The X Factor: A Quest for Excellence [Hardcover]

George Plimpton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1995

The well-known sports writer describes his search for that one quality--which he calls the X Factor--that all winners--in sports and other pursuits--seem to possess, taking readers from locker rooms to boardrooms in his quest for excellence.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The first section of this book is as entertaining as anything Plimpton (Out of My League) has written. His loss at horseshoes to then-President George Bush prompted him to prepare for a promised rematch by investigating the X factor, aka the will to win, the killer instinct, etc. He interviewed star athletes and CEOs to find out what ingredients bring success when one is competing against others at least as accomplished as oneself. Plimpton contends that the winning factors include focus, toughness, persistence and a suspension of the intellect. The latter part of the book, in which the author visits Camp David with his son for the return engagement and loses abysmally, turns into an encomium for Bush and his extended family. Plimpton portrays him as a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and an especially considerate individual, and suggests that his defeat in the 1992 presidential election does not diminish Bush as "an avatar of the X Factor."
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Plimpton's noted penchant for living out his fantasies on the athletic field (retold in such accounts as Paper Lion, 1966) has led him to reflect on that elusive element that separates winners from losers. Through a series of conversations with prominent athletes, coaches, business executives, and even a former president (much is made of Plimpton's two horseshoe matches with George Bush), he attempts to pinpoint the ingredient that enables them to overcome their competitors. Not unexpectedly, it turns out to be a combination of qualities (confidence, concentration, maturity, sense of purpose, and more) rather than any single factor. In the main, this work is of ephemeral interest and can be considered an optional purchase for popular collections. Indeed, the book will likely be of more interest to fans of fine prose than to sports aficionados.
-?William H. Hoffman, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., Fla.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393034844
• ISBN-13: 978-0393034844
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,537,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Saturday Afternoon Read, January 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The X Factor: A Quest for Excellence (Hardcover)

Something about Plimpton's writing, his lack of adjectives I think, makes for quick reading. I read this in one sitting and laughed through a lot of it. This little book is Plimpton wandering around the country asking famous athletes and CEOs for advice on his upcoming horseshoes rematch against then-president George H W Bush. He asks each of these people, including Bush, what it is that makes them succeed in what they do. It's not hard work, practice, or innate abilities but rather some "ingredient... a potion that people in all walks of life would go to extravagant lengths to obtain if it came in a small earthenware jug corked at its mouth." In the process of interviewing people around the country he loses badly to Billie Jean King at tennis, discovers that his athletic stature most resembles a bull, and kicks it around Camp David. Classic Plimpton, and a unique look at Bush the husband and father. Read it on a rainy day.