What the Dog Saw

And Other Adventures

By: Malcolm Gladwell

Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

The best-selling author of The Bomber Mafia focuses on "minor geniuses" and idiosyncratic behavior to illuminate the ways all of us organize experience in this "delightful" (Bloomberg News) collection of writings from The New Yorker.

What is the difference between choking and panicking? Why are there dozens of varieties of mustard-but only one variety of ketchup? What do football players teach us about how to hire teachers? What does hair dye tell us about the history of the 20th century?

In the past decade, Malcolm Gladwell has written three books that have radically changed how we understand our world and ourselves: The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers. Now, in What the Dog Saw, he brings together, for the first time, the best of his writing from The New Yorker over the same period.

Here is the bittersweet tale of the inventor of the birth control pill, and the dazzling inventions of the pasta sauce pioneer Howard Moscowitz. Gladwell sits with Ron Popeil, the king of the American kitchen, as he sells rotisserie ovens, and divines the secrets of Cesar Millan, the "dog whisperer" who can calm savage animals with the touch of his hand. He explores intelligence tests and ethnic profiling and "hindsight bias" and why it was that everyone in Silicon Valley once tripped over themselves to hire the same college graduate.

"Good writing", Gladwell says in his preface, "does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, to give you a glimpse into someone else's head". What the Dog Saw is yet another example of the buoyant spirit and unflagging curiosity that have made Malcolm Gladwell our most brilliant investigator of the hidden extraordinary.

©2009 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2009 Hachette Audio

Some parts were a little slow,

but other parts were very worthwhile.

Malcolm has written some wonderful sociology/psychology books. My favorites are: David and Goliath, Blink, and Outliers. I suggest reading those first. Then if you’re in the mood for more, go for The Tipping Point and this book. Not everything he says is irrefutable fact. Some of his information is anecdotal. But he raises good questions. I think what he says is true, even though opposite or different views may be true. This book is a collection of articles he wrote for the New Yorker magazine in 1996 and later. I like having them together as an audiobook.

Some of the topics are:
Ron Popeil’s products and salesmanship
Heinz catsup runs through all five taste senses: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami - and can’t be beat
Hair dye
Birth control pills - the biggest mistake was using a 28-day cycle
Copying and plagiarizing
The dog whisperer
The Enron culture
The homeless
Car emissions testing
Mammographies
Genius creators in their 20s vs those blooming later in life
Drafting football quarterbacks
Effective teachers
Profiling serial killers
Pit bulls

NARRATOR:
The author narrated this book. His manner and voice were good.

Genre: psychology and sociology nonfiction

a little long

I've read all 3 of Gladwell's prior books and was excited to purchase this one. Its similar to his other books although it gets tedious at points. I've found myself skipping to the next chapter out of boredom with some of the essays. His reading is a little slow and the weird music that suddenly interrupts chapters is distracting. Some chapters/subjects are more interesting than others. All in all an interesting listen, but I'm ready to be done with it.

Love Malcolm Gladwell and all of his books.

This one is particularly interesting and thought provoking. It makes you curious about the story behind other trends and items.

Amazing collection

I admit that was unfamiliar with Malcolm Gladwell before hearing about this book. Since downloading it, I've listened to it 3-4 times. One reason is that each chapter is a story in itself. I can clean the kitchen or take my dog for a walk and complete a story without stopping the narrative (plus I catch something new each time I listen). But the genius of Gladwell is his way of making the ordinary or mundane completely fascinating. I never would have imagined I would be amazed by the story of ketchup, but I was. He is brilliant at taking seemingly straight forward issues like the Challenger disaster or Enron or pit bulls and making one think differently. That is where it is genius. It makes one think. I certainly never would have thought the story of Ron Popeil or the history of women's hair dye would be interesting. Instead, I found these stories utterly fascinating.

Malcolm never disappoints

although this was not my favorite Malcolm gladwell's book, it is certainly good writing and good storytelling. I would recommend this book to anyone just as I would any other of his books.

Another Gladwell Great

I love everything that Malcolm Gladwell writes and love that he reads his own books. His voice is soothing but at the same time commanding. I had already read a few of the essays in the book but enjoyed listening to them again. His writings always make me take a step back and look at life from a different vantage point.

Gladwell as awesome as ever!

Unlike the other Gladwell books I have read, this is not a single coherent topic but a collection of his essays. They were a delight. I tend to gush 'Gladwell Factoids' at anyone who will listen, after reading one of his books, and this book gave me plenty of new data to light up my mind. Topics range from crime to art history to dog trainig to job interviews to breast cancer to boardwalk pitchmen and their inventions and beyond. If you've never read him, but are a person intrigued by a search for deeper truths beneath the surface of 'what everyone THINKS', this book is for you. I cannot recommend him more highly.

The performance was also very well done. Gladwell reads his own audiobooks, generally, and he is good at it. His reading style suits his information. On the page, he strikes me as the ultimate super-curious information geek, and his reading voice strikes that note perfectly. This was a joy, one which I expect to listen to repeatedly in years to come. Bravo!

Great Book

Everyone should read as well as listen to Malcolm's books . He is a amazing author this is my fourth book of his .

Thought provoking as always

Surpassed expectation. The dog whisperer chapter was great. Malcolm is remarkable. I feel like I know the guy. Will definitely purchase his next book. Both in audible and print.

Excellent book!!

I really enjoyed so much that I will buy the paper book in Spanish this time.