I didn't learn much from this, having already read/heard about both Dweck and Duckworth's research fairly extensively. There were a few interesting case studies, but the chess section was pretty uninteresting, and the behavior of the chess teacher and her justification for why it's ok for so many smart people to squander so much time and attention on chess when there are so many pressing problems in the world was completely unpalatable to me. (Note: playing for fun and enjoying analyzing games or even playing in tournaments as a side interest seems totally fine to me. Devoting your whole life to it and never tapping in to your potential to do real good in the world doesn't.) ( )

Really obvious premise (character, hard work, etc count for more than raw IQ) but some good explanations, etc. Very nicely written. ( )

I feel like I got the gist of this book in the first chapter or so and ended up skimming the rest. I would have liked more practical advice and less academic research. ( )

Why do some children succeed while others fail? The story we usually tell about childhood and success is the one about intelligence: success comes to those who score highest on tests, from preschool admissions to SATs. But in How Children Succeed, Paul Tough argues that the qualities that matter most have more to do with character: skills like perseverance, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism, and self-control.

How Children Succeed introduces us to a new generation of researchers and educators who, for the first time, are using the tools of science to peel back the mysteries of character. Through their stories and the stories of the children they are trying to help. Tough traces the links between childhood stress and life success. He uncovers the surprising ways in which parents do (and do not) prepare their children for adulthood. And he provides us with new insights into how to help children growing up in poverty.

Early adversity, scientists have come to understand, not only affects the conditions of children’s lives, it can also alter the physical development of their brains. But innovative thinkers around the country are now using this knowledge to help children overcome the constraints of poverty. With the right support, as Tough’s extraordinary reporting makes clear, children who grow up in the most painful circumstances can go on to achieve amazing things.

This provocative and profoundly hopeful book has the potential to change how we raise our children, how we run our schools, and how we construct our social safety net. It will not only inspire and engage readers, it will also change our understanding of childhood itself. Selected Reading Questionnaire.

This wonderful book reads like a collection of five magazine features that focus on physicians, educators, and researchers who work with children to help them succeed in their academic endeavors, college application, chess tournament results....etc. The author writes well. (Turns out he used to work for the New York Times.) Even though the five pieces -- especially the first two -- are long, they are hard to put down because of the engaging narrative. I was shocked to learn that extremely stressful family environment leave a long-term impact on children's health and their neurosystem, to a degree that they have trouble staying focused or regulate their negative emotion effectively. I was also shocked to learn there are 4 million children who live in a household with an annual income of $11,000 or less :( And that educators, despite their special programs designed to mentor students, raise their ACT score, or help them apply for college, are having very little success with children from this income bracket. (These programs are more effective for students in the $11,000 - $43,000 income bracket.) ( )