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Outliers  By  cover art

Outliers

By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
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Publisher's summary

From the best-selling author of The Bomber Mafia, learn what sets high achievers apart - from Bill Gates to the Beatles - in this seminal work from "a singular talent" (New York Times Book Review).

In this stunning audiobook, 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.

©2008 Malcom Gladwell (P)2008 Hachette Audio

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What listeners say about Outliers

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspiring.

Such original thinking, so many interesting new ideas. An inspiring work, one that really altered my view of accomplishment. And while I rarely think the author is the best reader, Gladwell is super. Don't miss the interview at the end.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Must read

This book will add new perspective to your life. It will let you see things from a new side.

This book simply analyze the common factors among the successful people.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating!

This was my first Malcolm Gladwell book and I cannot wait to listen to the next. Love that it is narrated by Gladwell himself, he has a wonderful voice and intonations are perfect and authentic (obviously, since he wrote it!)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Good

Very Easy Listen With Eye Opening Information About Outliers

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • 03-01-17

Relatable and Interesting

I enjoyed this book. The author's cadence is perfect. He ties his pointed neatly together and it's very easy to follow. I love his references to diversity and how interconnected we are. Listening to him felt like we were having a beautiful conversation with interesting stories. I ended up ordering his other books and I'm going through them one at a time.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good book

Very interesting book with nice insights that were well documented and researched. also nice and clear to listen to

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Always good

This guy is one of the best writers out there. I have read all of his books and I always learn something. Get this book!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This book opened my eyes.

I stumbled upon this book while taking an engineering course. The class was called Statics, it deals with forces and how they affect bodies while at rest. The class was going horribly. Me among many others were failing. The reason I was failing is because I took the approach I took with other classes that were much easier. Minimal input and expect maximum output.

The professor knew that this was the reason for the low grades and amidst the complains from students, as we went over test results, the professor wrote on the board the title and author of this book. Along with the concept of the 10, 000 hours rule. I ended up passing the class by hiring a tutor to help me, but for some reason the title of the book stuck in my head. Then through a podcast called 'freakonomics' I heard the book again and decided to give it a try. The best decision of my life, not joking!

I also recommend that if reading this book, you also read the book on which the 10,000 hour rule was based. "Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise" , by K. Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. I think that combined these two books can give a full understanding of what it takes to become an expert or succeed in your career.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great observational connections

I thoroughly enjoyed the connections and insight. However I did feel at moments some observations were "a stretch"

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A Unique View of Success

This book has a different perspective on what makes people successful. It's not just rugged individulalism that determines greatness. A lot of other factors need to be there - opportunity, location, timing and even a little luck. There are some points that I don't agree with. But, as always Gladwell gets you to really look at things differently. If you study success and the successful you will want to add this book to your list. If you get the audio book as I did, make sure you listed to the interview at the end.

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