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5.53k reviews for:
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don‰ЫЄt Know
Malcolm Gladwell
3.83 AVERAGE
5.53k reviews for:
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don‰ЫЄt Know
Malcolm Gladwell
3.83 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Warning: this book is HEAVY. It references high profile sexual abuse cases, rape, suicide, police violence and murder, and torture. Only read (or listen) when in the right headspace.
This book NEEDS to be listened to. I first admired Malcolm Gladwell’s narration and writings in his podcast, Revisionist History. In his audiobook, he creates an immerse experience with audio clips from interviews and first-hand accounts, all interspersed with Janelle Monet’s song “Say Her Name.” I can’t recommend the audiobook enough; it was all I wanted to hear in my spare time.
Talking to Strangers tries to explain Sandra Bland’s case, the psychology and circumstances of that appalling and calculated encounter with Trooper Encina. I think Gladwell does a good job in intertwining psychology with real life examples. It’s a good read, an even better listen, and makes you think about how we have come to develop psychological tools that ultimately benefit us as a species but, in certain situations, can also harm us. I knocked one star off because in an attempt to explain the individuals’ psychology in the examples he cites, Gladwell glides over the, what I think he would argue reductionist, but necessary context of racism, sexism, and US imprrialism. Nevertheless, the audiobook is definitely worth a listen.
This book NEEDS to be listened to. I first admired Malcolm Gladwell’s narration and writings in his podcast, Revisionist History. In his audiobook, he creates an immerse experience with audio clips from interviews and first-hand accounts, all interspersed with Janelle Monet’s song “Say Her Name.” I can’t recommend the audiobook enough; it was all I wanted to hear in my spare time.
Talking to Strangers tries to explain Sandra Bland’s case, the psychology and circumstances of that appalling and calculated encounter with Trooper Encina. I think Gladwell does a good job in intertwining psychology with real life examples. It’s a good read, an even better listen, and makes you think about how we have come to develop psychological tools that ultimately benefit us as a species but, in certain situations, can also harm us. I knocked one star off because in an attempt to explain the individuals’ psychology in the examples he cites, Gladwell glides over the, what I think he would argue reductionist, but necessary context of racism, sexism, and US imprrialism. Nevertheless, the audiobook is definitely worth a listen.
While the stories and examples were compelling, I felt the overall summary of his points, or advice on how to get around our flawed dealings with strangers could’ve used more narrative.
Very interesting but not Malcolm's best book. Quite long for the one point, he covers.
I’m balancing between 4 and 5 stars. Am I removing a star because so much of the book is so uncomfortable to read? That’s not fair. Or am I removing a star because there were just one too many unnecessary details that distracted from the incredibly important implications of his 3 points?
I love how this book (and his others) has a very clear and direct thesis statements - his English teachers would be proud. It is immensely helpful, particularly when you get into the weeds of some chapters and feel lost. It was almost like he’d given me a PostIt note for my brain: I have 3 points, remember which one we’re on.
To summarize, poorly:
1) we default to believe people to be truthful (and that’s ok usually)
2) we struggle with mismatched people - their expressions and behaviors often don’t mean what “the majority” assume
3) “where” matters as much if not more than who or what
There were several times in the book that I wasn’t sure I liked where he was going. Was he really letting this guy off the hook? Was he really going to ignore race, inequality of the sexes, he’s leaving out context etc. But give the man some room to his make point and I at least felt he circled back around to satisfying, at least academically if not emotionally, conclusion.
I honestly hope someone writes up a 3-scroll-screen summary of the book because too many people won’t get through the muddy messy details yet would still really benefit from the overarching information.
In particular the sections on how cultures relate to alcohol and drunkness and the section on suicide prevention based on the elimination of specific methods should be read by every teen, every college student. And anyone who who thinks/worries “why ban ___; if they want to commit a crime/kill themselves, they’ll find a way” really must read Part Five, Chapter 10. Its both sobering and yet ultimately hopeful.
Oh right and TRIGGERS. Seriously: rape, pedophelia, torture, abuse, suicide, police violence. While he brings up the stuff we’ve heard about in the news (and much that we haven’t) there are depositions and DETAILS. While I don’t think we should shy away from difficult topics, I do wish, again, there was a slightly less explicit version that could still communicate the principles of his 3 points. Because they’re very important points about how we humans interact that bust up a lot of assumptions and myths we’ve all been taught our entire lives.
I love how this book (and his others) has a very clear and direct thesis statements - his English teachers would be proud. It is immensely helpful, particularly when you get into the weeds of some chapters and feel lost. It was almost like he’d given me a PostIt note for my brain: I have 3 points, remember which one we’re on.
To summarize, poorly:
1) we default to believe people to be truthful (and that’s ok usually)
2) we struggle with mismatched people - their expressions and behaviors often don’t mean what “the majority” assume
3) “where” matters as much if not more than who or what
There were several times in the book that I wasn’t sure I liked where he was going. Was he really letting this guy off the hook? Was he really going to ignore race, inequality of the sexes, he’s leaving out context etc. But give the man some room to his make point and I at least felt he circled back around to satisfying, at least academically if not emotionally, conclusion.
I honestly hope someone writes up a 3-scroll-screen summary of the book because too many people won’t get through the muddy messy details yet would still really benefit from the overarching information.
In particular the sections on how cultures relate to alcohol and drunkness and the section on suicide prevention based on the elimination of specific methods should be read by every teen, every college student. And anyone who who thinks/worries “why ban ___; if they want to commit a crime/kill themselves, they’ll find a way” really must read Part Five, Chapter 10. Its both sobering and yet ultimately hopeful.
Oh right and TRIGGERS. Seriously: rape, pedophelia, torture, abuse, suicide, police violence. While he brings up the stuff we’ve heard about in the news (and much that we haven’t) there are depositions and DETAILS. While I don’t think we should shy away from difficult topics, I do wish, again, there was a slightly less explicit version that could still communicate the principles of his 3 points. Because they’re very important points about how we humans interact that bust up a lot of assumptions and myths we’ve all been taught our entire lives.
This book seemed very similar to Blink. In that book, Gladwell talked about people's snap judgements (and how they could be prone to error). In this one, Gladwell talks about the problem of how people's biases mess up things that should appear obvious and can be severely missed. Many examples are given but like Blink, the presentation is not balanced and no counter examples are presented. Nonetheless, it is an interesting read and is connected to a lot of the problems seen when routine traffic stops end badly, especially for BIPOC individuals.
Perhaps not in the right mind-set for this one, as I found it depressing and some of the examples quite disturbing. But , with the Coronavirus lock-down, my anxiety is high, so context wasn’t the best for this read.
I enjoyed the subject matter of Gladwell’s previous books much better. And this one felt a little held together with twine. Still a pretty quick read with some interesting observations.
I enjoyed the subject matter of Gladwell’s previous books much better. And this one felt a little held together with twine. Still a pretty quick read with some interesting observations.
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced