• David and Goliath

  • Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
  • By: Malcolm Gladwell
  • Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
  • Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (24,216 ratings)

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David and Goliath

By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
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Editorial reviews

Editors Select, October 2013 - Get ready to have your view of the world turned upside down. Malcolm Gladwell - best-selling author of Blink, The Tipping Point, and Outliers - returns to present new ways of looking at why being among the advantaged is not always advantageous. David & Goliath explores the \"art of battling giants\" through the personal accounts of underdogs and misfits whose wild success stories are often falsely considered flukes. This is not a sentimental celebration of good things happening to good people. In true Gladwellian fashion, the real reasons behind so many pull-from-behind wins are completely unexpected. And if you've ever heard any of the author's many speaking engagements you know to expect a lively listening experience with Gladwell narrating the book himself. (Tricia, Audible Editor)

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

What listeners say about David and Goliath

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible.

An amazingly nuanced breakdown of how society misunderstands the concepts of strength, struggle and disadvantage.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Not Gladwell’s best book

I’m a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell and have seriously enjoyed most of his other books (Bomber Mafia, Talking, Blink, Outliers, Tipping Point). This book is just not that good. I got bored and stopped listening. I guess everyone gets a dud at some point.

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5 stars

Always Amazing
Malcolm never misses.
So glad to have had to pleasure to read this phenomenal piece.

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Malcom Gladwell, my hero

He does it again folks. Malcolm blows my mind with his radical takes on issues you think you would know the answer to, but you don’t know the start of it. 10/10 would recommend.

PS. had the privilege of being in one of his revisionist history episodes last week and he is the same in person as he is on his recorded stuff - curious, engaging, and on fire. My idol.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Lies Lies Lies

Statistical nonsense and cherry-picking of data, in order to manipulate an political outcome. I loved the stories that Malcolm told us, until I looked at the statistics. Check it out for yourself. He just lies.

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Must read

One of the best books I’ve read this past year. An interesting take on how perceived disadvantages become the main ingredient for success. I loved how each chapter focused on a different story and lesson.

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Great Listen

such a good listen and info to encourage you. I love the story of David and Goliath from the Bible, this author has done a wonderful job.

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Good but not great

It's a good book in which I learned a lot of facts. I read Outliers first which to me is a book based on data and lots of it to support the different examples given to support the theme. This book is still the single concept but with single isolated examples that point back to the theme. Still good just different approach. I prefer Outliers over David and Goliath. Still worth the read.

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Gladwell Always Looses Me

I read The Tipping Point for a BS college class years ago, and I remember liking it, but maybe just because it was better than a textbook? Since then, I've also read Blink, and now this, and I think I just don't care for Gladwell. For me, is endless anecdotes meander far from the point and by the last few chapters, he's totally lost me. Are they interesting? Yes. Do they add anything to the point he's trying to make? Not really. The point of David and Goliath is that we all have different strengths, I think. Most mothers could tell you that. I don't think I needed it from Malcolm Gladwell.

4.5/5

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Loved it!

I'm a huge Malcom Gladwell fan. This was as great as everything else I've read and listened to from him. Amazing. *clap clap clap

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