David and Goliath

Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

By: Malcolm Gladwell

Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell

Length: 7 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Winner, Nonfiction, 2014

Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell's dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives, from the best-selling author of The Bomber Mafia.

Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won.

Or should he have?

In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwellchallenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks.

Gladwell begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, David and Goliath examines Northern Ireland's Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms - all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity.

In the tradition of Gladwell's previous best-sellers - The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw - David and Goliath draws upon history, psychology, and powerful storytelling to reshape the way we think of the world around us.

©2013 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Not one of Gladwell’s best but worth a listen

Not one of Gladwell’s best but worth a listen .. some ideas are nice and help in a different sort of a realisation as a listener, as a thinker, as a person living in the complex modern society..

intriging

i had to keep listening.listening.it kept my attention. interesting perspective and useful to apply in life.

Amazing

GREAT Book. well read and well written. Anything by Gladwell is a page turner and extremely helpful

Moving

Loved this book and found it applicable to my own life in many ways. The author uses powerful examples and struck a chord with me that brought me to tears. I Will be highly recommending.

Amazing

It’s a must read . It’ll change your perspective on what’s an advantage and what’s not .

Perseverance

Never underestimate the power within you because of the giant that lies ahead. Motivational and Inspiring!!!

Great Book

Great book, clearly read. He is very intelligent and brings a new way of thinking to the stories and ideas he confronts. Very good read.

Poignant and Inspirational

The book starts a bit slow and there is a lot of repetition of themes in the earlier chapter that can make it a bit hard to get into. However, if you can stick it out, the story builds into one of the most inspirational books I have read in years.
The author does a great job blending the personal stories with hard data and facts to make a compelling story. As a person who has struggled with shame over their neurodivergence, this book reframed so many things I had considered weakness and made me feel like I had something worth contributing to the world too.
I loved the audiobook so much that I bought a copy for my father as well, who has dyslexia and struggled in school. I will never forget him calling me after listening to the chapter on Dyslexia and telling me how in his 50+ years, he had never heard of any other people, especially in successful roles, who had shared his experiences and difficulties in school.

I have never looked at it that way

I finished this book with a new prospective on a number of issues. Some things changed my mind, so reinforcing my current feelings and others are going to be some great conversation starters.

The storytelling stood out the most. Very engaging.

The storytelling stood out the most. Very engaging.Once you start it it’s very hard to stop. The characters were well chosen and thoroughly mischaracterized in history until Gladwell brought their true heroism to life.