Please note: This is an analysis and key takeaways of the book and not the original book.

Start Publishing Notes' Summary, Analysis, and Review of Eric Barker's Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong includes a summary of the book, review, analysis, and key takeaways, and detailed "About the Author" section.

Preview: In Barking Up the Wrong Tree, Eric Barker examines the science behind success. In the introductory chapter, Barker explains that much of what we have been told about the qualities that lead to success is incorrect. Instead, we should look at successful people, examine their stories, and learn how to be more like them. Barker also adds that many success stories also contain warnings about what traps we should avoid since the qualities that lead to success can also be detrimental to human happiness. Barking Up the Wrong Tree is a continuation of Barker's successful blog, where he examines research and interviews experts about what makes a successful life.

The book is structured into six chapters, each with its own set of lessons for those looking to understand how to cultivate their own success. In the first chapter, Barker illustrates the contradictions behind success by examining the life paths of 81 high school valedictorians. After relatively good college careers, 90 percent of high school valedictorians worked in careers that were in the top 40 percent of the job tier. However, not a single valedictorian in the study went on to change the world.

Barker says that we have been advised to play it safe and avert risk, but that this advice often leads to mediocrity. Instead, research shows that the traits that make students impressive in the classroom makes them less likely to be "home-run hitters" once they leave the classroom.