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David and Goliath  By  cover art

David and Goliath

By: Malcolm Gladwell
Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
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Editorial reviews

Best-selling author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell has written and narrated a compelling examination of power in his new-release audiobook David and Goliath. Using the classic biblical tale as an example, Gladwell highlights the reasons why it is possible for the small, feeble and unlikely people in the world to take on and quite often win against far bigger, stronger opponents. See the age-old struggle of power broken down to its core and understand far more as to why and how people succeed against all the odds. Available now from Audible.

Publisher's summary

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)

What listeners say about David and Goliath

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Gladwell loses his way, and I my respect for him

Malcolm Gladwell has been believing his own press for way too long. When he started out with The Tipping Point in 2000, he had a knack for making interesting observations that went against the grain of common knowledge. Each thesis he presented was carefully thought out and argued, and encouraged one to re-evaluate the subject at hand instead of proclaiming definitively that his was the one and only version of the truth.

With the passage of time he has become bolder. Each of his subsequent books have seemed more sure of itself than the last, as his arguments for his "findings" have grown thinner and thinner. Even before the arrival of David & Goliath, he was already fond making sweeping generalizations that would make a politician blush, all the while having little but his own opinions backing up those statements.

With David & Goliath, Gladwell seems to have almost given up not only on presenting properly conceived theses, but has abandoned even trying to formulate coherent conclusions. His anecdotes meander pointlessly for ages before concluding abruptly, not coming to any conclusions and not providing the listener with sufficient information to draw their own.

Worst of all, judgement has crept into his analyses. No longer does he objectively look at issues and how people perceive them, but tinges all his arguments with his own point of view. This is brought home in a bizarre fashion in the chapter on the three strikes law. Not only is this well-trodden ground - everything he talks about has been common knowledge almost since the law's inception - but he seems to have no aim but to rip apart the poor father who instigated the law with only the best of intentions. It's nothing but an exercise in character assassination, and his unbelievable conclusion seems to be only that the father should have "gotten over" his daughter's brutal murder instead of trying to make the world a better, safer place. The merits of the law's logic notwithstanding, it was a breathtakingly cringe-worthy experience hearing Gladwell so heartlessly stomp on this man's grief and how he coped with it. His method of coping was, by the way, nothing but positive and inspirational.

The book as a whole reads more like a drunken man in a bar shouting "now let me tell you something" rather than a well-conceived series of arguments about interesting topics.

Gladwell has become an almost unrecognizable parody of himself, and this will be the last book of his I purchase.

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Gladwell is a one trick pony.

Gladwell's The Tipping Point was an interesting book, but unfortunately ever since then Gladwell seems intent on finding a new way back to the money tree of the New York Bestsellers List by plucking a random talking point from somewhere, anywhere, and making a book out of it.
David vs Goliath starts with an opening premise which literally and seriously takes its cues from a fictional tale in the Bible and then hacks away and away repeating itself and trying to justify the same inane argument over and over again whether applying it to little girl's basketball teams or major corporations.
Its all complete hokum dressed up as sagely "hip and modern" wisdom and its a contender for the silliest book I've ever read.

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Brilliant

What did you love best about David and Goliath?

Extremely intriguing and educating.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Very easy language.

Which scene was your favorite?

The bit where he explains the duel of David and Goliath and why David was always the favourite to win,

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The bit about hitting a level below what you would otherwise just squeeze into.

Any additional comments?

Great book in the most mesmerising voice of Gladwell himself.

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Impactful

Great “read” with lots of lessons.
I recommend this book to many that have inferiority complex.

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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!

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Amazing Read!

absolutely loved and resonated with central theme of this book! highly recommended collection of inspirational ideas and stories.

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Out of the box, thin evidence, great storytelling.

Kia ora koutou,

I enjoyed David and Goliath, as a mix of fascinating anecodots the writer links together in support of his main premise: Underdogs, like David, are not always as weak as they appear, as disadvantages can lead to strengths, and the apparent strength of favourites, like Goliath, do not always produce the beneficial results expected. Gladwell argues that material resources, such as are at hand amongst big companies/nations and movements, can be misused. Conversely, he contends also that painful circumstances, oppression and a lack of CONVENTIONAL strengths can lead to the formation of the type of CHARACTER which leads ultimately to victory in ways more important than wealth, comfort or life.

In making these points he borrows from a diverse set of anecodots, such as the approaches of the Irish to the British in the Troubles, main figures in the American CRM in the 60s to racist leaders and David's response to Goliath - and much more.

In some ways the links between various stories was tenuous and lacked depth and evidence, but in other ways they were interesting and surprising.

I'd recommend giving this a read and considering how winning doesn't always look like more money, a bigger army or getting revenge. In fact, it can look like quite the opposite.

Nga mihi

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Not Your Usual MG

If you're a Gladwell fan like me, expect something different. Contrary to Outliers (which I found brilliant) , this book feels more like a collection of case studies so ideas are not as structured as in some other books but the book presents profound ideas and refers back to those ideas as it examines individual cases.

I thoroughly enjoyed this title and it was lighter than some of the other material I usually read; refreshing!

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Great book and enjoyed listening to it

He book has a relatively simple message woven into many stories. It was great to listen to.

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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.

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