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I absolutely love Malcolm Gladwell. I don’t know how anyone would not. He’s smart, funny, and makes sense to a point where you can’t really argue anything with him. Plus, he offers little tidbits of information that are fascinating, stuff you’ve never heard before. You will no doubt learn quite a bit from this man. He’s tops in my book but let’s get on with this post. I wanted to recommend this particular book since it’s the beginning of a new year and reading it will inspire you to achieve whatever it is you need to achieve. You have practically a whole year and more to do it.

About the book
Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008: Now that he’s gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the “self-made man,” he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don’t arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: “they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.” Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, “some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky.”

Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendents of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots’ culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there’s more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples–and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps–Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential.

Order now: Outliers: The Story of Success

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 at 12:02 am and is filed under books, essential reading, fun, practical, stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.