DNA does not make us who we are. Journalist David Shenk debunks the long-standing notion of genetic "giftedness," and presents new scientific research showing how greatness is in the reach of every individual. Integrating cutting-edge research from a wide swath of disciplines, Shenk maintains the problem isn't our inadequate genetic assets, but our inability, so far, to tap into what we already have. IQ testing and widespread acceptance of "innate" abilities have created an unnecessarily pessimistic view--and fostered much misdirected public education policy. The truth is much more exciting: our individual destinies are a product of the complex interplay between genes and outside stimuli--a dynamic that we, as people and as parents, can influence.