LATE BLOOMERS: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement (Currency; April 16, 2019) by Forbes publisher and self-proclaimed late bloomer Rich Karlgaard is both an inspiring manifesto for late-blooming achievers and an incisive critique of a culture that has caved to the pressure to produce prodigies.

By assuming we aren’t capable of success just because we haven’t discovered our talents by a certain age – or by not hiring older workers because we assume they are past their prime – we are shortchanging ourselves and the world. This fast increasing trend not only damages the children we’re pushing, but also vastly limits our potential to contribute to society precisely when we have the most to offer. Indeed, the executive function of our brains doesn’t mature until we are 25 or older, and one recent study suggests that peak innovation age is in fact in our late 40’s.

From the history of the SAT test, which was rejected by its own creator but remains an obsession among parents, educators, and employers alike, to stories of late bloomers like J.K. Rowling and billionaire investor Ken Fisher, Karlgaard traces the development of our misguided assumption that early success is the best or only success. He then draws on several years of research and interviews with neuroscientists, psychologists, and countless people at different stages in their careers to illustrate why late blooming is in fact the surest path to long-term achievement.