Talking to Strangers

What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know

By: Malcolm Gladwell

Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Outliers, offers a powerful examination of our interactions with strangers—and why they often go wrong.

How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to one another that isn’t true? Talking to Strangers is a classically Gladwellian intellectual adventure, a challenging and controversial excursion through history, psychology, and scandals taken straight from the news. He revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, the suicide of Sylvia Plath, the Jerry Sandusky pedophilia scandal at Penn State University, and the death of Sandra Bland—throwing our understanding of these and other stories into doubt. Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don’t know. And because we don’t know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world. In his first book since his #1 bestseller David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell has written a gripping guidebook for troubled times.

A Best Book of the Year: The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, and Detroit Free Press

Critic reviews

"Talking to Strangers is a must-read...I love this book... Reading it will actually change not just how you see strangers, but how you look at yourself, the news--the world...Reading this book changed me."—Oprah Winfrey, O, The Oprah Magazine

"Powerful advice on truly getting to know others...Gladwell brilliantly argues that we should stop assuming, realize no one's transparent and understand that behavior is tied to unseen circumstances."—People, Book of the Week

"Gladwell has again delivered a compelling, conversation-starting read...At a time when the world feels intractably polarized, a book examining the varying ways we misinterpret or fail to communicate with one another could not feel more necessary...With a mix of reporting, research and a deft narrative hand, Gladwell illuminates these examples with the page-turning urgency of a paperback thriller."—Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times

"Mr. Gladwell's towering success rests on the moment when the skeptic starts to think that maybe we're wrong about everything and maybe, just maybe, this Gladwell guy is onto something...Talking to Strangers is weightier than his previous titles."—Amy Chozick, New York Times

"Gladwell uses compelling real-world examples to show the how and why behind our interactions with folks we're trying to understand."
—Rhett Power, Forbes

"Gladwell's case studies are thrilling...Chock-full of gripping anecdotes from the recent and forgotten past. He uses these riveting stories to offer up bite-size observations about how we engage with strangers."—Maggie Taft, Booklist

"Another Gladwell tour de force...intellectually stimulating...Readers expecting another everything-you-think-you-know-is-wrong page-turner will not be disappointed."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Both fascinating and topical...A thoughtful treatise...Gladwell writes in his signature colorful, fluid, and accessible prose."—Publishers Weekly

"Gladwell interviews brilliant people, generates powerful insights, writes like an angel, and has earned a massive and admiring audience. He has a keen eye and a witty flair and he's one of the best observationalists of a generation. Gladwell is a big-picture thinker who helps us make sense of the human condition."—Bob Brisco, WebMD Magazine

"As always, with his narrative gift and eye for the telling detail, Gladwell peppers his work with unforgettable facts... He has immense gifts--a probing, original, questioning mind, an ability to dig up information others haven't considered and tie it to a broader point. He has a narrative skill nonpareil."—Stephen Galloway, Hollywood Reporter

Things that go bump in the night

Gladwell deals with liars who get away with very bad things for years, including Bernie Madoff (Ponzi scheme crook), Aldrich Ames (CIA officer turned KGB double agent), Ana Montes (winner of DIA employee awards while really Cuban spy) and Larry Nassar (serial child molester). Such betrayers of trust are surrounded by legions of educated and handsomely paid professionals, men and women, who actually defend them despite growing evidence of their crimes.

What gets me deep down is Gladwell's optimistic tone throughout this exploration of how much we should trust strangers when the stakes are high. Gladwell communicates horrible things with stoic calm, and he tells the story as if around a campfire in a cave at night. In the end, he says we need to default to restraint and humility although we're often afraid. This isn't only professional advice; it's advice to parents in a world with the likes of Larry Nassar.

Extraordinary Clarity! Required reading.

Truth this clear needs no introduction or explanation... Thank you for letting us know that we are not unique. There may be simple responses to our deep intractable problems that get us closer to a solution.

Thank you Malcolm, this great gift has removed mountains of shame from the shoulders of the silent, doubting masses. The hard truth is that the people around the problem are really the problem. We who do nothing create a clearing for these unimaginable atrocities. We did not intend to water these dark seeds, but our silence, defaulting, and lack of courage nourished them more than we knew.

Lots of Questions, Fewer Answers

Talking to Strangers is an excellent critique of our confusing social times that provides much insight into the present while answers remain elusive. The answers to our social ills will continue to evolve as our great democracy does, too. However, without pausing to consider where and why each of us is coming from our own perspective, those answers will never come.

I’d strongly recommend Talking to Strangers, both as a listen and in real life.

A THOUGHT PROVOKING READ FROM BEGINNING TO END

I was listening to this as the news broke about the death of Mr. George Floyd. I believe everyone ought to read this book, especially those in law enforcement and criminology.

Socially, we, all, could consider a way to talk to each other in a better and kinder fashion.

excellent

Malcolm went above and beyond to make this audible book become a powerful experience. Music, acting, official recordings and of course Malcolm Gladwell reading his own words. I hope this book makes a difference in many lives. The medicine of truth administered with honey