Outliers: The Story of Success

Outliers: The Story of Success By Malcolm Gladwell

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.

Reviews

Outliers was the first Gladwell book I had read, and the first half seemed to open doors that had previously been nonexistent to me. He has an uncommon talent to find trends or developments that are mindblowing and yet logical, and backs up these theses with seemingly good data. (It's always good to keep in mind that any smart person can misconstrue said data as well.)

The second half . . . not so much. Where Gladwell seems to lose his way is his explanation of how airplane crashes are in part cultural, focusing mainly on Korean Air and in particular the exchanges between the pilot and the air controllers. While I don't dispute his interpretation of why these accidents occurred, his explanation that the Korean culture of respecting authority is facile. Japan jumps to mind as a similar society where speaking up, particularly against a superior, is frowned upon, and Gladwell never mentions its safety record. It appears as though he's attempting to make more and more outlandish statements to outshine his earlier arguments, but the foundations are shaky. The last chapter, while very personal to him, lacks some of the zip and originality of his earlier chapters.

I understand that Gladwell sets forth provocative theories for effect, so the fact they're susceptible to criticism or are simply wrong is not surprising. The mere fact that he makes the reader think, and question all that is around him or her, is good enough.