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fbroom's review against another edition
4.0
While I don’t agree with everything in the book, the book is very well written and everyone would enjoy reading the stories in the book.
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Part one is about the advantages of the disadvantage of the disadvantages of the advantage. The underdog can win statistically one third of the time and yet everyone is surprised or shocked when an underdog wins. Examples: the story of David and Goliath and the story of the girls basketball team from Redwood City.
More is not always better. Examples stories were reducing the class size in schools and parenting.
Being a big fish in a little pond is better than being a small fish in a big pond. Examples: the story of Carolina Sacks who chose Brown over the University of Maryland (I would still choose Brown) and the story of the impressionists in Paris.
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Part two is about the theory of desirable difficulty through stories of people who have used their disability to their advantage. Examples: stories with people with dyslexia like Gary Cohn (power of dealing with potential failure) and David Boies (power of listening) to stories of people who have lost a parent at a young age like Emil Freireich (his painful childhood gave him his biggest advantage).
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Part three is about the limits of power, too much power and authority doesn’t necessarily mean less crime. Examples: stories of Mike Reynolds and Wilma Derksen.
—
Part one is about the advantages of the disadvantage of the disadvantages of the advantage. The underdog can win statistically one third of the time and yet everyone is surprised or shocked when an underdog wins. Examples: the story of David and Goliath and the story of the girls basketball team from Redwood City.
More is not always better. Examples stories were reducing the class size in schools and parenting.
Being a big fish in a little pond is better than being a small fish in a big pond. Examples: the story of Carolina Sacks who chose Brown over the University of Maryland (I would still choose Brown) and the story of the impressionists in Paris.
—
Part two is about the theory of desirable difficulty through stories of people who have used their disability to their advantage. Examples: stories with people with dyslexia like Gary Cohn (power of dealing with potential failure) and David Boies (power of listening) to stories of people who have lost a parent at a young age like Emil Freireich (his painful childhood gave him his biggest advantage).
—
Part three is about the limits of power, too much power and authority doesn’t necessarily mean less crime. Examples: stories of Mike Reynolds and Wilma Derksen.
jdgerlach's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
earthylove4's review against another edition
2.0
This was a hard one to get through, I am in a different place in my life and the way he presents his thoughts and research is very off putting. Wasn't the worst book, but felt mislead by the title I didn't leave with a feeling of empowerment. I just expected more draw in and more tips/tricks and even biblical references etc. Finished it but wouldn't read again.
chelseatm's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first Malcolm Gladwell book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. His writing is clear and accessible.
The whole book was about the idea of advantages, disadvantages, and how society views them. I found it most especially interesting as a teacher to be. They talked about how society views disobedience (specifically using a classroom example of unruly behaviour). Gladwell talked about how authority is often seen as a reaction to disobedience, such as punishment, discipline, needing to correct bad behaviour. However, in the study he references, disobedience can often be a reaction to authority. Is the authority (or teacher in this case) present in the environment. Is the teacher respecting, paying attention to, and teaching to all students? If not, then other students become disenggaged and act out.
The whole argument was compiled well and linked back so that all the information worked together well. It's a quick read but a good cranium thinker. Highly recommended.
The whole book was about the idea of advantages, disadvantages, and how society views them. I found it most especially interesting as a teacher to be. They talked about how society views disobedience (specifically using a classroom example of unruly behaviour). Gladwell talked about how authority is often seen as a reaction to disobedience, such as punishment, discipline, needing to correct bad behaviour. However, in the study he references, disobedience can often be a reaction to authority. Is the authority (or teacher in this case) present in the environment. Is the teacher respecting, paying attention to, and teaching to all students? If not, then other students become disenggaged and act out.
The whole argument was compiled well and linked back so that all the information worked together well. It's a quick read but a good cranium thinker. Highly recommended.
ceasarl's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the read. Gladwell's books are a joy to read. As one reviewer put it, yes he does cherry pick but at the end of the day, his books make you think and you learn something new along the way.
dphillips's review against another edition
4.0
This book felt a bit different from his other books that I've read. Less hard fact; more convincing hypothesis. Parts of the book were 5 star interesting to me while others were only 3 star. That's why it ended up with a 4 star rating from me.
ruth24's review against another edition
5.0
I am officially a big fan of [a:Malcolm Gladwell|1439|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1224601838p2/1439.jpg]. [b:David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants|15751404|David and Goliath Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391813567s/15751404.jpg|21445709] is very similar to [b:Outliers: The Story of Success|3228917|Outliers The Story of Success|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344266315s/3228917.jpg|3364437] in the way that Gladwell brilliantly argues his points with an array of case stories and statistics to back them up. I don't know whether I'd call his books psychology, sociology, economics or what, but whatever it is, it's exactly the kind of thing I'm interested in.
You can tell how passionate Gladwell is about these topics and how much of a nerd he is. (I mean that in the very best way possible!) His footnotes go off into all these different topics that he seems so excited about and that excitement is infectious. I can't wait to read [b:The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference|2612|The Tipping Point How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473396980s/2612.jpg|2124255], [b:Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|40102|Blink The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440763417s/40102.jpg|1180927], and [b:What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures|6516450|What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344263875s/6516450.jpg|6708278].
Highly recommend!
Oh, and I finally know who I'd invite to a hypothetical dinner party.
You can tell how passionate Gladwell is about these topics and how much of a nerd he is. (I mean that in the very best way possible!) His footnotes go off into all these different topics that he seems so excited about and that excitement is infectious. I can't wait to read [b:The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference|2612|The Tipping Point How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473396980s/2612.jpg|2124255], [b:Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|40102|Blink The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440763417s/40102.jpg|1180927], and [b:What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures|6516450|What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures|Malcolm Gladwell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344263875s/6516450.jpg|6708278].
Highly recommend!
Oh, and I finally know who I'd invite to a hypothetical dinner party.
skepticcurmudgeon's review against another edition
4.0
Some important lessons to consider when considering foreign policy or standing up for what's right. Inspiring!