Why Michael Couldn't Hit

Book excerpt: The author who told us why Toscanini fumbled and why Newton raved takes us on a tour of the great brains of great athletes in --baseball players and basketball players, track stars and golfers--to show how both accomplishment and tragedy may be the result of some unusual neurons. In Why Michael Couldn't Hit, Dr. Harold L. Klawans joins his two lifelong passions for neurological discovery and sports. And his arguments about the way the two are linked will give every sports fan a new outlook on what happens on the track, the baseball diamond, or in the arena. A deft and fascinating exploration, the book reveals that the twists and turns of athletes' brains have at least as much to do with their stardom as the strength and coordination of their muscles. It's an entirely original perspective on a topic that has always captured the American imagination: the breathtaking sight of athletic grace, force, and skill.