Small but Perfectly Formed, 22 Nov 2008
Outliers: The Story of Success
Gladwell on fine form in this shiny little gem of a book. Don't we all love to read about the rich and successful. Give me 10,000 hours and I could be one of them!

conversation starting, thought-provoking, 21 Nov 2008
Spurred on by having tickets to hear Gladwell speak next week, I started reading this as soon as it arrived through the post. At first, I couldn't decide if Gladwell's ideas were incredibly basic or so profound I was missing something. By the time I finished, in one extended sitting, I was not only convinced by his argument about success, but empowered. I realised that Gladwell's brilliance is his ability to take what now seems like such an obvious, logical idea (clearly only in retrospect) and make it real. He not only makes the idea - that success is largely due to one's background and opportunities - come alive, but explains it in a fluent, engaging and utterly persuasive way. A way that, judging by the success of Blink or The Tipping Point, will surely make an impact on a massive number of people. A must read for anyone from their teens on up, who wishes to reconsider what we in the western world have been taught about success: that it requires, above all, spectacular talent or brilliance.

Gladwell at his best - inspirational!, 21 Nov 2008
I don't usually write reviews but was so surprised that someone could deem this 'boring', I felt compelled to respond. The one thing it isn't is boring. This book is fascinating, insightful and - as cliche as it sounds - empowering. It made me think a lot about my children and the way I thought about their potential for success. It made me reconsider the way I thought about my own personal achievements and the achievements of my family and friends. I love the way Gladwell tells a story and it's simply a delightful and inspirational book. I can't stop thinking and talking about the book to anyone and everyone who will listen!

Brilliant and thought provoking, 21 Nov 2008
I've not done this before and need to fess something up straight away - I work for the publisher of this book and also work with Amazon. However having read the first review up for this title I have say I couldn't disagree more - this is by some way the best Gladwell I've read, it is bursting with the usual nuanced and angled views on (yes) quite an obvious subject. No, it's not a celeb heavy statement of greatness, it's much more subtle than that. What makes the book so strong is how Gladwell digs into what everyone knows - hard work brings success - to uncover all the other elements. In fact it's a mistake to assume the theme of this book is as simple as hard work = success. Gladwell shows the background, the groundings on which success occurs. In the case of many sports you can work as hard as you like or focus as much as possible on your success - unless you are born in the right places and get exposed to the right competition you are not likely to crack it. And the personal ending to this book is a real departure for Gladwell, a fascinating insight into the very real side of some of these theories. So, yes, I'm biased, and yes, don't buy this if you want to hear Bill Gates tell you how he got so good. But do buy it if you have interest in the hidden side of success, the sociological elements of achievement (and failure), and just the sheer joy in unseen paths that Gladwell can bring out. I'm lucky, I didn't have to buy it - but I rammed through it in one sitting, enjoying every second of it.

Sheer nonsense!, 21 Nov 2008
Gladwell always tries to take a common topic of interest and put an unusual spin on it. In this case he has spun out of control. In this book he tries desperately to identify which factors make a person successful. There is no logical sequence - nor any logic at all to this book. Gladwell jumps around from one haphazzard topic to the next, grasping at straws, throwing in some spurious statistics to identify what set of factors makes a person successful.

As we all know, success is the result of knowing what you want and focusing on it. Whilst he may bring up a few interesting points, to wade through the content of the book for a highlight here and there is simply not worth it. In a nutshell, this book is boring, and does not add value to the reader. Rather read the autobiography of a successful person like Branson. (Branson's new book : "Business Sripped Bare" will give you far more insight into a multitude of success factors than the theoretical nonsense contained in Outliers!)

: For Blink, Malcolm Gladwell, author of the bestselling The Tipping Point explores the extraordinarily perceptive and deceptive power of the sub-conscious mind. Gladwell's major claim is that decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as a decision made cautiously and deliberately. What we are actually doing is what Gladwell calls `thin-slicing'. When we leap to a decision or have a hunch our unconscious is sifting through the situation in front of us looking for a pattern, throwing out the irrelevant information and zeroing in on what really matters. Our unconscious mind is so good at this that it often delivers a better answer than more deliberate and protracted ways of thinking. Much of this is utterly mysterious but some of the most astonishing and useful examples of thin-slicing can be learned.

 

Gladwell hopes to convince us that our snap judgements and first impressions can be educated and controlled so instead of merely praising the mysterious process of instinct and intuition he is interested in those moments when our instincts betray us, the situations where our powers of rapid cognition can go awry, where we fail to read the signs. Most disturbing of all is the degree to which culturally determined preconceptions and prejudices control us. Without reducing matters to racism and sexism Gladwell shows us that there are facts about people's appearance—their size or shape or color or sex—that can trigger a very similar set of powerful associations which explains why utter mediocrities (such as U.S. President Warren Harding) can sometimes end up in positions of enormous responsibility; or why tall people earn substantially more than their shorter colleagues; or why car salesmen unconsciously charge prices according to race and gender.

 

Gladwell's conversational prose style is concise, informative, accessible and entertaining. The stories, scientific findings and psychological tests are consistently surprising whether he is dealing with speed-dating, record promotions, police shoot-outs, the human face, or the reasons doctors get sued. --Larry Brown END

Small but Perfectly Formed, 22 Nov 2008
Outliers: The Story of Success
Gladwell on fine form in this shiny little gem of a book. Don't we all love to read about the rich and successful. Give me 10,000 hours and I could be one of them!

conversation starting, thought-provoking, 21 Nov 2008
Spurred on by having tickets to hear Gladwell speak next week, I started reading this as soon as it arrived through the post. At first, I couldn't decide if Gladwell's ideas were incredibly basic or so profound I was missing something. By the time I finished, in one extended sitting, I was not only convinced by his argument about success, but empowered. I realised that Gladwell's brilliance is his ability to take what now seems like such an obvious, logical idea (clearly only in retrospect) and make it real. He not only makes the idea - that success is largely due to one's background and opportunities - come alive, but explains it in a fluent, engaging and utterly persuasive way. A way that, judging by the success of Blink or The Tipping Point, will surely make an impact on a massive number of people. A must read for anyone from their teens on up, who wishes to reconsider what we in the western world have been taught about success: that it requires, above all, spectacular talent or brilliance.

Gladwell at his best - inspirational!, 21 Nov 2008
I don't usually write reviews but was so surprised that someone could deem this 'boring', I felt compelled to respond. The one thing it isn't is boring. This book is fascinating, insightful and - as cliche as it sounds - empowering. It made me think a lot about my children and the way I thought about their potential for success. It made me reconsider the way I thought about my own personal achievements and the achievements of my family and friends. I love the way Gladwell tells a story and it's simply a delightful and inspirational book. I can't stop thinking and talking about the book to anyone and everyone who will listen!

Brilliant and thought provoking, 21 Nov 2008
I've not done this before and need to fess something up straight away - I work for the publisher of this book and also work with Amazon. However having read the first review up for this title I have say I couldn't disagree more - this is by some way the best Gladwell I've read, it is bursting with the usual nuanced and angled views on (yes) quite an obvious subject. No, it's not a celeb heavy statement of greatness, it's much more subtle than that. What makes the book so strong is how Gladwell digs into what everyone knows - hard work brings success - to uncover all the other elements. In fact it's a mistake to assume the theme of this book is as simple as hard work = success. Gladwell shows the background, the groundings on which success occurs. In the case of many sports you can work as hard as you like or focus as much as possible on your success - unless you are born in the right places and get exposed to the right competition you are not likely to crack it. And the personal ending to this book is a real departure for Gladwell, a fascinating insight into the very real side of some of these theories. So, yes, I'm biased, and yes, don't buy this if you want to hear Bill Gates tell you how he got so good. But do buy it if you have interest in the hidden side of success, the sociological elements of achievement (and failure), and just the sheer joy in unseen paths that Gladwell can bring out. I'm lucky, I didn't have to buy it - but I rammed through it in one sitting, enjoying every second of it.

Sheer nonsense!, 21 Nov 2008
Gladwell always tries to take a common topic of interest and put an unusual spin on it. In this case he has spun out of control. In this book he tries desperately to identify which factors make a person successful. There is no logical sequence - nor any logic at all to this book. Gladwell jumps around from one haphazzard topic to the next, grasping at straws, throwing in some spurious statistics to identify what set of factors makes a person successful.

As we all know, success is the result of knowing what you want and focusing on it. Whilst he may bring up a few interesting points, to wade through the content of the book for a highlight here and there is simply not worth it. In a nutshell, this book is boring, and does not add value to the reader. Rather read the autobiography of a successful person like Branson. (Branson's new book : "Business Sripped Bare" will give you far more insight into a multitude of success factors than the theoretical nonsense contained in Outliers!)

An enjoyable and compelling read - more something that gets you thinking and not an intense scientific analysis., 18 Nov 2008
'Blink' is, as many others have said, an anecdotal, absorbing book on the premise of just how powerful gut instincts can be. It's not an in-depth analysis or criticism of theory, but as I picked it up that wasn't what I was looking for anyway. As a Psychology student, I read it outside of my course for enjoyment and not only does it give grounding to such an interest (i.e. a friend in her 3rd year of Psychology is using 'thin-slicing' in her project, and I lent her this book to help her understand it fully!) but is also one of those books that stays with you. It affects how you think about certain decisions and a greater understanding of your own mind. What more could you want from it?

A Critical Decision Making Tool!, 24 Jul 2008
Sometimes decisions need to be made quickly. All of our knowledge, education, experience, reasoning, intuition, common sense and confidence must come together rapidly.

Malcolm Gladwell calls quick decision making thin slicing in his book: Blink. Thin slicing is the ability to focus on a small set of critical variables to make a quick decision rather than consciously considering every possible variable.

Many decisions are time dependent. Weighing the amount of information needed before making a decision, against the time available is a challenge.

Examples of when thin slicing is needed: combat, avoiding a car accident, or anything requiring an immediate decision. Another common name for thin slicing is thinking on your feet.

Gladwell does an excellent job of explaining what happens in these situations. For example:

"...in interviews with police officers who have been involved with shootings, these same details appear again and again: extreme visual clarity, tunnel vision, diminished sound, and the sense that time is slowing down. This is how the human body reacts to extreme stress..."

Besides the excellent examples given in the book, here is a classic example of using thin slicing.

Thin slicing was used on multiple occasions during the US space program. Gene Kranz (a flight controller on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs) writes about the need for quick accurate decisions in his book: Failure is not an Option.

Endless intensive simulations were run with the controllers, flight crew and others before every launch. Everyone's skills had to be razor sharp during the actual missions. Decisions had to be accurate and made in real time. There was little, and sometimes no room for error. Lives were at stake. Risk was part of their business.

Gene Kranz sums up how he gained his skills to be a top flight director when he said:

"The flight director's ultimate training comes at the console, working real problems, facing the risks, making irrevocable decisions."


Although we may not be faced with life and death decisions, we will (on occasions) have to make quick decisions. The better our skills and Critical Thinking are, coupled with training and quickness, the more prepared we will be to make sound decisions in the blink of an eye!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

A new way of seeing, 17 Jul 2008
In the blink of an eye we gather huge amounts of information. The author, Gladwell, likens our brains to giant computers capable of processing lots of data in a flash. I found it fascinating how we can use this information either for survival purposes and / or we can apply our intuitive knowledge to any given situation. The author coins the term "thin slicing" to explain the process of applying one's intuition. He states that we are often suspicious of trusting this intuition because it's so quick and easy, even when it's on target. He relays experiments where instantaneous "thin slicing" has amazing results, sometimes in life and death situations, but also explains what can cause the skillto fall short. The reason often being that we are not truly living in the present moment.

Two books that easily guide one into the present moment are Ariel and Shya Kane's "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "How To Create A Magical Relationship". These refreshingly fun and practical books effortlessly get the reader into the present moment where enlightenment resides. In an instant life can become brilliant and magical. Both of these intelligent books have shown me that life needn't be hard work in order to be amazing.

Enjoyable read, 07 Jul 2008
Gladwell's prose is effortlessly readable and the reader is constantly entertained by his anecdotes. I don't think he is a great thinker, but he presents his concepts very clearly and you immediately see how they are reflected in your own life. What the book lacks is a structured argument -by the end you feel as if it hasn't really gone anywhere. Nevertheless it's a very enjoyable read. Along similar lines, I would recommend Steve Taylor's excellent Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It, which 'unpacks' why we perceive time passing at different speeds in different situations and shows how we can become free of it.



Doesn't this guy understand irony, 19 May 2008
I am sorry but a book that discussing making good judgemnts on minimal information that then goes into page after page of repeating the same tired old examples and gives too much information. As the book says I knew it was right in the first few pages - why would I need the rest of it - now thats ironic

Small but Perfectly Formed, 22 Nov 2008
Outliers: The Story of Success
Gladwell on fine form in this shiny little gem of a book. Don't we all love to read about the rich and successful. Give me 10,000 hours and I could be one of them!

conversation starting, thought-provoking, 21 Nov 2008
Spurred on by having tickets to hear Gladwell speak next week, I started reading this as soon as it arrived through the post. At first, I couldn't decide if Gladwell's ideas were incredibly basic or so profound I was missing something. By the time I finished, in one extended sitting, I was not only convinced by his argument about success, but empowered. I realised that Gladwell's brilliance is his ability to take what now seems like such an obvious, logical idea (clearly only in retrospect) and make it real. He not only makes the idea - that success is largely due to one's background and opportunities - come alive, but explains it in a fluent, engaging and utterly persuasive way. A way that, judging by the success of Blink or The Tipping Point, will surely make an impact on a massive number of people. A must read for anyone from their teens on up, who wishes to reconsider what we in the western world have been taught about success: that it requires, above all, spectacular talent or brilliance.

Gladwell at his best - inspirational!, 21 Nov 2008
I don't usually write reviews but was so surprised that someone could deem this 'boring', I felt compelled to respond. The one thing it isn't is boring. This book is fascinating, insightful and - as cliche as it sounds - empowering. It made me think a lot about my children and the way I thought about their potential for success. It made me reconsider the way I thought about my own personal achievements and the achievements of my family and friends. I love the way Gladwell tells a story and it's simply a delightful and inspirational book. I can't stop thinking and talking about the book to anyone and everyone who will listen!

Brilliant and thought provoking, 21 Nov 2008
I've not done this before and need to fess something up straight away - I work for the publisher of this book and also work with Amazon. However having read the first review up for this title I have say I couldn't disagree more - this is by some way the best Gladwell I've read, it is bursting with the usual nuanced and angled views on (yes) quite an obvious subject. No, it's not a celeb heavy statement of greatness, it's much more subtle than that. What makes the book so strong is how Gladwell digs into what everyone knows - hard work brings success - to uncover all the other elements. In fact it's a mistake to assume the theme of this book is as simple as hard work = success. Gladwell shows the background, the groundings on which success occurs. In the case of many sports you can work as hard as you like or focus as much as possible on your success - unless you are born in the right places and get exposed to the right competition you are not likely to crack it. And the personal ending to this book is a real departure for Gladwell, a fascinating insight into the very real side of some of these theories. So, yes, I'm biased, and yes, don't buy this if you want to hear Bill Gates tell you how he got so good. But do buy it if you have interest in the hidden side of success, the sociological elements of achievement (and failure), and just the sheer joy in unseen paths that Gladwell can bring out. I'm lucky, I didn't have to buy it - but I rammed through it in one sitting, enjoying every second of it.

Sheer nonsense!, 21 Nov 2008
Gladwell always tries to take a common topic of interest and put an unusual spin on it. In this case he has spun out of control. In this book he tries desperately to identify which factors make a person successful. There is no logical sequence - nor any logic at all to this book. Gladwell jumps around from one haphazzard topic to the next, grasping at straws, throwing in some spurious statistics to identify what set of factors makes a person successful.

As we all know, success is the result of knowing what you want and focusing on it. Whilst he may bring up a few interesting points, to wade through the content of the book for a highlight here and there is simply not worth it. In a nutshell, this book is boring, and does not add value to the reader. Rather read the autobiography of a successful person like Branson. (Branson's new book : "Business Sripped Bare" will give you far more insight into a multitude of success factors than the theoretical nonsense contained in Outliers!)

An enjoyable and compelling read - more something that gets you thinking and not an intense scientific analysis., 18 Nov 2008
'Blink' is, as many others have said, an anecdotal, absorbing book on the premise of just how powerful gut instincts can be. It's not an in-depth analysis or criticism of theory, but as I picked it up that wasn't what I was looking for anyway. As a Psychology student, I read it outside of my course for enjoyment and not only does it give grounding to such an interest (i.e. a friend in her 3rd year of Psychology is using 'thin-slicing' in her project, and I lent her this book to help her understand it fully!) but is also one of those books that stays with you. It affects how you think about certain decisions and a greater understanding of your own mind. What more could you want from it?

A Critical Decision Making Tool!, 24 Jul 2008
Sometimes decisions need to be made quickly. All of our knowledge, education, experience, reasoning, intuition, common sense and confidence must come together rapidly.

Malcolm Gladwell calls quick decision making thin slicing in his book: Blink. Thin slicing is the ability to focus on a small set of critical variables to make a quick decision rather than consciously considering every possible variable.

Many decisions are time dependent. Weighing the amount of information needed before making a decision, against the time available is a challenge.

Examples of when thin slicing is needed: combat, avoiding a car accident, or anything requiring an immediate decision. Another common name for thin slicing is thinking on your feet.

Gladwell does an excellent job of explaining what happens in these situations. For example:

"...in interviews with police officers who have been involved with shootings, these same details appear again and again: extreme visual clarity, tunnel vision, diminished sound, and the sense that time is slowing down. This is how the human body reacts to extreme stress..."

Besides the excellent examples given in the book, here is a classic example of using thin slicing.

Thin slicing was used on multiple occasions during the US space program. Gene Kranz (a flight controller on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs) writes about the need for quick accurate decisions in his book: Failure is not an Option.

Endless intensive simulations were run with the controllers, flight crew and others before every launch. Everyone's skills had to be razor sharp during the actual missions. Decisions had to be accurate and made in real time. There was little, and sometimes no room for error. Lives were at stake. Risk was part of their business.

Gene Kranz sums up how he gained his skills to be a top flight director when he said:

"The flight director's ultimate training comes at the console, working real problems, facing the risks, making irrevocable decisions."


Although we may not be faced with life and death decisions, we will (on occasions) have to make quick decisions. The better our skills and Critical Thinking are, coupled with training and quickness, the more prepared we will be to make sound decisions in the blink of an eye!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

A new way of seeing, 17 Jul 2008
In the blink of an eye we gather huge amounts of information. The author, Gladwell, likens our brains to giant computers capable of processing lots of data in a flash. I found it fascinating how we can use this information either for survival purposes and / or we can apply our intuitive knowledge to any given situation. The author coins the term "thin slicing" to explain the process of applying one's intuition. He states that we are often suspicious of trusting this intuition because it's so quick and easy, even when it's on target. He relays experiments where instantaneous "thin slicing" has amazing results, sometimes in life and death situations, but also explains what can cause the skillto fall short. The reason often being that we are not truly living in the present moment.

Two books that easily guide one into the present moment are Ariel and Shya Kane's "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "How To Create A Magical Relationship". These refreshingly fun and practical books effortlessly get the reader into the present moment where enlightenment resides. In an instant life can become brilliant and magical. Both of these intelligent books have shown me that life needn't be hard work in order to be amazing.

Enjoyable read, 07 Jul 2008
Gladwell's prose is effortlessly readable and the reader is constantly entertained by his anecdotes. I don't think he is a great thinker, but he presents his concepts very clearly and you immediately see how they are reflected in your own life. What the book lacks is a structured argument -by the end you feel as if it hasn't really gone anywhere. Nevertheless it's a very enjoyable read. Along similar lines, I would recommend Steve Taylor's excellent Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It, which 'unpacks' why we perceive time passing at different speeds in different situations and shows how we can become free of it.



Doesn't this guy understand irony, 19 May 2008
I am sorry but a book that discussing making good judgemnts on minimal information that then goes into page after page of repeating the same tired old examples and gives too much information. As the book says I knew it was right in the first few pages - why would I need the rest of it - now thats ironic

A look at things through the eyes of an economist., 08 Oct 2008
This book is a general interest book- and it certainly is interesting. The book, for anyone looking for an entertaining read, will like it. In a nutshell, the book takes a look at all sorts of things in society, from crack gangs to parenting, and then attempts to make sense of them by applying econonmic principles. According to the book, economics is really the study of incentives, and so using this kind of angle, the book comes up with answers to why things work the way they do.

A book that's hard to put down, I'm sure many readers will enjoy it. Also recommend The Sixty-Second Motivator for a more simplistic explanation of what motivates people and gives them incentives to do what they do.

Ho hum not very interesting application of numerical data to sociology, 26 Aug 2008
I really can't see why this book attracted much interest. It's a collection of not very interesting observations, some obvious (children of rich parents do better than children of poor parents, estate agents are more interested in their commissions than in getting you the best price for your house), others tendentious (the crime statistics prove that more adding police reduces crime, IQ is hereditary). By and large the authors' opinions and observations are middle-of-road conservative, with some liberalism on race issues. Very little of this is about economics, just the application of some minute degree of numerical rigour to social issues. I'd skip it if I were you.

Fun & interesting, 17 Aug 2008
This is a really interesting romp through some fairly random questions like "How is the KKK like a group of estate agents". The answers to the questions that drive this book are well discussed and backed up with research. Logical thought processes which bring to light some interesting answers. I particularly liked the discussion about reduction in crime rates being related to abortion policy (rather than policing or improved government crime prevention policies).

I'd agree with other reviewers in that it was a bit light on content...I got to the end and wanted more, but worth a read.

If you only read one book about economics, make sure this is the one, 13 Aug 2008
One could maybe argue that this isn't an economics book at all but instead a collection of connected essays drawing on concepts from economics and statistics to get the point across.

I find the style of writing very easy to get on with, and the book as a whole very easy to read. In many ways I wish this book had been written before I studies economics all those years ago as it would have been a good introduction to some concepts from the world of economics presented in a way which means that anyone can enjoy this book.

Many other reviews on here have already mentioned a lot of the good points about this book so I won't go on and repeat it all here. All that's left for me to say is ... go for it, give this book a go.

Fun, informative read, 16 Jun 2008
I am 23, studying Physics with strong interest in finance/market and investments. I found this book very interesting and fun as well.

English is not my mother tongue, but this book is so well written that didn't give me any trouble.

Totally recommended

Small but Perfectly Formed, 22 Nov 2008
Outliers: The Story of Success
Gladwell on fine form in this shiny little gem of a book. Don't we all love to read about the rich and successful. Give me 10,000 hours and I could be one of them!

conversation starting, thought-provoking, 21 Nov 2008
Spurred on by having tickets to hear Gladwell speak next week, I started reading this as soon as it arrived through the post. At first, I couldn't decide if Gladwell's ideas were incredibly basic or so profound I was missing something. By the time I finished, in one extended sitting, I was not only convinced by his argument about success, but empowered. I realised that Gladwell's brilliance is his ability to take what now seems like such an obvious, logical idea (clearly only in retrospect) and make it real. He not only makes the idea - that success is largely due to one's background and opportunities - come alive, but explains it in a fluent, engaging and utterly persuasive way. A way that, judging by the success of Blink or The Tipping Point, will surely make an impact on a massive number of people. A must read for anyone from their teens on up, who wishes to reconsider what we in the western world have been taught about success: that it requires, above all, spectacular talent or brilliance.

Gladwell at his best - inspirational!, 21 Nov 2008
I don't usually write reviews but was so surprised that someone could deem this 'boring', I felt compelled to respond. The one thing it isn't is boring. This book is fascinating, insightful and - as cliche as it sounds - empowering. It made me think a lot about my children and the way I thought about their potential for success. It made me reconsider the way I thought about my own personal achievements and the achievements of my family and friends. I love the way Gladwell tells a story and it's simply a delightful and inspirational book. I can't stop thinking and talking about the book to anyone and everyone who will listen!

Brilliant and thought provoking, 21 Nov 2008
I've not done this before and need to fess something up straight away - I work for the publisher of this book and also work with Amazon. However having read the first review up for this title I have say I couldn't disagree more - this is by some way the best Gladwell I've read, it is bursting with the usual nuanced and angled views on (yes) quite an obvious subject. No, it's not a celeb heavy statement of greatness, it's much more subtle than that. What makes the book so strong is how Gladwell digs into what everyone knows - hard work brings success - to uncover all the other elements. In fact it's a mistake to assume the theme of this book is as simple as hard work = success. Gladwell shows the background, the groundings on which success occurs. In the case of many sports you can work as hard as you like or focus as much as possible on your success - unless you are born in the right places and get exposed to the right competition you are not likely to crack it. And the personal ending to this book is a real departure for Gladwell, a fascinating insight into the very real side of some of these theories. So, yes, I'm biased, and yes, don't buy this if you want to hear Bill Gates tell you how he got so good. But do buy it if you have interest in the hidden side of success, the sociological elements of achievement (and failure), and just the sheer joy in unseen paths that Gladwell can bring out. I'm lucky, I didn't have to buy it - but I rammed through it in one sitting, enjoying every second of it.

Sheer nonsense!, 21 Nov 2008
Gladwell always tries to take a common topic of interest and put an unusual spin on it. In this case he has spun out of control. In this book he tries desperately to identify which factors make a person successful. There is no logical sequence - nor any logic at all to this book. Gladwell jumps around from one haphazzard topic to the next, grasping at straws, throwing in some spurious statistics to identify what set of factors makes a person successful.

As we all know, success is the result of knowing what you want and focusing on it. Whilst he may bring up a few interesting points, to wade through the content of the book for a highlight here and there is simply not worth it. In a nutshell, this book is boring, and does not add value to the reader. Rather read the autobiography of a successful person like Branson. (Branson's new book : "Business Sripped Bare" will give you far more insight into a multitude of success factors than the theoretical nonsense contained in Outliers!)

An enjoyable and compelling read - more something that gets you thinking and not an intense scientific analysis., 18 Nov 2008
'Blink' is, as many others have said, an anecdotal, absorbing book on the premise of just how powerful gut instincts can be. It's not an in-depth analysis or criticism of theory, but as I picked it up that wasn't what I was looking for anyway. As a Psychology student, I read it outside of my course for enjoyment and not only does it give grounding to such an interest (i.e. a friend in her 3rd year of Psychology is using 'thin-slicing' in her project, and I lent her this book to help her understand it fully!) but is also one of those books that stays with you. It affects how you think about certain decisions and a greater understanding of your own mind. What more could you want from it?

A Critical Decision Making Tool!, 24 Jul 2008
Sometimes decisions need to be made quickly. All of our knowledge, education, experience, reasoning, intuition, common sense and confidence must come together rapidly.

Malcolm Gladwell calls quick decision making thin slicing in his book: Blink. Thin slicing is the ability to focus on a small set of critical variables to make a quick decision rather than consciously considering every possible variable.

Many decisions are time dependent. Weighing the amount of information needed before making a decision, against the time available is a challenge.

Examples of when thin slicing is needed: combat, avoiding a car accident, or anything requiring an immediate decision. Another common name for thin slicing is thinking on your feet.

Gladwell does an excellent job of explaining what happens in these situations. For example:

"...in interviews with police officers who have been involved with shootings, these same details appear again and again: extreme visual clarity, tunnel vision, diminished sound, and the sense that time is slowing down. This is how the human body reacts to extreme stress..."

Besides the excellent examples given in the book, here is a classic example of using thin slicing.

Thin slicing was used on multiple occasions during the US space program. Gene Kranz (a flight controller on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs) writes about the need for quick accurate decisions in his book: Failure is not an Option.

Endless intensive simulations were run with the controllers, flight crew and others before every launch. Everyone's skills had to be razor sharp during the actual missions. Decisions had to be accurate and made in real time. There was little, and sometimes no room for error. Lives were at stake. Risk was part of their business.

Gene Kranz sums up how he gained his skills to be a top flight director when he said:

"The flight director's ultimate training comes at the console, working real problems, facing the risks, making irrevocable decisions."


Although we may not be faced with life and death decisions, we will (on occasions) have to make quick decisions. The better our skills and Critical Thinking are, coupled with training and quickness, the more prepared we will be to make sound decisions in the blink of an eye!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

A new way of seeing, 17 Jul 2008
In the blink of an eye we gather huge amounts of information. The author, Gladwell, likens our brains to giant computers capable of processing lots of data in a flash. I found it fascinating how we can use this information either for survival purposes and / or we can apply our intuitive knowledge to any given situation. The author coins the term "thin slicing" to explain the process of applying one's intuition. He states that we are often suspicious of trusting this intuition because it's so quick and easy, even when it's on target. He relays experiments where instantaneous "thin slicing" has amazing results, sometimes in life and death situations, but also explains what can cause the skillto fall short. The reason often being that we are not truly living in the present moment.

Two books that easily guide one into the present moment are Ariel and Shya Kane's "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "How To Create A Magical Relationship". These refreshingly fun and practical books effortlessly get the reader into the present moment where enlightenment resides. In an instant life can become brilliant and magical. Both of these intelligent books have shown me that life needn't be hard work in order to be amazing.

Enjoyable read, 07 Jul 2008
Gladwell's prose is effortlessly readable and the reader is constantly entertained by his anecdotes. I don't think he is a great thinker, but he presents his concepts very clearly and you immediately see how they are reflected in your own life. What the book lacks is a structured argument -by the end you feel as if it hasn't really gone anywhere. Nevertheless it's a very enjoyable read. Along similar lines, I would recommend Steve Taylor's excellent Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It, which 'unpacks' why we perceive time passing at different speeds in different situations and shows how we can become free of it.



Doesn't this guy understand irony, 19 May 2008
I am sorry but a book that discussing making good judgemnts on minimal information that then goes into page after page of repeating the same tired old examples and gives too much information. As the book says I knew it was right in the first few pages - why would I need the rest of it - now thats ironic

A look at things through the eyes of an economist., 08 Oct 2008
This book is a general interest book- and it certainly is interesting. The book, for anyone looking for an entertaining read, will like it. In a nutshell, the book takes a look at all sorts of things in society, from crack gangs to parenting, and then attempts to make sense of them by applying econonmic principles. According to the book, economics is really the study of incentives, and so using this kind of angle, the book comes up with answers to why things work the way they do.

A book that's hard to put down, I'm sure many readers will enjoy it. Also recommend The Sixty-Second Motivator for a more simplistic explanation of what motivates people and gives them incentives to do what they do.

Ho hum not very interesting application of numerical data to sociology, 26 Aug 2008
I really can't see why this book attracted much interest. It's a collection of not very interesting observations, some obvious (children of rich parents do better than children of poor parents, estate agents are more interested in their commissions than in getting you the best price for your house), others tendentious (the crime statistics prove that more adding police reduces crime, IQ is hereditary). By and large the authors' opinions and observations are middle-of-road conservative, with some liberalism on race issues. Very little of this is about economics, just the application of some minute degree of numerical rigour to social issues. I'd skip it if I were you.

Fun & interesting, 17 Aug 2008
This is a really interesting romp through some fairly random questions like "How is the KKK like a group of estate agents". The answers to the questions that drive this book are well discussed and backed up with research. Logical thought processes which bring to light some interesting answers. I particularly liked the discussion about reduction in crime rates being related to abortion policy (rather than policing or improved government crime prevention policies).

I'd agree with other reviewers in that it was a bit light on content...I got to the end and wanted more, but worth a read.

If you only read one book about economics, make sure this is the one, 13 Aug 2008
One could maybe argue that this isn't an economics book at all but instead a collection of connected essays drawing on concepts from economics and statistics to get the point across.

I find the style of writing very easy to get on with, and the book as a whole very easy to read. In many ways I wish this book had been written before I studies economics all those years ago as it would have been a good introduction to some concepts from the world of economics presented in a way which means that anyone can enjoy this book.

Many other reviews on here have already mentioned a lot of the good points about this book so I won't go on and repeat it all here. All that's left for me to say is ... go for it, give this book a go.

Fun, informative read, 16 Jun 2008
I am 23, studying Physics with strong interest in finance/market and investments. I found this book very interesting and fun as well.

English is not my mother tongue, but this book is so well written that didn't give me any trouble.

Totally recommended

Simply Outstanding!, 11 Aug 2008
Banksy's Wall and Piece is simply an amazing collection of his graffiti art all across the UK and the world. His unique style has won him international acclaim to fame. His artwork is not just vandalism but sends out a political statement which is bold and isn't afraid to mention things we would otherwise keep quiet. I first heard Banksy on a news website when he created another piece of work and then visited his website banksy.com, and since then fallen in love with his work. The other day I came across the book in a store and really enjoyed his collection of work. This is a must have book for any of those interested not just in art, but also those who have been shaped by the news in recent years.

To be honest, I am not a massive fan of art, or graffiti either but this is totally different! 5 STARS well deserved!

Colourful, vibrant, real, hopeful!, 24 May 2008
Persecuted in our fast and modern ways we thought the happiness will emerge eventually out of the individualistic work and the enhanced personal security. But instead of happiness we became fearful of the person next to us in such a way we caused depression.

We thought of a million ways to overcome the walls of our communication. Then Banksy, simply and quietly, used the language the humans always knew: "art". Using the freedom we always envy: "our walls". Exposing the obvious where political correctness or personal gain make us go silent: "graffiti".

Enjoy the book.

Banksy - a great summary of his work, 12 May 2008
The book summarizes his work pretty good. The new book (Banksy's Bristol - Home sweet home) does contain a lot of background stories - but this book just contains much more images and niece pieces of art.

Definitely a must-have, if you are interested in (stencil) graffiti.

There's Another Banksy, 25 Apr 2008
I have this book and absoluetly love it, it exaplains why he did it, how he did it and some of his experieces and anecdotes. The book is excellent to be able to see decent street art, but then I came across the person Bansky is inspired by. He is fairly unknown here in the UK but HE is BANKSY'S idol, he is called Blek Le Rat and he too has a book out, he is a 56 year old frenchman who has been doing the things Banksy has been doing for years longer, you can buy his book off amazon. I would say buy Banksy's book to see the British side of street art, but buy Blek Le Rat if you want to see the true inspiration behind Banksy's work.

brilliantly cool!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this book because im into graffiti, hip hop culture and art. Im doing a degree at the moment and thought it would be helpful, and im glad i did because not only is it funny and unique there is also a really clever message behind it all. If your considering buying it for influence with uni work or anthing like that then i seriously recommend it, if your just curious then its a really cool book to have.

Small but Perfectly Formed, 22 Nov 2008
Outliers: The Story of Success
Gladwell on fine form in this shiny little gem of a book. Don't we all love to read about the rich and successful. Give me 10,000 hours and I could be one of them!

conversation starting, thought-provoking, 21 Nov 2008
Spurred on by having tickets to hear Gladwell speak next week, I started reading this as soon as it arrived through the post. At first, I couldn't decide if Gladwell's ideas were incredibly basic or so profound I was missing something. By the time I finished, in one extended sitting, I was not only convinced by his argument about success, but empowered. I realised that Gladwell's brilliance is his ability to take what now seems like such an obvious, logical idea (clearly only in retrospect) and make it real. He not only makes the idea - that success is largely due to one's background and opportunities - come alive, but explains it in a fluent, engaging and utterly persuasive way. A way that, judging by the success of Blink or The Tipping Point, will surely make an impact on a massive number of people. A must read for anyone from their teens on up, who wishes to reconsider what we in the western world have been taught about success: that it requires, above all, spectacular talent or brilliance.

Gladwell at his best - inspirational!, 21 Nov 2008
I don't usually write reviews but was so surprised that someone could deem this 'boring', I felt compelled to respond. The one thing it isn't is boring. This book is fascinating, insightful and - as cliche as it sounds - empowering. It made me think a lot about my children and the way I thought about their potential for success. It made me reconsider the way I thought about my own personal achievements and the achievements of my family and friends. I love the way Gladwell tells a story and it's simply a delightful and inspirational book. I can't stop thinking and talking about the book to anyone and everyone who will listen!

Brilliant and thought provoking, 21 Nov 2008
I've not done this before and need to fess something up straight away - I work for the publisher of this book and also work with Amazon. However having read the first review up for this title I have say I couldn't disagree more - this is by some way the best Gladwell I've read, it is bursting with the usual nuanced and angled views on (yes) quite an obvious subject. No, it's not a celeb heavy statement of greatness, it's much more subtle than that. What makes the book so strong is how Gladwell digs into what everyone knows - hard work brings success - to uncover all the other elements. In fact it's a mistake to assume the theme of this book is as simple as hard work = success. Gladwell shows the background, the groundings on which success occurs. In the case of many sports you can work as hard as you like or focus as much as possible on your success - unless you are born in the right places and get exposed to the right competition you are not likely to crack it. And the personal ending to this book is a real departure for Gladwell, a fascinating insight into the very real side of some of these theories. So, yes, I'm biased, and yes, don't buy this if you want to hear Bill Gates tell you how he got so good. But do buy it if you have interest in the hidden side of success, the sociological elements of achievement (and failure), and just the sheer joy in unseen paths that Gladwell can bring out. I'm lucky, I didn't have to buy it - but I rammed through it in one sitting, enjoying every second of it.

Sheer nonsense!, 21 Nov 2008
Gladwell always tries to take a common topic of interest and put an unusual spin on it. In this case he has spun out of control. In this book he tries desperately to identify which factors make a person successful. There is no logical sequence - nor any logic at all to this book. Gladwell jumps around from one haphazzard topic to the next, grasping at straws, throwing in some spurious statistics to identify what set of factors makes a person successful.

As we all know, success is the result of knowing what you want and focusing on it. Whilst he may bring up a few interesting points, to wade through the content of the book for a highlight here and there is simply not worth it. In a nutshell, this book is boring, and does not add value to the reader. Rather read the autobiography of a successful person like Branson. (Branson's new book : "Business Sripped Bare" will give you far more insight into a multitude of success factors than the theoretical nonsense contained in Outliers!)

An enjoyable and compelling read - more something that gets you thinking and not an intense scientific analysis., 18 Nov 2008
'Blink' is, as many others have said, an anecdotal, absorbing book on the premise of just how powerful gut instincts can be. It's not an in-depth analysis or criticism of theory, but as I picked it up that wasn't what I was looking for anyway. As a Psychology student, I read it outside of my course for enjoyment and not only does it give grounding to such an interest (i.e. a friend in her 3rd year of Psychology is using 'thin-slicing' in her project, and I lent her this book to help her understand it fully!) but is also one of those books that stays with you. It affects how you think about certain decisions and a greater understanding of your own mind. What more could you want from it?

A Critical Decision Making Tool!, 24 Jul 2008
Sometimes decisions need to be made quickly. All of our knowledge, education, experience, reasoning, intuition, common sense and confidence must come together rapidly.

Malcolm Gladwell calls quick decision making thin slicing in his book: Blink. Thin slicing is the ability to focus on a small set of critical variables to make a quick decision rather than consciously considering every possible variable.

Many decisions are time dependent. Weighing the amount of information needed before making a decision, against the time available is a challenge.

Examples of when thin slicing is needed: combat, avoiding a car accident, or anything requiring an immediate decision. Another common name for thin slicing is thinking on your feet.

Gladwell does an excellent job of explaining what happens in these situations. For example:

"...in interviews with police officers who have been involved with shootings, these same details appear again and again: extreme visual clarity, tunnel vision, diminished sound, and the sense that time is slowing down. This is how the human body reacts to extreme stress..."

Besides the excellent examples given in the book, here is a classic example of using thin slicing.

Thin slicing was used on multiple occasions during the US space program. Gene Kranz (a flight controller on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs) writes about the need for quick accurate decisions in his book: Failure is not an Option.

Endless intensive simulations were run with the controllers, flight crew and others before every launch. Everyone's skills had to be razor sharp during the actual missions. Decisions had to be accurate and made in real time. There was little, and sometimes no room for error. Lives were at stake. Risk was part of their business.

Gene Kranz sums up how he gained his skills to be a top flight director when he said:

"The flight director's ultimate training comes at the console, working real problems, facing the risks, making irrevocable decisions."


Although we may not be faced with life and death decisions, we will (on occasions) have to make quick decisions. The better our skills and Critical Thinking are, coupled with training and quickness, the more prepared we will be to make sound decisions in the blink of an eye!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

A new way of seeing, 17 Jul 2008
In the blink of an eye we gather huge amounts of information. The author, Gladwell, likens our brains to giant computers capable of processing lots of data in a flash. I found it fascinating how we can use this information either for survival purposes and / or we can apply our intuitive knowledge to any given situation. The author coins the term "thin slicing" to explain the process of applying one's intuition. He states that we are often suspicious of trusting this intuition because it's so quick and easy, even when it's on target. He relays experiments where instantaneous "thin slicing" has amazing results, sometimes in life and death situations, but also explains what can cause the skillto fall short. The reason often being that we are not truly living in the present moment.

Two books that easily guide one into the present moment are Ariel and Shya Kane's "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "How To Create A Magical Relationship". These refreshingly fun and practical books effortlessly get the reader into the present moment where enlightenment resides. In an instant life can become brilliant and magical. Both of these intelligent books have shown me that life needn't be hard work in order to be amazing.

Enjoyable read, 07 Jul 2008
Gladwell's prose is effortlessly readable and the reader is constantly entertained by his anecdotes. I don't think he is a great thinker, but he presents his concepts very clearly and you immediately see how they are reflected in your own life. What the book lacks is a structured argument -by the end you feel as if it hasn't really gone anywhere. Nevertheless it's a very enjoyable read. Along similar lines, I would recommend Steve Taylor's excellent Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It, which 'unpacks' why we perceive time passing at different speeds in different situations and shows how we can become free of it.



Doesn't this guy understand irony, 19 May 2008
I am sorry but a book that discussing making good judgemnts on minimal information that then goes into page after page of repeating the same tired old examples and gives too much information. As the book says I knew it was right in the first few pages - why would I need the rest of it - now thats ironic

A look at things through the eyes of an economist., 08 Oct 2008
This book is a general interest book- and it certainly is interesting. The book, for anyone looking for an entertaining read, will like it. In a nutshell, the book takes a look at all sorts of things in society, from crack gangs to parenting, and then attempts to make sense of them by applying econonmic principles. According to the book, economics is really the study of incentives, and so using this kind of angle, the book comes up with answers to why things work the way they do.

A book that's hard to put down, I'm sure many readers will enjoy it. Also recommend The Sixty-Second Motivator for a more simplistic explanation of what motivates people and gives them incentives to do what they do.

Ho hum not very interesting application of numerical data to sociology, 26 Aug 2008
I really can't see why this book attracted much interest. It's a collection of not very interesting observations, some obvious (children of rich parents do better than children of poor parents, estate agents are more interested in their commissions than in getting you the best price for your house), others tendentious (the crime statistics prove that more adding police reduces crime, IQ is hereditary). By and large the authors' opinions and observations are middle-of-road conservative, with some liberalism on race issues. Very little of this is about economics, just the application of some minute degree of numerical rigour to social issues. I'd skip it if I were you.

Fun & interesting, 17 Aug 2008
This is a really interesting romp through some fairly random questions like "How is the KKK like a group of estate agents". The answers to the questions that drive this book are well discussed and backed up with research. Logical thought processes which bring to light some interesting answers. I particularly liked the discussion about reduction in crime rates being related to abortion policy (rather than policing or improved government crime prevention policies).

I'd agree with other reviewers in that it was a bit light on content...I got to the end and wanted more, but worth a read.

If you only read one book about economics, make sure this is the one, 13 Aug 2008
One could maybe argue that this isn't an economics book at all but instead a collection of connected essays drawing on concepts from economics and statistics to get the point across.

I find the style of writing very easy to get on with, and the book as a whole very easy to read. In many ways I wish this book had been written before I studies economics all those years ago as it would have been a good introduction to some concepts from the world of economics presented in a way which means that anyone can enjoy this book.

Many other reviews on here have already mentioned a lot of the good points about this book so I won't go on and repeat it all here. All that's left for me to say is ... go for it, give this book a go.

Fun, informative read, 16 Jun 2008
I am 23, studying Physics with strong interest in finance/market and investments. I found this book very interesting and fun as well.

English is not my mother tongue, but this book is so well written that didn't give me any trouble.

Totally recommended

Simply Outstanding!, 11 Aug 2008
Banksy's Wall and Piece is simply an amazing collection of his graffiti art all across the UK and the world. His unique style has won him international acclaim to fame. His artwork is not just vandalism but sends out a political statement which is bold and isn't afraid to mention things we would otherwise keep quiet. I first heard Banksy on a news website when he created another piece of work and then visited his website banksy.com, and since then fallen in love with his work. The other day I came across the book in a store and really enjoyed his collection of work. This is a must have book for any of those interested not just in art, but also those who have been shaped by the news in recent years.

To be honest, I am not a massive fan of art, or graffiti either but this is totally different! 5 STARS well deserved!

Colourful, vibrant, real, hopeful!, 24 May 2008
Persecuted in our fast and modern ways we thought the happiness will emerge eventually out of the individualistic work and the enhanced personal security. But instead of happiness we became fearful of the person next to us in such a way we caused depression.

We thought of a million ways to overcome the walls of our communication. Then Banksy, simply and quietly, used the language the humans always knew: "art". Using the freedom we always envy: "our walls". Exposing the obvious where political correctness or personal gain make us go silent: "graffiti".

Enjoy the book.

Banksy - a great summary of his work, 12 May 2008
The book summarizes his work pretty good. The new book (Banksy's Bristol - Home sweet home) does contain a lot of background stories - but this book just contains much more images and niece pieces of art.

Definitely a must-have, if you are interested in (stencil) graffiti.

There's Another Banksy, 25 Apr 2008
I have this book and absoluetly love it, it exaplains why he did it, how he did it and some of his experieces and anecdotes. The book is excellent to be able to see decent street art, but then I came across the person Bansky is inspired by. He is fairly unknown here in the UK but HE is BANKSY'S idol, he is called Blek Le Rat and he too has a book out, he is a 56 year old frenchman who has been doing the things Banksy has been doing for years longer, you can buy his book off amazon. I would say buy Banksy's book to see the British side of street art, but buy Blek Le Rat if you want to see the true inspiration behind Banksy's work.

brilliantly cool!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this book because im into graffiti, hip hop culture and art. Im doing a degree at the moment and thought it would be helpful, and im glad i did because not only is it funny and unique there is also a really clever message behind it all. If your considering buying it for influence with uni work or anthing like that then i seriously recommend it, if your just curious then its a really cool book to have.

An entertaining explanation of the reading process, 28 Jun 2008
In Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, Maryanne Wolf, an expert on the reading brain, describes how our brains manage to read. Reading is not an innate activity, but it is an invention, and only a few thousand years old at that. It does not come naturally to humans in the way that walking or eating does and on the first page of this book, we learn that it is only because of the remarkable "plasticity" of our brains that we are able to achieve an understanding of the written word.

The book is divided into three parts. Firstly the history of how humans learned to read, secondly how reading is learned and how it develops, and thirdly what happens when in cases like dyslexia, something goes wrong in the "learning to read" process.

The reference to Proust in the title refers to passages from Proust's writings in which he describes the pleasure of reading, the memories that are evoked by thinking back to special books from childhood (how Proustian!), and the "reading sanctuary", that place of escape, a refuge from the world and its troubles. If Proust is a metaphor for a particular approach to reading, so the squid in the title refers to early neruo-scientific investigations of that creature which found how neurons fire and transmit to each other, adapting when things go wrong, repairing and compensating along the way. The squid analogy refers to the way reading required something new from existing structure of the brain, only possible because of the "plasticity" referred to earlier.

Wolf describes how reading actually changes us. We interact with books, both making them our own (everyone reads a text in their own way), but we are also permanently changed by them. "We bring our life experiences to the text, and the text changes our experience of life". Whenever we read, our original boundaries are challenged, teased and gradually placed somewhere new. An expanding sense of "other" changes who we are.

The section on the development of alphabets and reading systems is fascinating. Different types of brain activity are needed to read say Mandarin Chinese than are required for the Western alphabet. The style of writing shapes the culture to a degree, and certainly changes the reading experience. "Learning to read changes the visual cortex of the brain. The expert readers visual areas are now populated with cell networks responsible for visual images of letters, letter patterns and words". The eye moves ahead with a Western text, but moves leftward with a Hebrew text, gathering advance information about the text before it even reaches it.

The section on dyslexia was less interesting to me, but no doubt with be of great interest to educators and parents of dyslexic children. I am sure however that these chapters fit well into the book as a whole because they do actually illustrate what happens when for most of us, reading works flawlessly.

For those, like me, who are interested in "books about books", and the reading process Proust and the Squid would be an excellent addition to their library, a book to refer back to and to re-read. It is a little difficult to take in all the scientific material about brain processes, but there is much of immediate interest, the more complex neuro-science being available for study at a later time.

The mystery behind being able to read (or not) explained., 18 Apr 2008
Maryanne Wolf provides a fascinating insight into how we learn to read and the amazing things our brain does to make it happen. She also gives a comprehensive explanation of all the things that can go wrong. We expect our children to master in a couple of thousand days (from scratch as our brains aren't wired for reading at birth) what it took humanity several thousand years to develop. An important book for parents, teachers and anyone interested in one of humanities main achievements.

Literary, Historical, Biological, Cognitive, and Futurist Insights into Reading, Creativity, and Brain Development, 05 Oct 2007
I was attracted to this book by the title: What could Proust and a Squid have in common? As it turned out, squids make only two cameo appearances in the book on pages 5-6 and 226 (probably to justify the title in references to the early use of squids in neuroscience studies and for conjecture about passing along genetic traits that make survival more difficult), but Proust in pretty mainstream throughout the book as a resource and reference for describing the richness that reading can bring to individual experience.

Professor Wolf has written a multidisciplinary book that is mind-boggling in its breadth. You'll learn everything from how writing and alphabets developed to why Socrates disfavored reading to how mental processes vary among dyslexics who are reading different languages to the best ways for diagnosing and overcoming reading difficulties.

Yet unlike most multidisciplinary books, this one is very brief and compact. But that compactness is misleading; Proust and the Squid is a challenging book to read and contemplate. Only good readers with a lot of background in literature and neuroscience can probably grasp this book. What's more, there are vast numbers of references that you can pursue if you want to know more.

The writing style makes the book denser than it needed to be. Professor Wolf makes matters worse for lay readers by insisting on the correct scientific names throughout, when the ordinary names would have made the material easier to grasp. As a result, at times you'll feel like you are taking a course in disciplinary vocabulary. At other times, Professor Wolf engages in a penchant for long, abstract sentences: "What is historically humbling about Sumerian writing and pedagogy is not their understanding of morphological principles, but their realization that the teaching of reading must begin with explicit attention to the principles characteristics of oral language." This sentence could be rewritten as "Most impressively, Sumerians developed a written language that made reading easier to learn by visually reproducing what was spoken." Obviously, her rendition is more creative . . . but I like mine better.

Here is what was new to me: Reading involves complex mental processes that are not natural to the brain's earliest functions. As a result, new neural connections need to be developed in the right order if someone is to be a good reader. Various brain scan tests have illuminated this finding and those neural pathways are well illustrated and described in this book. But there are different ways that those neural connections can be made, some of which will make reading difficult.

The book's strength is in providing you with a sense of how humans learned how to develop written language and read it rapidly . . . and gain greatly from reading. The book also is good in the area of making the case for those who can't read aren't deficient, rather than are different in ways that offer other potential advantages such as creativity. If someone in your family doesn't read well, you'll love that part of the message.

Where I thought the book was weakest was in worrying about the implications of highly condensed (and possibly inaccurate) online information substituting for traditional reading of books and articles. To me, it seemed like much ado about nothing. Human curiosity will always drive forward learning, something that Professor Wolf doesn't address. Provide that curiosity with more tools and resources, and more learning will take place. Here's an example. Today I was finishing my proofreading of my latest book. In the past, I had researchers diligently check each quotation for accuracy and source. Inevitably, there would be mistakes that weren't caught and made it into my books. By using the internet to crosscheck the sources this time, I was able to do the task much better and in less time . . . correcting many mistakes in the reference sources in my library. Having had this experience, I'll probably do more seeking of quotations directly from the internet in the future . . . and that will probably improve the quality of my quotations.

Bravo, Professor Wolf!

Small but Perfectly Formed, 22 Nov 2008
Outliers: The Story of Success
Gladwell on fine form in this shiny little gem of a book. Don't we all love to read about the rich and successful. Give me 10,000 hours and I could be one of them!

conversation starting, thought-provoking, 21 Nov 2008
Spurred on by having tickets to hear Gladwell speak next week, I started reading this as soon as it arrived through the post. At first, I couldn't decide if Gladwell's ideas were incredibly basic or so profound I was missing something. By the time I finished, in one extended sitting, I was not only convinced by his argument about success, but empowered. I realised that Gladwell's brilliance is his ability to take what now seems like such an obvious, logical idea (clearly only in retrospect) and make it real. He not only makes the idea - that success is largely due to one's background and opportunities - come alive, but explains it in a fluent, engaging and utterly persuasive way. A way that, judging by the success of Blink or The Tipping Point, will surely make an impact on a massive number of people. A must read for anyone from their teens on up, who wishes to reconsider what we in the western world have been taught about success: that it requires, above all, spectacular talent or brilliance.

Gladwell at his best - inspirational!, 21 Nov 2008
I don't usually write reviews but was so surprised that someone could deem this 'boring', I felt compelled to respond. The one thing it isn't is boring. This book is fascinating, insightful and - as cliche as it sounds - empowering. It made me think a lot about my children and the way I thought about their potential for success. It made me reconsider the way I thought about my own personal achievements and the achievements of my family and friends. I love the way Gladwell tells a story and it's simply a delightful and inspirational book. I can't stop thinking and talking about the book to anyone and everyone who will listen!

Brilliant and thought provoking, 21 Nov 2008
I've not done this before and need to fess something up straight away - I work for the publisher of this book and also work with Amazon. However having read the first review up for this title I have say I couldn't disagree more - this is by some way the best Gladwell I've read, it is bursting with the usual nuanced and angled views on (yes) quite an obvious subject. No, it's not a celeb heavy statement of greatness, it's much more subtle than that. What makes the book so strong is how Gladwell digs into what everyone knows - hard work brings success - to uncover all the other elements. In fact it's a mistake to assume the theme of this book is as simple as hard work = success. Gladwell shows the background, the groundings on which success occurs. In the case of many sports you can work as hard as you like or focus as much as possible on your success - unless you are born in the right places and get exposed to the right competition you are not likely to crack it. And the personal ending to this book is a real departure for Gladwell, a fascinating insight into the very real side of some of these theories. So, yes, I'm biased, and yes, don't buy this if you want to hear Bill Gates tell you how he got so good. But do buy it if you have interest in the hidden side of success, the sociological elements of achievement (and failure), and just the sheer joy in unseen paths that Gladwell can bring out. I'm lucky, I didn't have to buy it - but I rammed through it in one sitting, enjoying every second of it.

Sheer nonsense!, 21 Nov 2008
Gladwell always tries to take a common topic of interest and put an unusual spin on it. In this case he has spun out of control. In this book he tries desperately to identify which factors make a person successful. There is no logical sequence - nor any logic at all to this book. Gladwell jumps around from one haphazzard topic to the next, grasping at straws, throwing in some spurious statistics to identify what set of factors makes a person successful.

As we all know, success is the result of knowing what you want and focusing on it. Whilst he may bring up a few interesting points, to wade through the content of the book for a highlight here and there is simply not worth it. In a nutshell, this book is boring, and does not add value to the reader. Rather read the autobiography of a successful person like Branson. (Branson's new book : "Business Sripped Bare" will give you far more insight into a multitude of success factors than the theoretical nonsense contained in Outliers!)

An enjoyable and compelling read - more something that gets you thinking and not an intense scientific analysis., 18 Nov 2008
'Blink' is, as many others have said, an anecdotal, absorbing book on the premise of just how powerful gut instincts can be. It's not an in-depth analysis or criticism of theory, but as I picked it up that wasn't what I was looking for anyway. As a Psychology student, I read it outside of my course for enjoyment and not only does it give grounding to such an interest (i.e. a friend in her 3rd year of Psychology is using 'thin-slicing' in her project, and I lent her this book to help her understand it fully!) but is also one of those books that stays with you. It affects how you think about certain decisions and a greater understanding of your own mind. What more could you want from it?

A Critical Decision Making Tool!, 24 Jul 2008
Sometimes decisions need to be made quickly. All of our knowledge, education, experience, reasoning, intuition, common sense and confidence must come together rapidly.

Malcolm Gladwell calls quick decision making thin slicing in his book: Blink. Thin slicing is the ability to focus on a small set of critical variables to make a quick decision rather than consciously considering every possible variable.

Many decisions are time dependent. Weighing the amount of information needed before making a decision, against the time available is a challenge.

Examples of when thin slicing is needed: combat, avoiding a car accident, or anything requiring an immediate decision. Another common name for thin slicing is thinking on your feet.

Gladwell does an excellent job of explaining what happens in these situations. For example:

"...in interviews with police officers who have been involved with shootings, these same details appear again and again: extreme visual clarity, tunnel vision, diminished sound, and the sense that time is slowing down. This is how the human body reacts to extreme stress..."

Besides the excellent examples given in the book, here is a classic example of using thin slicing.

Thin slicing was used on multiple occasions during the US space program. Gene Kranz (a flight controller on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs) writes about the need for quick accurate decisions in his book: Failure is not an Option.

Endless intensive simulations were run with the controllers, flight crew and others before every launch. Everyone's skills had to be razor sharp during the actual missions. Decisions had to be accurate and made in real time. There was little, and sometimes no room for error. Lives were at stake. Risk was part of their business.

Gene Kranz sums up how he gained his skills to be a top flight director when he said:

"The flight director's ultimate training comes at the console, working real problems, facing the risks, making irrevocable decisions."


Although we may not be faced with life and death decisions, we will (on occasions) have to make quick decisions. The better our skills and Critical Thinking are, coupled with training and quickness, the more prepared we will be to make sound decisions in the blink of an eye!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

A new way of seeing, 17 Jul 2008
In the blink of an eye we gather huge amounts of information. The author, Gladwell, likens our brains to giant computers capable of processing lots of data in a flash. I found it fascinating how we can use this information either for survival purposes and / or we can apply our intuitive knowledge to any given situation. The author coins the term "thin slicing" to explain the process of applying one's intuition. He states that we are often suspicious of trusting this intuition because it's so quick and easy, even when it's on target. He relays experiments where instantaneous "thin slicing" has amazing results, sometimes in life and death situations, but also explains what can cause the skillto fall short. The reason often being that we are not truly living in the present moment.

Two books that easily guide one into the present moment are Ariel and Shya Kane's "Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "How To Create A Magical Relationship". These refreshingly fun and practical books effortlessly get the reader into the present moment where enlightenment resides. In an instant life can become brilliant and magical. Both of these intelligent books have shown me that life needn't be hard work in order to be amazing.

Enjoyable read, 07 Jul 2008
Gladwell's prose is effortlessly readable and the reader is constantly entertained by his anecdotes. I don't think he is a great thinker, but he presents his concepts very clearly and you immediately see how they are reflected in your own life. What the book lacks is a structured argument -by the end you feel as if it hasn't really gone anywhere. Nevertheless it's a very enjoyable read. Along similar lines, I would recommend Steve Taylor's excellent Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It, which 'unpacks' why we perceive time passing at different speeds in different situations and shows how we can become free of it.



Doesn't this guy understand irony, 19 May 2008
I am sorry but a book that discussing making good judgemnts on minimal information that then goes into page after page of repeating the same tired old examples and gives too much information. As the book says I knew it was right in the first few pages - why would I need the rest of it - now thats ironic

A look at things through the eyes of an economist., 08 Oct 2008
This book is a general interest book- and it certainly is interesting. The book, for anyone looking for an entertaining read, will like it. In a nutshell, the book takes a look at all sorts of things in society, from crack gangs to parenting, and then attempts to make sense of them by applying econonmic principles. According to the book, economics is really the study of incentives, and so using this kind of angle, the book comes up with answers to why things work the way they do.

A book that's hard to put down, I'm sure many readers will enjoy it. Also recommend The Sixty-Second Motivator for a more simplistic explanation of what motivates people and gives them incentives to do what they do.

Ho hum not very interesting application of numerical data to sociology, 26 Aug 2008
I really can't see why this book attracted much interest. It's a collection of not very interesting observations, some obvious (children of rich parents do better than children of poor parents, estate agents are more interested in their commissions than in getting you the best price for your house), others tendentious (the crime statistics prove that more adding police reduces crime, IQ is hereditary). By and large the authors' opinions and observations are middle-of-road conservative, with some liberalism on race issues. Very little of this is about economics, just the application of some minute degree of numerical rigour to social issues. I'd skip it if I were you.

Fun & interesting, 17 Aug 2008
This is a really interesting romp through some fairly random questions like "How is the KKK like a group of estate agents". The answers to the questions that drive this book are well discussed and backed up with research. Logical thought processes which bring to light some interesting answers. I particularly liked the discussion about reduction in crime rates being related to abortion policy (rather than policing or improved government crime prevention policies).

I'd agree with other reviewers in that it was a bit light on content...I got to the end and wanted more, but worth a read.

If you only read one book about economics, make sure this is the one, 13 Aug 2008
One could maybe argue that this isn't an economics book at all but instead a collection of connected essays drawing on concepts from economics and statistics to get the point across.

I find the style of writing very easy to get on with, and the book as a whole very easy to read. In many ways I wish this book had been written before I studies economics all those years ago as it would have been a good introduction to some concepts from the world of economics presented in a way which means that anyone can enjoy this book.

Many other reviews on here have already mentioned a lot of the good points about this book so I won't go on and repeat it all here. All that's left for me to say is ... go for it, give this book a go.

Fun, informative read, 16 Jun 2008
I am 23, studying Physics with strong interest in finance/market and investments. I found this book very interesting and fun as well.

English is not my mother tongue, but this book is so well written that didn't give me any trouble.

Totally recommended

Simply Outstanding!, 11 Aug 2008
Banksy's Wall and Piece is simply an amazing collection of his graffiti art all across the UK and the world. His unique style has won him international acclaim to fame. His artwork is not just vandalism but sends out a political statement which is bold and isn't afraid to mention things we would otherwise keep quiet. I first heard Banksy on a news website when he created another piece of work and then visited his website banksy.com, and since then fallen in love with his work. The other day I came across the book in a store and really enjoyed his collection of work. This is a must have book for any of those interested not just in art, but also those who have been shaped by the news in recent years.

To be honest, I am not a massive fan of art, or graffiti either but this is totally different! 5 STARS well deserved!

Colourful, vibrant, real, hopeful!, 24 May 2008
Persecuted in our fast and modern ways we thought the happiness will emerge eventually out of the individualistic work and the enhanced personal security. But instead of happiness we became fearful of the person next to us in such a way we caused depression.

We thought of a million ways to overcome the walls of our communication. Then Banksy, simply and quietly, used the language the humans always knew: "art". Using the freedom we always envy: "our walls". Exposing the obvious where political correctness or personal gain make us go silent: "graffiti".

Enjoy the book.

Banksy - a great summary of his work, 12 May 2008
The book summarizes his work pretty good. The new book (Banksy's Bristol - Home sweet home) does contain a lot of background stories - but this book just contains much more images and niece pieces of art.

Definitely a must-have, if you are interested in (stencil) graffiti.

There's Another Banksy, 25 Apr 2008
I have this book and absoluetly love it, it exaplains why he did it, how he did it and some of his experieces and anecdotes. The book is excellent to be able to see decent street art, but then I came across the person Bansky is inspired by. He is fairly unknown here in the UK but HE is BANKSY'S idol, he is called Blek Le Rat and he too has a book out, he is a 56 year old frenchman who has been doing the things Banksy has been doing for years longer, you can buy his book off amazon. I would say buy Banksy's book to see the British side of street art, but buy Blek Le Rat if you want to see the true inspiration behind Banksy's work.

brilliantly cool!!!!, 25 Mar 2008
I bought this book because im into graffiti, hip hop culture and art. Im doing a degree at the moment and thought it would be helpful, and im glad i did because not only is it funny and unique there is also a really clever message behind it all. If your considering buying it for influence with uni work or anthing like that then i seriously recommend it, if your just curious then its a really cool book to have.

An entertaining explanation of the reading process, 28 Jun 2008
In Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, Maryanne Wolf, an expert on the reading brain, describes how our brains manage to read. Reading is not an innate activity, but it is an invention, and only a few thousand years old at that. It does not come naturally to humans in the way that walking or eating does and on the first page of this book, we learn that it is only because of the remarkable "plasticity" of our brains that we are able to achieve an understanding of the written word.

The book is divided into three parts. Firstly the history of how humans learned to read, secondly how reading is learned and how it develops, and thirdly what happens when in cases like dyslexia, something goes wrong in the "learning to read" process.

The reference to Proust in the title refers to passages from Proust's writings in which he describes the pleasure of reading, the memories that are evoked by thinking back to special books from childhood (how Proustian!), and the "reading sanctuary", that place of escape, a refuge from the world and its troubles. If Proust is a metaphor for a particular approach to reading, so the squid in the title refers to early neruo-scientific investigations of that creature which found how neurons fire and transmit to each other, adapting when things go wrong, repairing and compensating along the way. The squid analogy refers to the way reading required something new from existing structure of the brain, only possible because of the "plasticity" referred to earlier.

Wolf describes how reading actually changes us. We interact with books, both making them our own (everyone reads a text in their own way), but we are also permanently changed by them. "We bring our life experiences to the text, and the text changes our experience of life". Whenever we read, our original boundaries are challenged, teased and gradually placed somewhere new. An expanding sense of "other" changes who we are.

The section on the development of alphabets and reading systems is fascinating. Different types of brain activity are needed to read say Mandarin Chinese than are required for the Western alphabet. The style of writing shapes the culture to a degree, and certainly changes the reading experience. "Learning to read changes the visual cortex of the brain. The expert readers visual areas are now populated with cell networks responsible for visual images of letters, letter patterns and words". The eye moves ahead with a Western text, but moves leftward with a Hebrew text, gathering advance information about the text before it even reaches it.

The section on dyslexia was less interesting to me, but no doubt with be of great interest to educators and parents of dyslexic children. I am sure however that these chapters fit well into the book as a whole because they do actually illustrate what happens when for most of us, reading works flawlessly.

For those, like me, who are interested in "books about books", and the reading process Proust and the Squid would be an excellent addition to their library, a book to refer back to and to re-read. It is a little difficult to take in all the scientific material about brain processes, but there is much of immediate interest, the more complex neuro-science being available for study at a later time.

The mystery behind being able to read (or not) explained., 18 Apr 2008
Maryanne Wolf provides a fascinating insight into how we learn to read and the amazing things our brain does to make it happen. She also gives a comprehensive explanation of all the things that can go wrong. We expect our children to master in a couple of thousand days (from scratch as our brains aren't wired for reading at birth) what it took humanity several thousand years to develop. An important book for parents, teachers and anyone interested in one of humanities main achievements.

Literary, Historical, Biological, Cognitive, and Futurist Insights into Reading, Creativity, and Brain Development, 05 Oct 2007
I was attracted to this book by the title: What could Proust and a Squid have in common? As it turned out, squids make only two cameo appearances in the book on pages 5-6 and 226 (probably to justify the title in references to the early use of squids in neuroscience studies and for conjecture about passing along genetic traits that make survival more difficult), but Proust in pretty mainstream throughout the book as a resource and reference for describing the richness that reading can bring to individual experience.

Professor Wolf has written a multidisciplinary book that is mind-boggling in its breadth. You'll learn everything from how writing and alphabets developed to why Socrates disfavored reading to how mental processes vary among dyslexics who are reading different languages to the best ways for diagnosing and overcoming reading difficulties.

Yet unlike most multidisciplinary books, this one is very brief and compact. But that compactness is misleading; Proust and the Squid is a challenging book to read and contemplate. Only good readers with a lot of background in literature and neuroscience can probably grasp this book. What's more, there are vast numbers of references that you can pursue if you want to know more.

The writing style makes the book denser than it needed to be. Professor Wolf makes matters worse for lay readers by insisting on the correct scientific names throughout, when the ordinary names would have made the material easier to grasp. As a result, at times you'll feel like you are taking a course in disciplinary vocabulary. At other times, Professor Wolf engages in a penchant for long, abstract sentences: "What is historically humbling about Sumerian writing and pedagogy is not their understanding of morphological principles, but their realization that the teaching of reading must begin with explicit attention to the principles characteristics of oral language." This sentence could be rewritten as "Most impressively, Sumerians developed a written language that made reading easier to learn by visually reproducing what was spoken." Obviously, her rendition is more creative . . . but I like mine better.

Here is what was new to me: Reading involves complex mental processes that are not natural to the brain's earliest functions. As a result, new neural connections need to be developed in the right order if someone is to be a good reader. Various brain scan tests have illuminated this finding and those neural pathways are well illustrated and described in this book. But there are different ways that those neural connections can be made, some of which will make reading difficult.

The book's strength is in providing you with a sense of how humans learned how to develop written language and read it rapidly . . . and gain greatly from reading. The book also is good in the area of making the case for those who can't read aren't deficient, rather than are different in ways that offer other potential advantages such as creativity. If someone in your family doesn't read well, you'll love that part of the message.

Where I thought the book was weakest was in worrying about the implications of highly condensed (and possibly inaccurate) online information substituting for traditional reading of books and articles. To me, it seemed like much ado about nothing. Human curiosity will always drive forward learning, something that Professor Wolf doesn't address. Provide that curiosity with more tools and resources, and more learning will take place. Here's an example. Today I was finishing my proofreading of my latest book. In the past, I had researchers diligently check each quotation for accuracy and source. Inevitably, there would be mistakes that weren't caught and made it into my books. By using the internet to crosscheck the sources this time, I was able to do the task much better and in less time . . . correcting many mistakes in the reference sources in my library. Having had this experience, I'll probably do more seeking of quotations directly from the internet in the future . . . and that will probably improve the quality of my quotations.

Bravo, Professor Wolf!

Simply Outstanding!, 11 Aug 2008
Banksy's Wall and Piece is simply an amazing collection of his graffiti art all across the UK and the world. His unique style has won him international acclaim to fame. His artwork is not just vandalism but sends out a political statement which is bold and isn't afraid to mention things we would otherwise keep quiet. I first heard Banksy on a news website when he created another piece of work and then visited his website banksy.com, and since then fallen in love with his work. The other day I came across the book in a store and really enjoyed his collection of work. This is a must have book for any of those interested not just in art, but also those who have been shaped by the news in recent years.

To be honest, I am not a massive fan of art, or graffiti either but this is totally different! 5 STARS well deserved!

Colourful, vibrant, real, hopeful!, 24 May 2008
Persecuted in our fast and modern ways we thought the happiness will emerge eventually out of the individualistic work and the enhanced personal security. But instead of happiness we became fearful of the person next to us in such a way we caused depression.

We thought of a million ways to overcome the walls of our communication. Then Banksy, simply and quietly, used the language the humans always knew: "art". Using the freedom we always envy: "our walls". Exposing the obvious where political correctness or personal gain make us go silent: "graffiti".

Enjoy the book.

Banksy - a great summary of his work, 12 May 2008
The book summarizes his work pretty good. The new book (Banksy's Bristol - Home sweet home) does contain a lot of background stories - but this book just contains much more images and niece pieces of art.