The Psychology of Greatness: Inside the Minds of Elite Athletes

In Brady, bestselling author and sports journalist Lars Anderson offers a fascinating look inside the life and mind of football superstar Tom Brady. Drawing on a deep well of interviews with those who know the man both on and off the field, Anderson’s book examines Brady’s journey and inner drive, tracing the star athlete from his early years and obsession with the game, which Brady himself calls his “sickness,” to the relentless pursuit of a success that impacted every aspect of his life. “Like the QB himself, Brady is destined to join the ranks of the all-time greats” (Armen Keteyian, bestselling author of Tiger Woods).

The Mamba Mentality invites readers into the world of late basketball legend Kobe Bryant. In it, Bryant outlines his meticulous approach to basketball, detailing the mental and physical steps he took to deliver his best performances on the court — from studying the opposition to managing injuries to harnessing his love for the game. Enriching Bryant’s words are striking photographs by Andrew D. Bernstein, a Hall of Fame photographer for the Lakers and the NBA, creating a full portrait of the iconic athlete.

Boston Marathon champion and Olympian Des Linden gets to the heart of what propels her forward in Choosing to Run. In 2018, Linden overcame extremely poor weather conditions and her own less-than-peak health to become the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in more than 30 years. In this honest and inspiring memoir, Linden explores how the different parts of her life work together with her mental and physical training to drive her toward success. A story of determination and self-belief, Choosing to Run “offers plenty of inspiration about the power of endurance in the face of obstacles” (Associated Press).

Andre Agassi was a bona fide tennis prodigy, with a grand slam to his name at just 22 years old — but things off the court were far less grand. Open is a candid look at the internal life of a champion whose relentless pursuit of greatness came with serious side effects. Trained from his earliest years to be a tennis marvel, Agassi found himself unfulfilled despite his many titles and impressive list of achievements. A national bestseller, Agassi’s sports memoir offers an unfiltered look at his relationship with the sport that made and broke him in equal parts.

Soccer star Megan Rapinoe is an Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion. She began playing at four, and it was clear from an early age that she had a promising future ahead of her. Yet Rapinoe was raised to celebrate the importance of who she is — not just the player. In One Life, the celebrated athlete gives readers an inside look at the determination, integrity, and resilience that not only carried her through an extraordinary career but also bolstered her in her relentless pursuit of justice and equality, both on and off the field. The San Francisco Chronicle says: “One Life makes it clear that Rapinoe’s greatest accomplishments may ultimately come away from the soccer pitch. She’s a new kind of American hero.”

What does it take to accomplish a seemingly unachievable goal? For Diana Nyad, the answer was nearly three decades of effort and a steadfast refusal to give up on her dream. At the age of 64, Nyad became the first person to swim between Cuba and Florida without a protective cage, setting a world record with the 53-hour swim. Up against unpredictable currents, difficult weather, and ocean wildlife, Nyad found a way to her finish line. Find a Way invites readers into the headspace of an athlete whose success required overcoming fear and failure to make her dream a reality.

A former national-team long-distance runner and Cambridge-trained physicist, Alex Hutchinson delves into the science of athletic potential in Endure. Combining sports science with inspiring stories from elite athletes, Hutchinson’s bestselling sports book explores the sources of our limitations, showing how our minds as much as our bodies determine when it’s time to stop. With special access to Nike’s top-secret training project to break the two-hour-marathon barrier, the award-winning journalist weaves together his observations of the project and its athletes with explanations of the neuroscience and physical factors that define our limits, delivering a lesson on what it takes to push further.

In 1936, nine young men from the American West made their way to Berlin, where they would compete in the Olympic Games. A rowing team comprised of the working-class sons of laborers, farmers, and loggers, the University of Washington’s crew upturned expectations. They not only beat out the high-performing teams from the East Coast and Great Britain, they defeated the German team on their home turf in Hitler’s Nazi Germany and seized Olympic gold. In The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown gets into the heads of the boys, drawing on their journals and memories to tell the story of how this highly disciplined team rose up against the tides to everlasting victory.

Nature or nurture? It’s an age-old question, and one that the world of competitive sports has argued over from the beginning. In his New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene, David Epstein attempts to get to the bottom of the great debate, traveling the globe, conversing with Olympians and scientists, and even interviewing athletes whose genetic mutations or physical traits set them apart from the rest of the pack. The Sports Gene is an unflinching dissection of athleticism, all in pursuit of answering the question: Are the best athletes born that way? Or can anyone be a champion with the right mindset?

Free solo: to rock climb without a rope, harness, or protective gear, aside from climbing shoes and chalk. This is what legendary climber Alex Honnold is famous for. In Alone on the Wall, he gives his firsthand account of the three hours and 56 minutes he spent scaling El Capitan — a 3,000-foot rock face in Yosemite National Park. Honnold is recognized as the greatest climber of all time, and his headspace is a fascinating place to visit. His ability to overcome fear and maintain focus in situations of extreme risk is what allows him to excel at his sport and also what makes him a legend.