, Facebook, and Twitter accounts are filled with demands to read their reporting (such as "How Not to Talk to Your Kids," "Creativity Crisis," and "Losing Is Good for You").

In Top Dog, Bronson and Merryman again use their astonishing blend of science and storytelling to reveal what's truly in the heart of a champion. The joy of victory and the character-building agony of defeat. Testosterone and the neuroscience of mistakes. Why rivals motivate. How home field advantage gets you a raise. What teamwork really requires. It's baseball, the SAT, sales contests, and Linux. How before da Vinci and FedEx were innovators, first, they were great competitors.

Olympians carry Top Dog in their gym bags. It's in briefcases of Wall Street traders and Madison Avenue madmen. Risk takers from Silicon Valley to Vegas race to implement its ideas, as educators debate it in halls of academia. Now see for yourself what this game-changing talk is all about.

Old material, New Refreshing Perspective

If you could sum up Top Dog in three words, what would they be?

Strong Alternative Approach

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Not because it wasn't worth listening to in one sitting, but because the material is best suited for those interested in taking the time for self reflection and application.

Very Informative

Trying to understand individualism and collectivism in human nature is truly mind boggling. Yet, it's only somehow an answer we seek to help us live amongst each other. Great book overall and helped with clarification on the polarized world we live in today. TWO THUMBS UP 👍 👍

Interesting but lacks novelty

What made the experience of listening to Top Dog the most enjoyable?

I think the performance was very enjoyable and the cases which were presented and disected were current and interesting.

Would you be willing to try another book from Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman ? Why or why not?

Yes I would be. I found the way the book was written interesting enough that I would give another a try.

Which character – as performed by Po Bronson – was your favorite?

N/A

What did you learn from Top Dog that you would use in your daily life?

There is a very interesting section about additive thinking and subtractive thinking which are forms of self criticism. You can guess which one is effective is creating Top Dogs but you should read the book to learn more.

Any additional comments?

As an athlete I take an interest in psychology and do a lot of reading on the topic. I have also been educated in Psychology. I found very little information in this book which is not available else where. Most of this has been known for sometime unlike the information in Kahneman's book, Thinking Fast & Slow.

Very good read if you have no prior knowslege of the subject.

Excellent.

Very good book. Should be required reading in late high school / early college. Would recommend to anyone. Malcolm Gladwell-esque

Wanted to like

but this just motivated me to stop listening. Too many long stretches of just boring content. Sorry, didn't work for me as an audiobook