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Outliers: The Story of Success [Paperback]

Malcolm Gladwell
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (187 customer reviews)
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Book Description

24 Jun 2009

From the bestselling author of Blink and The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success overturns conventional wisdom about genius to show us what makes an ordinary person an extreme overachiever.

Why do some people achieve so much more than others? Can they lie so far out of the ordinary?

In this provocative and inspiring book, Malcolm Gladwell looks at everyone from rock stars to professional athletes, software billionaires to scientific geniuses, to show that the story of success is far more surprising, and far more fascinating, than we could ever have imagined.

He reveals that it's as much about where we're from and what we do, as who we are - and that no one, not even a genius, ever makes it alone.

Outliers will change the way you think about your own life story, and about what makes us all unique.

'Gladwell is not only a brilliant storyteller; he can see what those stories tell us, the lessons they contain'
  Guardian

'Malcolm Gladwell is a global phenomenon ... he has a genius for making everything he writes seem like an impossible adventure'
  Observer

'He is the best kind of writer - the kind who makes you feel like you're a genius, rather than he's a genius'
  The Times

Author, journalist, cultural commentator and intellectual adventurer, Malcolm Gladwell is a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine. His first book The Tipping Point captured the world's attention with its theory that a curiously small change can have unforeseen effects. His other international bestselling books are Outliers, which looks at the stories of exceptional individuals and reveals the secrets of their success, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and What The Dog Saw, a collection of his most provocative and entertaining New Yorker pieces.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; Re-issue edition (24 Jun 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141036257
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141036250
  • Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (187 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

You will never again think as you did before about [success] ... This book deserves the gold star that adorns its front cover (The Times)

Malcolm Gladwell is a cerebral and jaunty writer, with an unusual gift for making the complex seem simple (Observer)

Makes geniuses look a bit less special, and the rest of us a bit more so (Time)

Gladwell deploys a wealth of fascinating data and information to illustrate his thesis ... Outliers challenges accepted wisdom (FT)

Review

'Gladwell deploys a wealth of fascinating data and information to illustrate his thesis ... Outliers challenges accepted wisdom.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 48 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Read 28 Dec 2008
By NeilC VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
I'm a fan of Malcolm Gladwell having read his previous Blink and The Tipping Point. All his books are about interesting topics and are told in a way that keeps the reader engaged. Similarly to the other books the criticism can always be made that he makes about 4-5 valid points and stretches them out to a full book but when the writing is engaging and takes you on a journey it doesn't really matter.

The book itself takes you through what drives success. Arguing that it's a combination of intelligence (both IQ and emotional intelligence), luck (opportunties and timing), cultural context and hard work (the much-reported 10,000 hours). All this could be argued to be fairly obvious but through the examples and anecdotes Gladwell dispelled many myths at the same time as entertaining.

All-in-all a good read.
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51 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Malcolm Gladwell, I learned from his website, is a writer for the New Yorker. His website has an archive of his New Yorker articles.

I found "Outliers" an interesting read, starting off with the theme that successful people happen to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right talent, the right motivation and the right accumulation of experience already under their belt. From then the book jumps around, each chapter having an interesting theme but without much connection with the other chapters. The last chapter recounts how Malcolm Gladwell's mother, born and raised in Jamaica, eventually came to live in a beautiful house on a hill in the Canadian countryside.

I got the feeling I was reading a succession of "New Yorker" articles, each one interesting but slightly superficial - and with no common theme being built up.

Overall, I was disappointed and felt that the book had been oversold. The back cover says:

"This book will change the way you think about your life. And it will challenge you to make the most of your own potential".

In my view, that is simply overselling the book. It provided a pleasant read, whiling away a couple of evenings, but no more than that.
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420 of 477 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Outlandish 17 Dec 2008
Format:Hardcover
A criticism common to both Malcolm Gladwell's previous books, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, was that while they were packed with interesting, well told, anecdotes there was no consistent underlying theme to the stories; no particular lesson to be drawn. For example, of the many anecdotes recounted about "thin slicing" some (such as an art expert's ability to instantly assess the bona fides of a statue) suggested it was a special and important skill while others (an impulsive police decision to pursue and shoot dead a innocent bystander) suggested quite the opposite. You were left with the impression that, well, there are these things called snap judgements, and sometimes they work out, and sometimes they don't.

Clearly Malcolm Gladwell has taken those reservations to heart: in Outliers he has been scrupulous to sketch out an integrated underlying thesis and then (for the most part) array his anecdotes - which, as usual, are interesting enough - in support of it.

Unfortunately for him, the theory is a lemon. Nonetheless, the flyleaf is hubristic (and unimaginative) enough to claim "This book really will change the way you think about your life". It's not done that for me, but it has changed the way I think about Malcolm Gladwell's writing. And not for the better.

Gladwell has looked at some psychological research into success and genius and has concluded that, contrary to conventional wisdom, success isn't to be explained by raw talent.
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33 of 38 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Very pretty. But, can it fight? 7 Jan 2011
Format:Paperback
Perhaps the main problem with the book is its use of the word 'outliers' to refer to exceptional people, individuals who achieve so much more than others. It should instead refer to the exceptional circumstances that allowed them their meteoric rise to success. These factors - such as year and era of birth, family background, race and place of education - contain the quirks of fate that allow the merely talented to achieve the successes that lie so far outside the norm. This is Gladwell's major thesis.

Gladwell's target is the traditional American story of success: rugged individuals, by dint of hard work and raw talent - perspiration and inspiration - achieve those magnificent success levels that elude others. Instead, Gladwell wants to show the place of circumstances and situation in this story. He wants to give success a context beyond that of one man and his willpower. Fair enough.

In order to do this, Gladwell tells some stories of his own. Lots of them, in fact. The book is one, big collection of counter-cultural stories about the nature of specifically American success. By 'counter-cultural' I mean contrary to the 'rugged individual' myth described above. This story-method is Gladwell's greatest strength or weakness, depending of what you're looking for. Me, I wanted to read something fascinating, provocative, and launch-pad like. That's exactly what I got.

Most of Gladwell's detractors find his method of extreme induction - "Here's one case so that means there's a pattern" - infuriating. I find in fun. When I read a Gladwell book, I'm not on the lookout for rigorous sampling methods or objective self-criticism. Let's leave that to university textbooks, can't we? Gladwell does pop journalism with ideas and trends.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A one sentence book review of Outliners
Different from the usual self-improvement book, giving numerous worked examples, statistics and methods to how success can be achieved - there is certainly advice I have taken from... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Adam
5.0 out of 5 stars I should have read this years ago
Well written and the bulk of the points are worth considering. I should have read this book when I was was starting out on a career
Published 16 days ago by Mr. R. M. Langford
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read if a bit prosaic
Outliers is certainly an enjoyable read that does entertain but at the end of the day the argument Gladwell puts forward is a bit on the prosaic side and is made a bit redundant at... Read more
Published 22 days ago by DarraghD
5.0 out of 5 stars Book you really need to read if you are interested in being successful
For non fiction this a great read. The facts he gives give a lot of food for thought especially with regards to whether or not a high IQ guarantees success or do other factors... Read more
Published 28 days ago by Lily Proudfoot
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a very well written and interesting read.
Gladwell has a very accessible writing style and these theories are presented in a very interesting and thought-provoking way. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ms. Carolyn Hughes
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended
This is a great book, it is really interesting and offers an insight into the circumstances that help people in becoming successful. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Laura Mc Carthy
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
Fantastic, insightful and well researched, read it in one sitting while supposed to be revising for A levels. Absolutely captivating.
Published 1 month ago by J y
4.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff
Great food for thought. This book has inspired me. It was recommended by two friends who are CEOs and who use some of the book's knowledge in their daily lives.
Published 2 months ago by J. Pedro D. Santos
5.0 out of 5 stars A unique explanation for why some do and some don't.
Gladwell finally explains what I had suspicioned without the tools to understand just why it is that there have been clumps of people that have been to successful within an era. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dan Kersten
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, interesting and entertaing
Very good read; interesting, entertaining, full of well-written stories and facts. It never shies away from the reality that application and talent are crucial to success but it... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Suke
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