Malcolm Gladwell is an author, speaker, and journalist, with several insightful books up his sleeve. He was born in Fareham, UK (not far from my uni), but grew up in Canada and went to Trinity College in Toronto.
Since 1996 he’s been a writer for The New Yorker and he’s written a total of five books, all of which ended up on the NY Times bestseller list. His books often depict unexpected implications and are all based on academic research, most often rooted in the social sciences, such as psychology, sociology and anthropology. As a marketer, his books are especially enjoyable, as it allows me to understand people in a different ways and enables me to become a better communicator and listener.
I decided to start reading his books after I fell in love with the Freakonomics series by Levitt and Dubner as I love the anecdoty-style of writing I find in these types of books. Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, has been dubbed one of the best book of the decade, with good reason. Blink, his second book discussed how rapid, instant decisions make sense and not. Both the books were international bestsellers and over 4.5 million copies have been sold combined.
If you like to feel insightful and read books that make you go “Huh, that’s interesting, I never would have thought” you should check out his books. They’re easy, quick reads, and though it’s non-fiction it never feels complex or draining. I love the smart thinking genre, it challenges the way I think and Gladwell’s books have an excellent way of making me see patterns that I would never see on my own.
BOOKS BY GLADWELL:
- The Tipping Point (2000)
- Blink (2005)
- Outliers (2008)
- What the Dog Saw: and Other Adventures (2009)
- David and Goliath (2013)
“It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It’s the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It’s the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And it’s the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call “accumulative advantage.”
For more information, visit his website
Have you read any of his books? What did you think?
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