Audiobook Review: *Outliers* by Malcolm Gladwell

Back-of-the-box blurb:  In [Outliers], 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.

She is Too Fond of (audio)Books’ review: In Outliers, Malcom Gladwell examines social phenomena as only he can.  Whether it’s trends (why some take off, and others falter) in The Tipping Point, the power of instant analysis in Blink, or success (or lack there of) in Outliers, this man is a great storyteller!  His case studies are always interesting and entertaining.  I enjoyed The Tipping Point (more so than Blink), and found a lot of “cocktail party nuggets” in Outliers.  That is, bits and pieces that are fun, easy-to-remember factoids which can be shared in a social context.

In fact, just last night I was at a hockey game had a conversation with another spectator about Gladwell’s take on the success of certain Canadian hockey players.  It turns out that a disproportionate number of the pros have birthdays that occur in the first quarter of the year.  Back when they were kids, they just “missed” the birthday cut off for beginner leagues.  This, in turn, put them at the top of their age group (and likely larger size and more skilled coordination) back when they were playing PeeWee hockey in elementary school.  This advantage got them noticed, and pulled into a more elite group of players, with more coaching and practice time; the cycle continued.

Want to learn more?  As well as nuggets about the Beatles, Bill Gates, Asian math students, and the relationship between plane crashes and cultural background of the pilots?  I’d recommend Outliers to you in either book or audio format.  I particularly enjoyed the audio as it is read by the author himself.  Gladwell has a distinct voice, and he changes his tone and gives emphasis to points he considers most intriguing.

There’s a great interiew with Malcolm Gladwell on his website, where you can also read about his other work.  And here’s a video interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN, in which Gladwell introduces the concepts in Outliers, and debunks the idea of the “self-made man.”