This Is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon Paperback – 7 February 2017

As sports lover with a psychology degree, I immediately grabbed this book when I saw its availability. I was ecstatic when I saw a professional psychologist and writer take sports and behavioral science to a level that I never seen others do before. The book was extremely well done, in terms of its research, writing style and information. The writers took familiar, popular psychology studies and mixed it with lesser-known research to weave a tale of various behavioral themes and theories that apply to sports. Not only were they able to do this successfully, but they did it in a way that was fun, humorous, and extraordinarily enlightening. This is a book that every sports fan should read -- and any psychology student would appreciate as well!

This book reminded me of the same style as the book Freakonomics. Unusual connections with some working more than others but overall it was a book that makes you look at and perceive things about sports in a different way than before. The parts about home field/court advantage, why elite athletes raise their level against the best, lovable losing fans and the consequences of making decisions when your brain is "hot" are several examples that stand out among many other topics. A great read for anyone who is curious .....even if you're not a sports fan or that into science.

Interesting stuff . . . written for the intelligent reader.

Saw this book and had to get it immediately. As a national champion athlete who uses sports themes to train business and leadership, the title grabbed me from the start. It's witty, informative, and entertaining. Very clever and insightful. I've recommended it to many colleagues and clients.

Honestly, it was very disappointing. I had high hopes for this book, but most of the stories it told I had already heard before, and the psychology of it was very loosely tied together. Maybe I know too much about sports already. I really like Wertheim as a writer, but this book was a waste of my money.