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Outliers: The Story of Success |  | Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $27.99
Buy New: $10.99
as of 3/9/2010 20:22 CST details
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Seller: Three Plus Four
Rating:  885 reviews
Sales Rank: 33
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 309
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0316017922
Dewey Decimal Number: 302
EAN: 9780316017923
ASIN: 0316017922
Publication Date: November 18, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780316017923 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Amazon.com Review
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. --Mari Malcolm
Product Description
In this stunning new book, 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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 885
 Outliers March 9, 2010
C. Brown (North Alabama)
I enjoyed reading about the inputs which might account for the success of an individual. Lots to think about, written in an enjoyable voice.
 Expected more..... March 9, 2010
Angela M. Lee (southern california)
I was excited to read this book, but was left diappointed. The data that the author uses is not thorough and leaves you to wonder the validity of the claims he asserts. I expected a more complete statistical analysis.
 Stories don't prove nothing March 9, 2010
Paulo Buchsbaum (Rio, Brazil)
Exotic researchs and stories are tailored made to prove that success is basically sweat and family environment. It's pure nonsense. If somebody cherrypicks the right stories and selected researchs, it's possible demonstrate anything.
Malcolm Gladwell had an idea and has started to search everywhere for elements to strenghten his idea, fighting against the real and multifaceted world, that bravely tries to resist to that oversimplification.
According to Malcolm, successful people generally have strived hard. But how many people have strived hard and just fail ... But that people are invisible. The lights is on the winners. And how many people has a kind of talent and little bit of luck and go up on the podium, with no special effort. That stories are out of this book. It doesn't help to prove the author's hype.
At least I've laughed high: Malcolms argues that Beatles's success is basically because they have sweated in Hamburg.
Seriously, I believe that the success is a very complex question to be answered by an only book.
One book that shows part of this question is Leonard Mlodinow's "The Drunkard's Walk" that shows the randomness's influence in our world and in the people's fate
My belief is that there is no single recipe.
Success is work, talent, oportunities and cultural influences, but the proportions are not fixed. We can choose tons of stories that one component influences more than others.
Talent is other complex word that gathers many different features. Many researchs has confirmed that a part of talent comes from genetic, causing a range. The environment helps to determinate at which point one person reaches inside range.
For instance, it's not possible to generalize and claims that a very high QI cannot be useful in some achievements.
VERY Interesting March 7, 2010
AvaLlea (KY)
This book is so cool. I really like how he writes & this book made me read his other books. VERY interesting subject!
 Not born for success? March 5, 2010
J. Lopez (GILBERT, AZ, US)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I guess I thought this book would tell me the party tricks to being successful. Well, I found out I was not born in the right month to be an athelete (that is the least of my worries as I am a clutz). I also found out I was not born on the right continent to be smart in math. I was also born in the wrong decade to be a successful computer nerd.
Although the information was interesting, I would have successfully saved some dough by checking it out at my public library. Now there is some good advice.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 885
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