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

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.

Gladwell does it again!

What was one of the most memorable moments of David and Goliath?

Gladwell really puts the inverted U curve into easy-to-understand words that we can easily map to our own lives and turns conventional wisdom about getting into the best college you can on its head; I no longer regret going to a small, unknown school at which I could easily excel instead of getting lost at a more prestigious school.

What about Malcolm Gladwell’s performance did you like?

His voice is simultaneously passionate and soothing, and he plays it like a master. A Gladwell book without Gladwell's narration just wouldn't be the same.

Psychology Schmikology

I understand that people who write books for a living have to keep generating ideas for new material. This must be very taxing, and I guess this is why there exists the concept of ‘writer’s block’. When Malcolm Gladwell sat down and starting scratching out this latest offering I think he was probably struggling a bit and scraping towards the bottom of the barrel.

He’s written some really good works that change the way his readers think about the world. In ‘the Tipping Point’ we learnt what factors combine to make something ‘go viral’, a la Gangnam Style. In ‘Blink’ we saw how adept humans are at making intuitive judgements in milliseconds with limited information, and in Outliers we realised that successful people are often winners because of arbitrary lucky factors rather than pure talent. In David and Goliath I’m not too sure what we learn, and if there is a core message in there, it’s a bit tenuous and foggy.

The basic idea of the book is that underdogs often prevail against the odds, and that this is the result of a number of factors such as: they break the rules; they aren’t afraid to do unpopular things; they are the products of difficult childhoods with ‘desirable difficulties’ such as dyslexia; their enemies underestimate them and misunderstand the use of power. These messages are intertwined with some quack pseudo-psychological theories, such as the notion that when the British Army were in Northern Ireland they didn’t realise they were on the ‘downside of the inverted u’.

There is some good stuff in this book. There are some insights that I could imagine being relevant to me in some future situation in my life, and the book was enjoyable because of the fascinating human interest stories that Gladwell tells so well, but there are too many generalisations and oversimplifications of complex issues which the author-narrator manipulates to fit his theory, whatever that may be.


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A Modern Oracle writes again

Let me begin by stating that I am a fan of Gladwell's and his three previous works I've both read and listened to repeatedly. This work further heightens my appreciation of his work. Once again Gladwell turns conventional wisdom on it's head. Why it's better for many students to not go to a "top" school. David actually had the advantage over Goliath. The deeper reasons of the strife that tore apart Northern Ireland. Gladwell gives a unique perspective that even those who don't agree with his perspective are forced to review the questions that he raises. As always five stars for a Gladwell book.

Great way to learn about never giving up

If you could sum up David and Goliath in three words, what would they be?

Inspirational story telling

Who was your favorite character and why?

The story that stood out the most was about the straight A student that went to Brown University and couldn't pass a class, and instead of finding another solution, change her major to something else completely different and gave up her dream in science.

What about Malcolm Gladwell’s performance did you like?

I love his voice. It is clear and easy to listen to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, there is a lot to absorb, so listen to it in steps is advisable.

Any additional comments?

I first heard Malcolm Gladwell's performance through the audiobook "Blink," that talks about how we view each other and situations, and how we can be completely wrong.

Great take on how negatives can become positives.

Very eye opening book on people's lives and their impact on their world due to their circumstances .

Really makes you think about your own circumstances and how you can use it to your advantage.

A fantastically unique thesis!

Using a wide range of historical precedents and research, Gladwell convincingly argues that the "powerful" are never as powerful as they think they are and the "weak" are never as weak as they think they are. He unpacks his material to show that what we traditionally think of as advantages and disadvantages are often not what they seem to be.

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an interesting and thought-provoking read I listened to it on Audible and will listen again

Great book with amazing storyline

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator passion was on the spot, the message was great and overall the perfomance was great.
The story of missfits, tricksters and underdogsthat changed the world against all odds is inspiring.

I totally recommend this book

#tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Every parent of a dyslexic child should read this

empowering and inspiring!
changed the way I see and understand my son's and thier processing disabilities.