David Epstein's 'Range' Is A Must Read For Generalists

David Epstein’s new book, Range, argues that it’s okay to start late and dabble in many fields and that success often comes to those who’ve tried many things.

When I first heard David Epstein’s latest book, Range, was going to try and persuade me that generalists were often the ones who found the most success in life, part of me wanted to laugh at the notion. Having read all of Malcolm Gladwell’s books, specifically his now widely accepted hypothesis that to succeed in life, one must endure countless hours of repetition (10,000 to be exact) so as to have any chance at true success, the very idea that Gladwell’s argument was possibly wrong made me excited to learn what Epstein had to say.

Eptein’s book caused me so much intrigue, I inadvertently ordered his book twice by accident. Fortunately for me, this goof in curiosity was met with much relief once I started reading.

Eptein paints his narrative and his hypothesis (one that’s been backed up by plenty of research) in the beginning by comparing two men, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer. He highlights their lives and how both men came to prominence in two very different ways. Woods is the product of hyper specialization, as his father saw to it that he would play golf at a really young age. With years of training and focused attention, Woods would climb the proverbial latter all the way to the top. His ascension and his tremendous success has been documented countless times since, as many use it as the new model for achievement. Parents all over the world now see this prototype of specialization as the way in which their child should be reared.

Start them early on something and keep at it for years.

While Epstein exclaims that the Tiger model does work for some - he decries that it doesn’t work for all and this is where he moves on to Federer and his overarching argument, as Federer’s path towards stardom was definitely less specialized. Epstein points out, that for Federer, much in the same way many of us were raised, was exposed to many forms of sport. He played soccer, basketball and tennis and he was never that focused on one in particular until he hit his early teens. Epstein calls this the “sampling period.”

As Epstein’s book goes on to challenge the difference between Tiger and Roger and those who’ve risen to the top in music (he references Mozart) and many other fields, the takeaway I gathered from his argument is that it’s okay to try your hand at many things, as this can and often does have a positive impact in how we find our true calling.

I highly recommend ‘Range’ to anyone who's looking to tackle a new journey or for someone, like me, who’s struggled with the idea of feeling left behind. Finding your way isn’t as easy as drawing a straight line. For some, it is, but for many of us, tipping your toes in as many things as you can, often comes with the eventual realization of what you like and do not like.

I’ve read plenty of books in my time, I’m sure glad I was curious enough to try this one. You should be too.