David and Goliath

By: Malcolm Gladwell

Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell

David and Goliath is the dazzling and provocative new book from Malcolm Gladwell, best-selling author of The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw.

Why do underdogs succeed so much more than we expect? How do the weak outsmart the strong? In David and Goliath Malcolm Gladwell takes us on a scintillating and surprising journey through the hidden dynamics that shape the balance of power between the small and the mighty. From the conflicts in Northern Ireland and Vietnam, through the tactics of civil rights leaders and the problem of privilege, Gladwell demonstrates how we misunderstand the true meaning of advantage and disadvantage.

When does a traumatic childhood work in someone's favour? How can a disability leave someone better off? And do you really want your child to go to the best school he or she can get into? David and Goliath draws on the stories of remarkable underdogs, history, science, psychology and on Malcolm Gladwell's unparalleled ability to make the connections others miss. It's a brilliant, illuminating book that overturns conventional thinking about power and advantage.

Author, journalist, cultural commentator, and intellectual adventurer, Malcolm Gladwell was born in 1963 in England to a Jamaican mother and an English mathematician father. He grew up in Canada and graduated with a degree in history from the University of Toronto in 1984. From 1987 to 1996, he was a reporter for The Washington Post, first as a science writer and then as New York City bureau chief. Since 1996, he has been a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine.

His curiosity and breadth of interests are shown in New Yorker articles ranging over a wide array of subjects including early childhood development and the flu, not to mention hair dye, shopping and what it takes to be cool. His first book, The Tipping Point, captured the world's attention with its theory that a curiously small change can have unforeseen effects, and the phrase has become part of our language, used by writers, politicians and business people everywhere to describe cultural trends and strange phenomena. His other international best-selling books are Blink, which explores how a snap judgment can be far more effective than a cautious decision, and What the Dog Saw, a collection of his most provocative and entertaining New Yorker pieces.

©2013 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2013 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

"A global phenomenon... there is, it seems, no subject over which he cannot scatter some magic dust." ( Observer)

Thank you Malcom

To all the Davids out there, GO! DARE!
I found the stories quite enlightening and while I have a few (maybe one or two) points of divergence, this book is definitely a resource.

There are Goliath in this world, in every sphere of life.... But every single one of them can be defeated. Including sicknesses such as Cancer!

great insight

A radical and new look at what can get accomplished if we do not get slotted into routine and cliché thinking that hardship creates the under dogs but can give you a sense that this hardship fuels your way out of this situation and meet tremendous success.

Clear the decks, this one will grab your attention

Did all 7 hours in one day.. couldnt stop listening.. and I'm not a book person, but im going to start trying to be. Great captive voice the writer has as well. All the small intertwined and captive stories, has you thinking non stop.

Brilliant book, very well narrated

Thoughtful and insightful… Another amazing book from Malcolm Gladwell! The stories are touching, the theme well thread throughout.

Narration was also brilliant!

Inspirational

Love the book, took no effort to finish it. Food for thought. Can certainly recommend it.