The Talent Code is good also, and I guess along the same lines. I got the audio book which was good. http://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Greatness-Born-Grown/dp/055380684X
i don't care what that book says. the main purpose of books is to make money for the authors. from what i have seen in real life, it is clear that the talent is born not made. practice helps but the upper boundary to one's future achievements is set at conception.
Another book people really like on this subject: The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. (Hardcover) ~ Daniel Coyle http://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-G...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273545677&sr=8-1 I am particularly interested in the section on great teaching/coaching, "The Teaching Circuit: Blueprint". This chapter, and the chapter "The Curacao Experiment" are worth the book ten times over.
books that preach "made" as opposed to "born" will always sell better. i have heard about amazing achievements by talented teachers who over the years had many students reaching extreme academic performance. the sheer number of students and the level of performance makes it impossible that so many 'innate' talents happen to study with the same teacher. so, yes those teachers were able to bring out the latent talent that would have most likely be left undiscovered. still, i would argue that the best achievable level was pre-programmed genetically in the above cases. it is most likely that all of us achieve only a fraction of what's possible due to lack of proper training.