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The real work : on the mystery of mastery / Adam Gopnik.

Gopnik, Adam, (author.).

Summary:
"In The Real Work-the term magicians use for the accumulated craft that makes for a great trick-Gopnik becomes a dedicated student of several masters of their craft: a classical painter, a boxer, a dancing instructor, a driving instructor, and others. Rejecting self-help bromides and bullet points, he nevertheless shows that the top people in any field share a set of common qualities and methods. For one, their mastery is always a process of breaking down and building up-of identifying and perfecting the small constituent parts of a skill and the combining them for an overall effect greater than the sum of those parts. For another, mastery almost always involves intentional imperfection-as in music, where vibrato, a way of not quite landing on the right note, carries maximum expressiveness. Gopnik's simplest and most invigorating lesson, however, is that we are surrounded by mastery. Far from rare, mastery is commonplace, if we only know where to look: from the parent who can whip up a professional strudel to the social worker who-in one of the most personally revealing passages Gopnik has ever written-helps him master his own demons. Spirited and profound, The Real Work will help you understand how mastery can happen in your own life-and, significantly, why each of us relentlessly seeks to better ourselves in the first place"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781324090755
  • ISBN: 1324090758
  • Physical Description: x, 241 pages ; 24 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York, NY : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, [2023]
Subject: Expertise.
Excellence.
Ability.
Learning.
Training.
Creative ability.
Performance > Psychological aspects.
Gopnik, Adam.

Available copies

  • 8 of 9 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 9 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Albright Memorial Library 153.9 GOPNIK (Text) 50686016289451 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Dillsburg Area Public Library Adults 153.9 GOP Nonfiction (Text) 34001001435021 Adult Area Available -
Highland Community Library 153.9 GOP (Text) 35610001012819 HGHM Non-Fiction Available -
Indian Valley Public Library 153.9 Gopnik Personal Growth (Text) 39427103727855 Nonfiction Room: Adult Nonfiction Available -
Martin Library Adults 153.9 GOP Health Wellness (Text)
Bookplate: Plated 2023: In Honor of C. William Dize by Martin Library Honors Committee 2023
33454005920475 2nd Floor Available -
Palmerton Area Library 153.9 G64 (Text) 65000000063521 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Bethlehem Coolidge Branch 153.9 (Text) 33062009706566 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Bethlehem Main Library 153.9 (Text)
Bookplate: In memory of Dan & Doodie Genther. By The Rev. Canon Clifford B. Carr.
33062009706236 Adult Nonfiction Checked Out 04/12/2024
Easton Main Library 153.9 G659r (Text) 31901004693034 Adult Nonfiction Available -


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