Outliers

The Story of Success

By: Malcolm Gladwell

Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell

Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling author of The Bomber Mafia, learn what sets high achievers apart - from Bill Gates to the Beatles - in this seminal work from "a singular talent" (New York Times Book Review).

In this stunning audiobook, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers" - the best and the brightest, the most famous, and the most successful. He asks the question: What makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: That is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.

Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

©2008 Malcom Gladwell (P)2008 Hachette Audio

Fascinating

I love Malcolm Gladwell’s books bit this is definitely my favorite. This is a fascinating look at success and hat challenges so many, I will call them theories. The questions he asks in order to identify threads to pull and concepts to explore are very interesting. I would never think of the connections he makes or the questions he asks.
Great stuff!

Fascinating!

A great study on the "self made man!"
It sheds light on the lie of the self made man which in turn has burned out many a copycat... myself one of them.

Solid Gladwell

What separates star athletes, scientists and entrepreneurs from the rest of us? What sort of stuff are self made millionaires made of? Malcolm Gladwell tackles the stereotype of the independently successful in his book Outliers. From rags to riches, or riches to rags, each of us are profoundly influenced by our environment. Gladwell argues that there is no such thing as the self made man and that your future is more inherited than earned. His focus is on environmental factors such as date of birth, geography and family heritage. Want to know the best month to be born to become a famous NHL hockey player? What about the right year to become a technology mogul? Gladwell highlights a series of markers that will exert the greatest amount of influence over ones future successes or failures.

This book is well written and flew by. I thoroughly enjoyed Gladwell's The Tipping Point but had more recently been disappointed by his more recent work titled Blink. All of the incite and intrigue that made up the former work are found in Outliers. The arguments are interesting and not too drawn out. Each chapter moves the argument forward and is seasoned with interesting and colorful characters.

I would recommend reading this book. I was left thinking about my own story and the people who have influenced me over the years. Gladwell shares some thoughts towards improving the future of others by adapting new cultural standards. Some of these suggestions are impractical but are to the point: society plays a significant role in the future of others. How can we position ourselves as a gift to others? Are we willing to see the gifts in our own lives? I think that reading Outliers can help us see tell our own stories with more clarity and modesty.

Love the stories and anecdotes...

Gladwell sounds very convincing, and his book is full of well told anecdotes, success stories, and what seems to be crucial statistics. However, it sometimes seems a bit of «cherry picking» when Gladwelltend to mostly tell us what fits his view. It’s not to be read as facts, but as something to be added to a much bigger debate. Gladwell mostly argues that opportunities and hard work are the main engredients to success. But he doesn’t really talk much about «grabbing» the opportunities that is in front of you, or creating opportunities out of what seems to not be one to others. He explores it a bit when talking about the different cultural glasses people view the world with, so not completely taking it away from him.

But there are people with more or less the same background, that can see the same thing as an opportunity or a hindrance. Now i sounds just as quasiintellectual as I blame Gladwell for being. I’d just wish he’d explore this with a tiny bit wide view. It’s non the less a very good read! It’s just important for people to not swallow it whole, and rather create a debare out of these theories he present almost as facts.

Love it!

This book opened my eyes to new ways of thinking. I wish I knew these things years ago.

One of my favorites

Malcolm does a great job of explaining successful people and their upbringing, inheritance, and circumstances. Everyone can take a piece from this book and use it in their daily lives. It's great.

Very Good

Very Good, but I think it's a little long for it's simple message. Worth the reading!

Great book! It was a very interesting read.

The author is as knowledgeable as he is engaging. The topic of interest in this book is rather intriguing.

Good listen

What did you love best about Outliers?

The authoritative analysis of success stories, which would otherwise appear as random events.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Chris Langhan- an interesting case study. Proves that natural ability can only do so much.

World Changing... Re-reading Now

This book includes knowledge that could change the world if applied to real world cultural issues. This book reads as highly engaging and I couldn't put it down. It has now been added in my annual must read list. Wow!
Re-reading now.....