Top Dog

The Science of Winning and Losing

By Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman (Hardcover Book, 2013)

It's a Dog Eat Dog World. Don't Be on the Menu.

What are the differences between a winning and losing performance? Why are we able to rise to the challenge one day, but wilt from it the next? Can we in fact become better competitors? In TOP DOG, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman use cutting edge science to tease out the hidden factors at the core of every great triumph - and every tragic failure. By enabling you to identify your own competitive style, TOP DOG will help you tip the odds of success in your favor. Integrating wisdom from politics, finance, genetics, neuroscience, psychology, military training, sports, economics, education and more, TOP DOG offers counterintuitive, game-changing insights into the nature of competition, such as:

Why the home field advantage in sports is just as relevant in diplomacy and deal-making
That women are better at judging risk, while men are better at ignoring it - and how this plays out on K Street and Wall Street
Why younger siblings are more competitive than first-borns, and how early-childhood influences shape competitive styles forever
That the shape of entrepreneurs' hands can be just as revealing as their business plans
How a single biochemical can predict a winner before an event has even begun
Why discord can be better than harmony, and why stars on a team do deserve special treatment.

As President Dwight Eisenhower said, "What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight-it's the size of the fight in the dog." In TOP DOG, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman reveal the size of the fight in all of us.

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- Format: Hardcover Book
- Price: $27.99 US/$29.99 CAN
- ISBN-13: 9781455515158
- On Sale Date: 02/19/2013
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
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Formats Available: Hardcover Book, Trade Paperback, Electronic Book, Audiobook, Audiobook, Hardcover Book, Audiobook
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Audiobook Excerpt

Why the home field advantage in sports is just as relevant in diplomacy and deal-making
That women are better at judging risk, while men are better at ignoring it - and how this plays out on K Street and Wall Street
Why younger siblings are more competitive than first-borns, and how early-childhood influences shape competitive styles forever
That the shape of entrepreneurs' hands can be just as revealing as their business plans
How a single biochemical can predict a winner before an event has even begun
Why discord can be better than harmony, and why stars on a team do deserve special treatment.

Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman's NurtureShock was on the New York Times bestseller list for six months. One of the most influential books about children ever published, NurtureShock landed on more than 35 "Year's Best" lists and has been translated into 16 languages. The authors have won nine national awards for their reporting, including the PEN USA Award for Literary Journalism and the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Outstanding Journalism. Prior to their collaboration, Bronson authored five books, including What Should I Do with My Life?, a #1 New York Times bestseller with more than ten months on the list. Merryman's journalism has appeared in Time, Newsweek, New York, The Washington Post, and many other venues. Bronson lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children. Merryman lives in Los Angeles.

"Nature and nurture combine to make us the competitive (or not-so-competitive) animals we are. By understanding what influences our perceptions of risk and ability to perform under pressure, we can make better decisions....Rigor rating: 9 (1=Who Moved My Cheese?; 10=Good to Great). The authors provide an exhaustive culling of medical literature as well as reader-friendly anecdotes drawn from business, sports, the arts, and the military." (Inc.).
"Approaching competition the same way they did parenting in their New York Times bestseller NurtureShock the authors have produced another fascinating work fusing science and sociology....the writers back all their surprising or controversial findings with research, and they adeptly provide a frame to turn that science into an easy, highly satisfying read. Grade: A" (The Onion's A.V. Club).
"The authors of NurtureShock clearly and cogently explain why, physiologically, some of us are at our best when it counts while others choke." (The San Francisco Chronicle, Lit Pick ).