--- product_id: 76338036 title: "Peak" price: "E£ 219" currency: EGP in_stock: false reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.com.eg/products/76338036-peak store_origin: EG region: Egypt --- # Peak **Price:** E£ 219 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Peak - **How much does it cost?** E£ 219 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.eg](https://www.desertcart.com.eg/products/76338036-peak) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Peak [Anders Ericsson, Robert Pool, Sean Runnette] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Peak Review: Insightful Book on Skill and Improvement, with a Few Slow Spots - Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise was a really solid read and gave me a new perspective on how people actually develop high-level skill. One of the biggest takeaways for me was how much improvement comes from deliberate practice rather than natural talent. The book explains this in a way that’s easy to understand, with plenty of real-world examples that keep you thinking about how you can apply the ideas to your own life. The strengths: The authors do a great job breaking down the science behind expertise without making it feel overly academic. A lot of the concepts are motivating — showing that with the right kind of practice, most people can improve far more than they think. I also liked the chapters that explained how to push yourself past plateaus, which felt practical and actionable instead of just theory. The drawbacks: There are parts of the book that feel a bit repetitive, especially when they revisit the same idea from different angles. Some examples are interesting but run a little long, and if you already know the basics of deliberate practice, certain chapters may not feel as new or surprising. Also, the book focuses more on the big-picture concepts than detailed step-by-step plans, so readers looking for a strict “do this daily” guide might want a little more structure. Overall, it’s a very good book with plenty of insight into how experts develop their skills — definitely worth reading if you want to improve at something or understand how top performers are made. The message is motivating and backed by solid research, even if a few sections take their time getting to the point. Review: To make real progress, working harder/working smarter aren't enough. But this book tells what is... - I hesitated to buy this book, because I have read so much about Anders Ericsson's work already, and have used what I (thought I) knew about it in my own life, and in my work as a business coach in the very specialized field of direct marketing copywriting. Wow... and this is not the copywriter in me, this is the student, teacher, and coach speaking from here on in... wow, am I glad I got past the hesitation and bought it. I haven't finished reading it yet. I'm at about page 175 of 300. But what I've read so far has opened my eyes, shaken up my brain, put new courage in my heart, and motivated me in ways that are more experiential than describable. It's kind of weird, because I'm reading the book from three points of view, almost at the same time: 1) As a coach, who helps others reach their personal peaks (and often, raise the limit on what they thought their own peak was) 2) As someone who has been very successful at a few things and not so successful at all at a number of other things, and 3) As a beginner, a student, who at age 63, has started on a rather challenging journey and is eager for all the help and insights he can get. I've reflected on my own life, and the successes of my most accomplished coaching clients. In the light of what I've read in the book so far, I realize that a lot of big wins came either from purposeful or totally accidental deliberate practice. I thought I knew what it was, but this book fills in what either I didn't know, or was mistaken about, with great clarity and care. Deliberate practice, of course, is self-imposed focused work on raising your skill level where doing so will bring you the greatest gain. It's more than that, though. The authors politely hint about it, but I'll say it blatantly: Deliberate practice, when done right, can take you to a place of confusion and personal terror the likes of which you might never imagine, if you haven't experienced it before. Not forever. But for at least a little while. Not always. But it can happen. I've experienced this myself, and spoken quietly with clients of mine who were also Olympic medal winners and other world-class performers. High anxiety... happens. Sometimes. Here's why: You're rewiring your brain. Literally. You are creating new neural pathways, rearranging the organization and use of your brain cells, and in some cases, actually enlarging portions of your brain (an example you may be familiar with if you've read any of Ericsson's previous work is the fact that the two hippocampi, the seahorse-shaped lobes in the brain, actually got larger in the heads of London cabdrivers, as a result of the ridiculously detailed amount of memorizing they had to do to get, do, and keep their jobs). OK. So rewiring your brain -- sounds like an exciting adventure, right? Well... partially. But you also can get disoriented. Anxious. Even very scared. Because suddenly the familiar world you were living in, is different. And as exciting as that may be (especially... eventually), it's also disturbing at times. When the great champs say, "No pain, no gain," it's not just physical muscle aches and fatigue they're talking about. There are mental and emotional aspects to growth in skill and capability, too. I can't recall seeing as detailed a description, and explanation, of what happens and why, as I have in this book. Ericsson and his co-author clearly took a lot of pains themselves to bring the science of deliberate practice to a new level of clarity and accessibility. So I don't want to dwell on my own past glories or those of my clients. If for no other reason, because what's most fascinating to me about this book was how it helped me get clear on what I'm going through with the new thing I'm working on, and understand at least in general terms, what's ahead. By the way, "10,000 hours" was either very clever promotion or insufficient research on Malcolm Gladwell's part. While it turns out that most professional violinists and most professional dancers have put in roughly that much time to achieve mastery, Ericsson definitively says (and proves) that the number varies depending on the person and what they are applying deliberate practice to. (It can be less. It depends on a lot of things.) Which... is a relief to me. Since, at 63, if I were to put 10,000 hours going forward into what I'm doing, and I could do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it would take me over a year. But at a more reasonable rate of two hours a day, every day, it would take me over 13 years. Hey... that's too long! What is this labor of love I'm looking to become skilled at? Playing guitar. I started when I was nine, and stopped sometime in my teens. Then, something came over me a year ago, and I picked it up again. I finally settled into a routine about six weeks ago. Now I didn't get a roadmap or a timeline from this book as to how long it will take me to get how good. Nor would I expect to. But what I did get, which is so valuable to me in so many ways, is the clearest possible definition of what deliberate practice is, and how so much of the world of training, teaching, and coaching (including -- ouch! -- guitar instruction) just doesn't get it. Plus, the book gave me a very clear idea of what to look for, what to steer clear of, and what I can do for myself. The key takeaway is this: Deliberate practice isn't fun. But it's necessary. It's not the only practice you need or want to do, whether it's playing guitar, or any other skill you are seeking to develop. In fact, you probably shouldn't do deliberate practice on anything for more than an hour at a time -- and that's Ericsson's advice, not mine. But deliberate practice IS pretty much the only way you can make massive and lasting improvements -- and, as long as you have reasonable health and a functioning brain, it's available to you. Even if you're a "senior citizen," like me. :) That's why I like this book so much. I've never seen information about advancing skills... whether a little, or to a world-class level, or anywhere in-between... laid out so clearly and comprehensively (and convincingly) as it is here. If you are looking for "the missing piece" in achievement, you very well might find it in this book. For me at this time in my life -- I did. Thanks, Anders Ericsson and your co-author, Robert Pool. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #4,348,242 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #279 in Personal Transformation Self-Help #7,343 in Job Hunting & Career Guides #20,577 in Books on CD | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 3,572 Reviews | ## Images ![Peak - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51DcZgZjBPL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Insightful Book on Skill and Improvement, with a Few Slow Spots *by S***M on November 22, 2025* Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise was a really solid read and gave me a new perspective on how people actually develop high-level skill. One of the biggest takeaways for me was how much improvement comes from deliberate practice rather than natural talent. The book explains this in a way that’s easy to understand, with plenty of real-world examples that keep you thinking about how you can apply the ideas to your own life. The strengths: The authors do a great job breaking down the science behind expertise without making it feel overly academic. A lot of the concepts are motivating — showing that with the right kind of practice, most people can improve far more than they think. I also liked the chapters that explained how to push yourself past plateaus, which felt practical and actionable instead of just theory. The drawbacks: There are parts of the book that feel a bit repetitive, especially when they revisit the same idea from different angles. Some examples are interesting but run a little long, and if you already know the basics of deliberate practice, certain chapters may not feel as new or surprising. Also, the book focuses more on the big-picture concepts than detailed step-by-step plans, so readers looking for a strict “do this daily” guide might want a little more structure. Overall, it’s a very good book with plenty of insight into how experts develop their skills — definitely worth reading if you want to improve at something or understand how top performers are made. The message is motivating and backed by solid research, even if a few sections take their time getting to the point. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ To make real progress, working harder/working smarter aren't enough. But this book tells what is... *by D***L on July 18, 2016* I hesitated to buy this book, because I have read so much about Anders Ericsson's work already, and have used what I (thought I) knew about it in my own life, and in my work as a business coach in the very specialized field of direct marketing copywriting. Wow... and this is not the copywriter in me, this is the student, teacher, and coach speaking from here on in... wow, am I glad I got past the hesitation and bought it. I haven't finished reading it yet. I'm at about page 175 of 300. But what I've read so far has opened my eyes, shaken up my brain, put new courage in my heart, and motivated me in ways that are more experiential than describable. It's kind of weird, because I'm reading the book from three points of view, almost at the same time: 1) As a coach, who helps others reach their personal peaks (and often, raise the limit on what they thought their own peak was) 2) As someone who has been very successful at a few things and not so successful at all at a number of other things, and 3) As a beginner, a student, who at age 63, has started on a rather challenging journey and is eager for all the help and insights he can get. I've reflected on my own life, and the successes of my most accomplished coaching clients. In the light of what I've read in the book so far, I realize that a lot of big wins came either from purposeful or totally accidental deliberate practice. I thought I knew what it was, but this book fills in what either I didn't know, or was mistaken about, with great clarity and care. Deliberate practice, of course, is self-imposed focused work on raising your skill level where doing so will bring you the greatest gain. It's more than that, though. The authors politely hint about it, but I'll say it blatantly: Deliberate practice, when done right, can take you to a place of confusion and personal terror the likes of which you might never imagine, if you haven't experienced it before. Not forever. But for at least a little while. Not always. But it can happen. I've experienced this myself, and spoken quietly with clients of mine who were also Olympic medal winners and other world-class performers. High anxiety... happens. Sometimes. Here's why: You're rewiring your brain. Literally. You are creating new neural pathways, rearranging the organization and use of your brain cells, and in some cases, actually enlarging portions of your brain (an example you may be familiar with if you've read any of Ericsson's previous work is the fact that the two hippocampi, the seahorse-shaped lobes in the brain, actually got larger in the heads of London cabdrivers, as a result of the ridiculously detailed amount of memorizing they had to do to get, do, and keep their jobs). OK. So rewiring your brain -- sounds like an exciting adventure, right? Well... partially. But you also can get disoriented. Anxious. Even very scared. Because suddenly the familiar world you were living in, is different. And as exciting as that may be (especially... eventually), it's also disturbing at times. When the great champs say, "No pain, no gain," it's not just physical muscle aches and fatigue they're talking about. There are mental and emotional aspects to growth in skill and capability, too. I can't recall seeing as detailed a description, and explanation, of what happens and why, as I have in this book. Ericsson and his co-author clearly took a lot of pains themselves to bring the science of deliberate practice to a new level of clarity and accessibility. So I don't want to dwell on my own past glories or those of my clients. If for no other reason, because what's most fascinating to me about this book was how it helped me get clear on what I'm going through with the new thing I'm working on, and understand at least in general terms, what's ahead. By the way, "10,000 hours" was either very clever promotion or insufficient research on Malcolm Gladwell's part. While it turns out that most professional violinists and most professional dancers have put in roughly that much time to achieve mastery, Ericsson definitively says (and proves) that the number varies depending on the person and what they are applying deliberate practice to. (It can be less. It depends on a lot of things.) Which... is a relief to me. Since, at 63, if I were to put 10,000 hours going forward into what I'm doing, and I could do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it would take me over a year. But at a more reasonable rate of two hours a day, every day, it would take me over 13 years. Hey... that's too long! What is this labor of love I'm looking to become skilled at? Playing guitar. I started when I was nine, and stopped sometime in my teens. Then, something came over me a year ago, and I picked it up again. I finally settled into a routine about six weeks ago. Now I didn't get a roadmap or a timeline from this book as to how long it will take me to get how good. Nor would I expect to. But what I did get, which is so valuable to me in so many ways, is the clearest possible definition of what deliberate practice is, and how so much of the world of training, teaching, and coaching (including -- ouch! -- guitar instruction) just doesn't get it. Plus, the book gave me a very clear idea of what to look for, what to steer clear of, and what I can do for myself. The key takeaway is this: Deliberate practice isn't fun. But it's necessary. It's not the only practice you need or want to do, whether it's playing guitar, or any other skill you are seeking to develop. In fact, you probably shouldn't do deliberate practice on anything for more than an hour at a time -- and that's Ericsson's advice, not mine. But deliberate practice IS pretty much the only way you can make massive and lasting improvements -- and, as long as you have reasonable health and a functioning brain, it's available to you. Even if you're a "senior citizen," like me. :) That's why I like this book so much. I've never seen information about advancing skills... whether a little, or to a world-class level, or anywhere in-between... laid out so clearly and comprehensively (and convincingly) as it is here. If you are looking for "the missing piece" in achievement, you very well might find it in this book. For me at this time in my life -- I did. Thanks, Anders Ericsson and your co-author, Robert Pool. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ New insights even for people familiar with the literature on achievement *by I***I on July 27, 2016* I thought I did not need to read this book — I am very familiar with Ericsson's papers and, by golly, I wrote about deliberate practice, so what else is there to learn? As it turns out, plenty, even if you are a deliberate practice aficionado. Do you know the difference between deliberate practice and purposeful practice? Do you know about the role of "mental representations" in deliberate practice? I didn't. If you don't, get the book. Furthermore, the book reads well; it offers a long needed correction on Gladwell's "Outliers" (where Ericsson's work was featured and popularized); and the authors clearly define the scope of actual deliberate practice as pertaining to highly structured and highly advanced fields of expertise, even though extrapolations can be made. However, in other regards the book could have definitely been better. For example, the denial (with some nuances and granted some obvious exceptions) of the existence of talent seems to go too far — Duckworth's theory of achievement, expounded in her book "Grit", which states that talent matters but effort counts twice seems more viable. Ericsson's position becomes frankly perplexing when he states that it is tempting to assume that people who maintain deliberate practice have "some rare gift of willpower of "grit" or "stick-to-itiveness", but that would be wrong. This statement is perplexing because it is in a section of the book where he reports the findings of a study he himself co-authored, with the title: "Deliberate practice spells success; Why grittier competitors triumph at the National Spelling Bee"! My main criticism is that the book seems to be living in a vacuum. Ericsson's work has generated a lot of commentary and controversy. True, some of it is addressed by the authors, but not the bulk of it and only indirectly. The only direct reference is about an example found in the book "The sports gene" by David Epstein, and Ericsson addresses (unsatisfactorily, in my opinion) that one issue, not the many others Epstein raises. What about the work on flow, which takes a very different view of practice and engagement? (the authors mention flow in passing only once at the very end). Ericsson talks about "mental representations", and what about all the work by Klein (in his book "Sources of power") on "mental simulations"? Or criticism by other researchers on the neglected influence of other factors such as imagination? In this regard, the book was a disappointment. Still, a book very well worth reading, and the intentions of the authors are good: "There is no reason not to follow your dream. Deliberate practice can open the door to a world of possibilities that you might have been convinced were out of reach. Open that door." (P.179). --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.eg/products/76338036-peak](https://www.desertcart.com.eg/products/76338036-peak) --- *Product available on Desertcart Egypt* *Store origin: EG* *Last updated: 2026-05-19*