The idea behind bounce is that there is no such thing as a special talent or even luck and that everything is down to sheer hard work.

Matthew Syed was a world class table tennis player and uses his own life story to highlight the point that what many had described as his talent was down to a set of circumstances which enabled him to get enough of the right kind of practice to hone his skills. As a child he has access to a ping pong table and spend hours playing table tennis for fun. He was, unintentionally putting in the 10,000 hours of practice which are required to master any given skill. He also had access to top trainers and the right kind of training which enabled him to continue to develop and stretch himself rather than repeatedly practicing at the same level.

To further emphasize the point Matthew tells the story of the man purposly set out to breed some of the worlds greatest chess players. Without any specific 'talent' for chess himself he decided to find a wife and raise their children to be the top 3 female chess players in the world.

Matthew also discusses why, once this 'talent' has been developed some people choke and can't perform under pressure.

All in all a very interesting read which really makes you want to work hard to achieve your dreams.