Outliers: The Story of Success

· Sold by Little, Brown
4.4
831 reviews
Ebook
320
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Blink and The Bomber Mafia and host of the podcast Revisionist History, explores what sets high achievers apart—from Bill Gates to the Beatlesin this seminal work from "a singular talent" (New York Times Book Review).

In this stunning 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.

Ratings and reviews

4.4
831 reviews
Alex a
May 31, 2023
It started well relating to success, and then after chapter 5, it goes on a rant of completely unrelated situations to success, so if you do want to buy it you would only be reading about 100 pages worth of decent material
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A Google user
Once you read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, you will never think of your life in the same way. This book is a very interesting read, as Gladwell explores why many people in fame and power came to be. His approach does not follow the traditional model of the hardest worker always wins. Gladwell states that while hard work is essential to earning ones way to fame (stated in the “10,000 hour rule” chapter), it is the opportunity to be able to work hard is what makes the greatest stand out. Gladwell then states some examples of this rare cases, or outliers (The Beatles, Bill Gates). While this is a very interesting interpretation of success, it becomes a repetitive theme in the book. Gladwell merely gives different real life stories of successful people and explains how they were lucky to get the opportunity to practice for 10,000 hours. While reading this book, I began to feel like Gladwell was discrediting all people that have success. It also encourages people not to pursue their goals, because one could feel like if they are not blessed with an extraordinary opportunity, they will never amount to anything. Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
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A Google user
March 28, 2011
What do Bill Gates, Mozart, Bill Joy and The Beatles have in common? According to Gladwell, they are all outliers. This was the first book by Gladwell that I have read, although I have watched some of his TED Talks in the past. When I started reading the book, I started to compare each of his main points to my life. His main points, points of what made someone exceptional, focused on family, generation and culture. His first chapter began with the town of Roseto. The life expectancy in the town was longer compared to the towns surrounding it, and that was due to the fact that multi-generational families lived together. As he went on, he described what made people outliers, what made them exceptional in society. It all broke down to being at the right place at the right time, oh and of course, dedicating 10,000 hours of hard practice on one's particular skill. The people mentioned in his book had an advantage, whether it was the month of birth for Canadian hockey players, or their economic status in terms of receiving a good education, etc. Gladwell's stories of success at first discouraged me because I realized I never had the cultural advantage, the family advantage, the generation advantage, or any advantage for that reason. I, however, still have confidence in myself and to all readers who feel discouraged: Don't be, create your own advantage. Although I disagreed with some of the stuff he said, I agreed that one should dedicate hours to sharpen one's skill. Readers will agree with much of what he says, or may disagree entirely, but one must give Gladwell credit that he made many valid points. Being the first book by Gladwell that I read, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know how success is built, which is sometimes not all through effort. It's an interesting read, and I think I will give his other books a try now.
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About the author

Malcolm Gladwell is the author of five New York Times bestsellers: The Tipping Point,Blink, Outliers,What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath. He is also the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, an audio content company that produces the podcasts Revisionist History, which reconsiders things both overlooked and misunderstood, and Broken Record, where he, Rick Rubin, and Bruce Headlam interview musicians across a wide range of genres. Gladwell has been included in the Time 100 Most Influential People list and touted as one of Foreign Policy'sTop Global Thinkers.

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