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5.54k reviews for:
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don‰ЫЄt Know
Malcolm Gladwell
3.83 AVERAGE
5.54k reviews for:
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don‰ЫЄt Know
Malcolm Gladwell
3.83 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.5 stars. Not at all what I expected, but still an insightful, detailed look at the factors affecting the ways humans misunderstand and deceive each other. The conclusions aren’t groundbreaking, but there are some interesting anecdotes, if you manage to wade your way through unexpectedly gruesome content. It was impressive that they used audio from original sources whenever possible, making this more like a podcast experience, rather than an audiobook.
TW: sexual assault, torture, pedophilia/sexual abuse of minors, suicide, sometimes told through graphic, first-person accounts.
TW: sexual assault, torture, pedophilia/sexual abuse of minors, suicide, sometimes told through graphic, first-person accounts.
From the title, one could be forgiven for thinking that this is a book on how to talk to strangers. It's not. This is not surprising at all to anyone who has read Malcolm Gladwell.
In Talking to Strangers, he does a great job of outlining the biases inherent in our interactions with strangers. He does a great job of explaining how we tend to default to truth. Why doing so makes us more prone to misreading strangers, and why not doing so, believe it or not, makes us less human. He does something similar with transparency, explaining why human beings may not be as transparent as we think. Finally, he delves into the nuances of coupling with a special focus on crime.
In my opinion, coupling as discussed here does not tie well with the topic of talking to strangers. However, Gladwell does a great job of using this "theory" to bring the story of Sandra Bland full circle.
In Talking to Strangers, he does a great job of outlining the biases inherent in our interactions with strangers. He does a great job of explaining how we tend to default to truth. Why doing so makes us more prone to misreading strangers, and why not doing so, believe it or not, makes us less human. He does something similar with transparency, explaining why human beings may not be as transparent as we think. Finally, he delves into the nuances of coupling with a special focus on crime.
In my opinion, coupling as discussed here does not tie well with the topic of talking to strangers. However, Gladwell does a great job of using this "theory" to bring the story of Sandra Bland full circle.
informative
Got about 40% of the way through. Unlike most of his other books, the content was all very dark and disturbing compared to interesting aspects of humanity.
The audiobook, read by Gladwell, feels podcast-like with the inclusion of interviews and tapes. I felt this made the content that much more powerful at a time where these stories are as important as ever. Definitely recommend.
DNF.
I never write reviews, but dedicating an entire chapter of the book to what amounts to a "Maybe Jerry Sandusky was innocent / we shouldn't hold it against Joe Pa and the institution who protected him" argument is absolutely disgusting. Not sure I can read or listen to Gladwell again in the future.
I never write reviews, but dedicating an entire chapter of the book to what amounts to a "Maybe Jerry Sandusky was innocent / we shouldn't hold it against Joe Pa and the institution who protected him" argument is absolutely disgusting. Not sure I can read or listen to Gladwell again in the future.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
fast-paced