Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon (Special Edition)

Malcolm Gladwell · Bruce Headlam

Sep 2023 · Pushkin Industries · Narrated by Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam, and Paul Simon

About this audiobook

A musical biography unlike any you’ve ever heard: Paul Simon in conversation with Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam, discussing Simon’s greatest hits, artistic struggles, and what it means to move people through music, now with a new epilogue that finds Paul continuing to wrestle songs from the universe including for his latest album Seven Psalms.

What happens when Paul Simon, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in music history, and Malcolm Gladwell, the bestselling author and podcast host, sit down together, with a tape recorder and a guitar?

Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon is part memoir, part investigation, and unlike any creative portrait you’ve ever heard before. Recorded over a series of conversations between Simon, Gladwell, and Gladwell’s oldest friend and co-writer, journalist and Broken Record podcast co-host Bruce Headlam, the conversation flows from Simon’s music, to his childhood in Queens, NY, to his frequent collaborators and the nature of creativity itself. Gladwell and Headlam traveled from the mountains of Hawaii to Simon’s own backyard studio to record an artist they’ve idolized since childhood.

Woven throughout the audiobook is distinctive commentary about Simon’s songwriting alongside archival audio footage and never-before-heard live studio versions and original recordings of beloved hits including “The Boxer,” “The Sound of Silence,” and “Graceland”. Between conversations, Gladwell deploys his signature blend of historical research and social science to understand how a boy from 1940’s Queens conjured near-perfect songs over an incredible career. Along the way he gathers reflections on Simon’s particular genius from the likes of Sting, Herbie Hancock, and Roseanne Cash.

The result is an intimate audio biography of one of America’s most popular songwriters.

About the author

Malcolm Gladwell, non-fiction writer and journalist, was born in England on Sept 3, 1963. He was raised in rural Ontario and graduated from the University of Toronto, Trinity College, with a degree in History. Gladwell was previously a business and science reporter for the Washington Post and is currently a staff writer with the New Yorker magazine. He is well-known for his many New York Times bestselling books: Blink, The Tipping Point, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath. His writing is often a product of sociology and psychology with implications for the social sciences and business. Gladwell became a successful public speaker after writing his bestselling books. In 2005, Time Magazine named Gladwell one of its 100 most influential people. Gladwell's most famous quote comes from his book, Outliers; he states that "It takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert..." at any competition or task. Gladwell was appointed to the Order of Canada on June 30, 2011. Gladwell describes himself as a Christian. He was raised in the Mennonite tradition, and wandered away from his Christian roots when he moved to New York, only to rediscover his faith during the writing of David and Goliath and through his encounter with Wilma Derksen. In 2005, Gladwell commanded approximately $45,000 for his speaking fee. His books include: Outliers, Blink, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath.