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A review by iawoenam
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell
4.0
Talking to Strangers was not the book I thought would be. I was expecting an Adam Grant or James Clear type of self-help book about why we must talk to strangers and how to do so. Instead, Malcolm Gladwell constructs a lesson about a fundamental aspect of our lives through an example where it all goes wrong -- Sandra Bland's interaction with the police. Her death was so much more than just the specific incident but everything that created the condition for the incident and the aftermath of those events leading to her death.
With books like these, you can always argue that the examples used to illustrate its points are cherry-picked; however, this doesn't reduce its legitimacy because there are several other examples similar to the ones that Gladwell uses.
One critique about the examples, though, is that they sometimes felt unrelatable. For example, the early part of the book focused on espionage and deception from people we wouldn't expect. While it conveyed his message, I felt like I didn't know enough about the topic o understand the extent of its seriousness.
One point that really resonated with me is this idea of mismatches. This is the disconnect between the way a person acts, feels and how we perceive them. I think my takeaway is not to judge someone, especially strangers, based along on their actions. Instead, it's important to get to know people (context matters). This is harder than it seems because we have gut reactions that we trust, but it's important to acknowledge that other people's lived experiences can be different. If you want to talk about this, let me know!
With books like these, you can always argue that the examples used to illustrate its points are cherry-picked; however, this doesn't reduce its legitimacy because there are several other examples similar to the ones that Gladwell uses.
One critique about the examples, though, is that they sometimes felt unrelatable. For example, the early part of the book focused on espionage and deception from people we wouldn't expect. While it conveyed his message, I felt like I didn't know enough about the topic o understand the extent of its seriousness.
One point that really resonated with me is this idea of mismatches. This is the disconnect between the way a person acts, feels and how we perceive them. I think my takeaway is not to judge someone, especially strangers, based along on their actions. Instead, it's important to get to know people (context matters). This is harder than it seems because we have gut reactions that we trust, but it's important to acknowledge that other people's lived experiences can be different. If you want to talk about this, let me know!