My work sponsors a book group every semester. Now that I think about it, I didn't review the book last time. I may need to get on that.... Anyway, this year there was a great selection of books, but I wasn't really drawn to many of them. I had heard about David and Goliath through Audible when it came out so I thought I would give it a go. Our group is only four people, but I like them all and am looking forward to the discussion later this month. Like with the other non-fiction books I've reviewed the "plot" section of this review will include an overview of the points that Gladwell makes. In many ways, Gladwell reminds me of Taleb and Black Swan in that he introduces ideas that seem contradictory or highly unorthodox, but with consideration make sense and should be the logical choice. It was a good read, although it wasn't always easy. Gladwell requires you to reflect on the people and situations that he presents and some of the situations can be painful. In any event, the book was a good read and worth considering.
Plot: Why was Goliath surprised when David slew him? A thing like that hadn't entered his head before. David is the mascot of any underdog taking on the superior foe. However, was David really at a disadvantage when he fought Goliath? If you look closely at the situation, even without considering possible physiological considerations/limitation, David was armed with a projectile weapon against a man with a sword. He had essentially brought a gun to a knife fight. There's no wonder he won. However, the fact that don't tend to consider the details but rather make assumptions based on imperfect information. Gladwell looks at the strengths that come with being an underdog and the weaknesses of giants that are not readily apparent. He demonstrates these ideas through relating actual events and through interviews with those that were the underdogs. The clincher of the book is that you might not be as disadvantaged as you originally thought.
My personal favorites: This book causes you to shift you mindset and consider some things that may be perceived as laws, but are in fact just customs or traditions. It is inspiring in that it lets you see what kinds of advantages you can have because of disadvantages. It also encourages you to consider what's the worst that can happen and what that enables you to do.
Considerations: There is no language or sensuality of course. There are some descriptions of childhood leukemia that showed it's devastating impact, but nothing graphic. I found some of the examples he gave were of people that pushed the lines of ethics in my opinion and consequently their behavior should not be emulated, but Gladwell might argue that point. As ethics is determined by social and cultural norms more than rigid laws and this book is about looking beyond those norms his examples make sense and show exactly what he is discussing. The only other thought I have on this book is one that I have with many such books or stories when I come across them - for every person who succeed how many failed? My (albeit small) inner skeptic knows that books like this are only written about success and that stories about failures are not often published which gives us a skewed view of success. With that said, Gladwell does look at some examples where someone failed to achieve what they wanted to despite doing what appeared to be the right thing. He also acknowledges the fact that the disadvantages that can create an advantage are still disadvantages that we won't wish on anyone and we should not seek for them. Regardless of my small misgivings about these kinds of books, I feel and know that they need to be written for the simple reason that they show that success is possible. If a person is unable to see the potential of success they will never strive for it. This book encourages us to look at that potential and rise up to meet it.
The book was very good and it was a relatively quick read for non-fiction. It's well written, expertly organized, and engaging. I've already got an eye on one of Gladwell's other books and do not expect to be disappointed. The total length was 295 pages.
Plot: Why was Goliath surprised when David slew him? A thing like that hadn't entered his head before. David is the mascot of any underdog taking on the superior foe. However, was David really at a disadvantage when he fought Goliath? If you look closely at the situation, even without considering possible physiological considerations/limitation, David was armed with a projectile weapon against a man with a sword. He had essentially brought a gun to a knife fight. There's no wonder he won. However, the fact that don't tend to consider the details but rather make assumptions based on imperfect information. Gladwell looks at the strengths that come with being an underdog and the weaknesses of giants that are not readily apparent. He demonstrates these ideas through relating actual events and through interviews with those that were the underdogs. The clincher of the book is that you might not be as disadvantaged as you originally thought.My personal favorites: This book causes you to shift you mindset and consider some things that may be perceived as laws, but are in fact just customs or traditions. It is inspiring in that it lets you see what kinds of advantages you can have because of disadvantages. It also encourages you to consider what's the worst that can happen and what that enables you to do.
Considerations: There is no language or sensuality of course. There are some descriptions of childhood leukemia that showed it's devastating impact, but nothing graphic. I found some of the examples he gave were of people that pushed the lines of ethics in my opinion and consequently their behavior should not be emulated, but Gladwell might argue that point. As ethics is determined by social and cultural norms more than rigid laws and this book is about looking beyond those norms his examples make sense and show exactly what he is discussing. The only other thought I have on this book is one that I have with many such books or stories when I come across them - for every person who succeed how many failed? My (albeit small) inner skeptic knows that books like this are only written about success and that stories about failures are not often published which gives us a skewed view of success. With that said, Gladwell does look at some examples where someone failed to achieve what they wanted to despite doing what appeared to be the right thing. He also acknowledges the fact that the disadvantages that can create an advantage are still disadvantages that we won't wish on anyone and we should not seek for them. Regardless of my small misgivings about these kinds of books, I feel and know that they need to be written for the simple reason that they show that success is possible. If a person is unable to see the potential of success they will never strive for it. This book encourages us to look at that potential and rise up to meet it.
The book was very good and it was a relatively quick read for non-fiction. It's well written, expertly organized, and engaging. I've already got an eye on one of Gladwell's other books and do not expect to be disappointed. The total length was 295 pages.
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