Outliers: The Story of Success | 
 enlarge | Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $27.99
Buy New: $13.99
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Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 7
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0316017922
Dewey Decimal Number: 302
EAN: 9780316017923
ASIN: 0316017922
Publication Date: November 18, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008: Now that he's gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky."
Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendents of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots' culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there's more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples--and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps--Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential. --Mari Malcolm
Product Description
In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.
Brilliant and entertaining, OUTLIERS is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 64 more reviews...
 also December 5, 2008
Richie Banks (Vancouver B.C)
I wrote a review a few hours ago, and I wanted to write another that approaches the complaints of people that disliked this book.
Many people have pointed out thing books like "emotional intelligence" that were published many years ago and over similar subjects. I agree, they do, but Gladwell covers them in a far more interesting and memorable way. Also I think Gladwell's coining a new term "practical intelligence" isn't a way of hiding his inspirations. Practical intelligence is a term that is immediately can get the gist of. Practical intelligence is knowledge that can be used to do something. Whereas "emotional intelligence" sounds like a contradiction in terms.
I found that when I read Gladwell's books I began to like him on a personal level. And I actually felt an immense urge to hurl insults at the naysayers on here. 90 percent of the readers on here rate him highly though so odds are you will too.
Entertaining. December 5, 2008
Jane Stevens
If you try to look at this stuff as science then you'll be unhappy, so don't look at it that way and you'll love it. It's fun, it's interesting, it keeps your attention, and mostly it's entertaining. Even if it upsets you occasionally, it's still not boring. One of the big topics is, emotional intelligence. He covers this already well documented topic the way you would expect him to, and makes it entertaining as usual, that's really all I needed to say.
Jane Stevens
Tao Cycle Therapy: Natural Happiness via Self Directed Cure for Chronic Anxiety & Depression [Updated 2008 3nd Edition]
Success is a Gift December 5, 2008
SamIAm (Southern U.S.)
Fascinating, and not at all what I expected. Should give many successful people pause.
The take-home is on page 267, "It is not the brightest who succeed. ... Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift."
The book's interesting stories, backed up with lots of data, lead you to this conclusion, before the author even has to make it.
An Eye-popping Page Turner December 5, 2008
Martin J. Keenan (Great Bend, KS USA)
Malcolm Gladwell has done it again. This book is incredibly fascinating.
It's like Malcolm Gladwell has X-ray vision and can see things about life that no one else sees. But when you read it, you say to yourself: "This is so true. Why didn't I figure this out earlier?"
Name any field in which certain people stand out "head and shoulders" above the rest. Gladwell explodes the myth of the self-made man or woman, and explains that hidden advantages and just plain luck
play a big role in some people being really successful. No one succeeds alone.
The person or group must work hard, and have a certain baseline of talent, but the term "lucky break" takes on a new meaning after reading this book. Would anyone other than Gladwell suggest that the Beatles were lucky and not just talented?
This is a great read---like eating a stack of candy bars or watching a great movie.
I once heard Garth Brooks say: "I know there are people walking the streets of Nashville who can sing better than me," but I never understood what he meant until now. Some people make it, some don't.
One thing is for sure: only hard work puts you in a position to benefit from good fortune.
Materfully Interesting & Thought-Provoking December 4, 2008
Sarah Shikitao-Brown (The Back Porch of My Cabin)
This of course, was the third time I've read a Gladwell book that set my mind to pondering. It rarely matters whether you agree with the things he says, but that his incredibly interesting ideas force you to consider their plausibility. I will state for the record, I was absolutely Not a fan of the Asian indictment (Look at my maiden-name/picture). However, I didn't find it offensive, but instead found it to be a typical issue with his ideas. They're often incredibly provocative, but rarely convincingly substantiated.
Having said that however, that's the big reason we love his ideas, he's suggesting possibilities. Whether he presents them that simply is another matter, but the result is the same either way. If we didn't have people offering up new possibilities, we'd all be bored out of our minds, not to mention, eating raw meat on the savanna.
Once again an exceptional piece of insightful musings by Mr. Gladwell.
-Sarah Shikitao-Brown,
Tao Cycle Therapy: Natural Happiness via Self Directed Cure for Chronic Anxiety & Depression [Updated 2008 3nd Edition]
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