Bibliograph

The real work, on the mystery of mastery, Adam Gopnik

Type

Label

The real work, on the mystery of mastery, Adam Gopnik

Language

eng

resource.biographical

contains biographical information

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The real work

Oclc number

1371414112

Responsibility statement

Adam Gopnik

Sub title

on the mystery of mastery

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

Table Of Contents

Introduction -- The first mystery of mastery: the Turk, or, the mystery of performance -- Drawing -- Making magic -- The second mystery of mastery: Erdnase, or, the mystery of identity and intention -- Driving -- The third mystery of mastery : the hummingbird's heartbeat, or, the mystery of interiority -- Baking -- The fourth mystery of mastery: the mystery of meaning -- The fifth mystery of mastery: the mystery of late style, or, the sourdough starter -- Relieving -- The sixth mystery of mastery: catching the bullet, or, the mystery of the act itself -- The real work, in progress: boxing and dancing -- The seventh mystery of mastery, resolved

Target audience

adult

resource.variantTitle

On the mystery of mastery

Classification