Part I: Foundations. Introduction: parachutists and ballroom dancers ; The competition machine ; What goes down when the stakes go up -- Part II: Formation. How the worriers can beat the warriors ; Even odds: why women need them and men don't ; The utter importance of pillow fights -- Part III: Individual. The difference between winning and not losing ; How one night of blackjack sped up the world economy ; The 'roid rage of chess -- Part IV: Collective. The hierarchy of teams ; Michelangelo had an agent ; How the Black Sox cleaned up Wall Street.