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1.63k reviews for:
David Y Goliat: Desvalidos, Inadaptados Y El Arte de Luchar Contra Gigantes / David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell
3.82 AVERAGE
1.63k reviews for:
David Y Goliat: Desvalidos, Inadaptados Y El Arte de Luchar Contra Gigantes / David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell
3.82 AVERAGE
I really enjoy Gladwell's writing style. It's accessible, informative, and engaging. However, there are points in this book where I understand the concepts but long examples are given as illustrations. This tends to happen toward the end of the book, and I feel like it drags. That being said, I enjoyed several of the stories and concepts presented in this book, such as the idea that traditional disadvantages can create traits that offer great advantages for underdogs. I'd recommend it for someone who enjoys history and would like to learn about inverted U-curves and how to overcome obstacles.
Malcolm Gladwell, journalist, best selling writer and TED speaker, takes the every day, the things in life we take for granted, the things we never question. He turns them up side down and inside out, looks at reasons why things happen, the bizarre phenomena of what goes on around us. He makes us think about stuff, all sorts of stuff. Much of his writings have not had good press or good reviews with researchers, academics: he misrepresents facts and figures, oversimplifying the research. But if you go into reading his books knowing that there are plenty of experts sceptical about what he writes, then you will probably enjoy them even more. In the times we live in where we are constantly being fed a diet of reality TV rubbish, political spin doctors, multinational spin doctors, the excitement of celebrity lives, we need to question the world around us. It is so refreshing to be able to read something that challenges the brain, and may even lead us to question further the society we live in. I have loved the author's other books - Outliers, The Tipping Point, What the Dog Saw, and Blink. Easy to read and digest, interesting topics, loads of research, wonderfully engaging writing style - what is there not to like?
This is Mr Gladwell's latest offering, and is as entertaining and interesting as his other books. Opening with the story we have all grown up with, David and Goliath, he turns the story and the reason for its outcome inside out with some great revelations as to why a tiny undernourished shepherd boy was able to knock down and kill a giant of a man, a professional soldier, with a stone fired from a sling shot. Another chapter looks at how it may well be better for your child to go to a school or university which is not in the top ten highest achievers/prestigious etc. Your child could well do much better being a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond. Or that sometimes the rule book does need to be thrown out with the bath water, that peaceful resistance can work. He writes about some successful business people who have not let learning disabilities they were born with hold them back. Instead these people had to find other ways, less conventional and even slightly alarming ways, to over ride their disabilities and achieve. Many of the people in his book are ordinary, average, people next door type of people. But they have all become extraordinary in their lives for being able to think outside the square and trusting their own gut intuition.
It is inspiring to know that, if we just think a little bit around the problem, rather than looking at head on, then the odds may well not be stacked against us as much as we initially thought.
This is Mr Gladwell's latest offering, and is as entertaining and interesting as his other books. Opening with the story we have all grown up with, David and Goliath, he turns the story and the reason for its outcome inside out with some great revelations as to why a tiny undernourished shepherd boy was able to knock down and kill a giant of a man, a professional soldier, with a stone fired from a sling shot. Another chapter looks at how it may well be better for your child to go to a school or university which is not in the top ten highest achievers/prestigious etc. Your child could well do much better being a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond. Or that sometimes the rule book does need to be thrown out with the bath water, that peaceful resistance can work. He writes about some successful business people who have not let learning disabilities they were born with hold them back. Instead these people had to find other ways, less conventional and even slightly alarming ways, to over ride their disabilities and achieve. Many of the people in his book are ordinary, average, people next door type of people. But they have all become extraordinary in their lives for being able to think outside the square and trusting their own gut intuition.
It is inspiring to know that, if we just think a little bit around the problem, rather than looking at head on, then the odds may well not be stacked against us as much as we initially thought.
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, War
I've loved all of Gladwell's previous books, and this one is no exception. Brilliant.
Honestly, while reading it made me feel smart and the anecdotes were fascinating, I don’t know that I walked away with it with anything besides “sometimes the underdog is desperate enough to do something crazy enough that works.”
I was wary of this one but really appreciated it. Power isn't what we think it is, which I knew already, but this helped me learn it better. A quick, interesting, ultimately edifying read.
Also, I wish I had read the chapter on the advantages of different kinds of schools, like, back in high school.
Also, I wish I had read the chapter on the advantages of different kinds of schools, like, back in high school.
Found this book very fascinating with different situations of the little guy coming up against a more powerful force. I also really enjoyed listening to Gladwell read it on the audiobook version.
At first it was inspiring and entertaining. Near the last third, it felt like the entire text had imploded into a collection of brittle soundbites and carefully picked cherries.