Bounce : Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success, by Mathew Syed

Disclaimer: I didn't finish this. However, it is a well-written, nicely organized thesis on the fact that Mom Was Right: Practice Makes Perfect. Syed argues that there is no real 'innate' talent, no such thing as genetic predisposition, that excellence is derived from practice, the search for perfection, and a desire to improve. Everyone who is superior at their art arrived at that point through hours of work and energy and planning, even if it didn't feel that way or look that way to others.

I'd like to finish the book--it would only take 3 or 4 uninterrupted hours--but it's weeks overdue and I need to return it to the library.