My Dad recently came to visit us in Albuquerque. He is an avid reader and was singing the praises of books by Malcolm Gladwell. I have not read any of them yet, but after talking to him about them and reading Trevin Wax's review of Outliers, I think I might get started.
Too many books, too little time!
Here are the books that have been most popular by Gladwell:
Outliers
Tipping Point
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
If you have read any of these, give me your take in the comments section.
6 comments:
I have read both blink and The Tipping Point . Haven't heard much about the new one. I definitely think that Gladwell is an important voice worth listening too. Excellent writer and researcher. For me, the value of his writing is in watching him connect the larger dots of cultural phenomenon - at a time when the claim is made that there is no meta-narrative.
grace...Adam
I finished Outliers recently and am about half way through The Tipping Point. Highly recommended. He challenges a lot of common assumptions about the social atmosphere's influence on behavior and "success". Sometimes he tends to make things look much more clear-cut than they really are, but he definitely gets you thinking out of the box on general aspects of human behavior.
While most of his writing seems to lend itself most readily to the business world (individually or corporately), much of what he has to say has practical ramifications in many disparate realms. As a musician, much of what he has to say about success is salient. The same may even go for the mission of the church (interestingly, he recaps the Methodist revival in The Tipping Point).
Give 'em a shot. And by that, I mean add 'em to the long list.
Carlos is reading "outliers" right now and can't put it down.
I've read the rave reviews for a long time and finally got round to reading Blink last year and I've got to say it was very entertaining and a big diasappointment. When I stopped to ask myself what I have learned the answer was...nothing. The gist is 'your snap decisions are a lot more trustworthy than mulling things over for a long time'. But then about halfway in he starts citing examples where that's NOT the case (police shoting innocent people dead for example). So what I took away is - 'you should trust snap decisions except in cases where you might have got it wrong'.
He is a masterful writer whose skill seems to be making things seem more profound than they really are.
That said, I still want to read Outliers (or a similar book 'Talent is overrated') but I'm going to get it from the library instead.
(Zac, You can have my copy of Blink if you want for free!)
I think (an intuitive evaluation) that you (who I perceive to be an intuitive guy) would like Blink.
Having said that - - maybe scan them while you are at the bookstore. But, don't spill your latte on them because you would be obligated to buy at that point.
Read Chris Wright's new book, The God I Don't Understand, before you read any of them.
I stumbled upon Outliers at a Sam's Club. I read it and enjoyed it. It is a fascinating look at success that will expand your understanding of how it is that some fail, some succeed, and some succeed beyond their wildest expectations. It was well worth the time and investment.
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