David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell

Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell's dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives, from the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia. Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won. Or should he have? In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwellchallenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks. Gladwell begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, David and Goliath examines Northern Ireland's Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms--all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity. In the tradition of Gladwell's previous bestsellers--The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw--David and Goliath draws upon history, psychology, and powerful storytelling to reshape the way we think of the world around us. Editorial Reviews Truly intriguing and inspiring.-Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times Provocative....David and Goliath is a lean, consuming read.-John Wilwol, San Francisco Chronicle As always, Gladwell's sweep is breathtaking and thought-provoking.-Joe Nocera, New York Times Fascinating....Gladwell is a master of synthesis. This perennially bestselling author prides himself on radical re-thinking and urges the rest of us to follow suit.-Heller McAlpin, Washington Post What propels the book, like all of Gladwell's writing, is his intoxicating brand of storytelling. He is the master of mixing familiar elements with surprise counter-intuitions, and then seasoning with a sprinkling of scientific evidence....Gladwell is a master craftsman, an outlier amongst authors.-Rob Brooks, Huffington Post Gladwell's most provocative book yet. David and Goliath challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, drawing upon history, psychology, and powerful narrative talent to rethink how we view the world around us and how to deal with the challenges life throws at us.-Susanne Jaffe, Columbus Dispatch Gladwell has made a career out of questioning conventional wisdom, and here he examines the allegedly unlikely triumph of the weak over the mighty and shows it's not so unlikely after all. 4 stars.-Judith Newman, People Magazine Engrossing.... Gladwell's singular gift is animating the experience of his subjects. He has an uncanny ability to simplify without being simplistic: clean and vivid Strunk and White prose in the service of peerless storytelling.-David Takami, Seattle Times Contemporary society can't escape history when Malcolm Gladwell explains the world as he does with David and Goliath.-Jane Henderson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell explores the dynamics that inform and effect our everyday lives. By analyzing the Biblical account of the clash between David and Goliath, Gladwell presents a bold new interpretation of the lessons we should apply from it.-Today Show - From the Publisher Contemporary society can't escape history when Malcolm Gladwell explains the world as he does with David and Goliath. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch What propels the book, like all of Gladwell's writing, is his intoxicating brand of storytelling. He is the master of mixing familiar elements with surprise counter-intuitions and then seasoning with a sprinkling of scientific evidence....Gladwell is a master craftsman, an outlier amongst authors. - Huffington Post As always, Gladwell's sweep is breathtaking and thought provoking. - New York Times Truly intriguing and inspiring, especially when Gladwell discusses ‘desirable difficulties'...Gladwell's account of the journey of Dr. Emil ‘Jay' Freireich is unforgettable. - |Los Angeles Times Gladwell has long proven to be a capable narrator of his own books, and this production reflects his continued success. The work posits that personal obstacles may not always be detrimental-that they can, in fact, help some people outperform others. Gladwell steeps his research in interconnected anecdotes that require a good deal of storytelling, a structure that works well for audio. His vocal delivery commands the attention of listeners through tone, pacing, and well-placed pauses. At times, his delivery feels so natural and conversational that listeners can almost feel his presence in the room. - AudioFile Gladwell sells books by the millions because he is masterful at explaining how the world works-the power of critical mass, the arbitrariness of success, etc.-packaging his ideas in fun, accessible, and poignant vignettes. - USA Today David and Goliath readers will travel with colorful characters who overcame great difficulties and learn fascinating facts about the Battle of Britain, cancer medicine, and the struggle for civil rights, to name just a few topics upon which Mr. Gladwell's wide-ranging narrative touches. This is an entertaining book. - Wall Street Journal Provocative....David and Goliath is a lean, consuming read...The book's most crafty, engaging chapter ties together the Impressionist movement and college choices to highlight the fact that gaining admission to elite institutions, which we typically perceive as an advantage, is no guarantee of success. - San Francisco Chronicle Fascinating...Gladwell is a master of synthesis. This perennially bestselling author prides himself on radical re-thinking and urges the rest of us to follow suit. - Washington Post Gladwell's bestsellers, such as The Tipping Point and Outliers, have changed the way we think about sociological changes and the factors that contribute to high levels of success. Here he examines and challenges our concepts of ‘advantage' and ‘disadvantage' in a way that may seem intuitive to some and surprising to others. Beginning with the classic tale of David and Goliath and moving through history with figures such as Lawrence of Arabia and Martin Luther King Jr., Gladwell shows how, time and again, players labeled ‘underdog' use that status to their advantage and prevail through the elements of cunning and surprise...As usual, Gladwell presents his research in a fresh and easy-to-understand context. - Booklist (starred review) The fifty-year-old Canadian is a superstar, the most popular staff writer on the New Yorker and a hero in the frequent-flier lounge where journalism, social science, business management, and self-help hang out....It's a good story, and he's got plenty more. - Oregonian Gladwell's most provocative book yet. David and Goliath challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, drawing upon history, psychology, and powerful narrative talent to rethink how we view the world around us and how to deal with the challenges life throws at us. - Columbus Dispatch Engrossing...Gladwell's singular gift is animating the experience of his subjects. He has an uncanny ability to simplify without being simplistic: clean and vivid Strunk and White prose in the service of peerless storytelling. - Seattle Times Gladwell has made a career out of questioning conventional wisdom, and here he examines the allegedly unlikely triumph of the weak over the mighty and shows it's not so unlikely after all. Four stars. - People Intoxicating.Gladwell is an engaging writer and a first-rate tour guide.? - Thane Rosenbaum - Los Angeles Times Praise for Blink A real pleasure...Brims with surprising insights about our world and ourselves. - Salon.com Praise for The Tipping Point A fascinating book that makes you see the world in a different way. - Fortune Outliers is required reading for boardroom and watercooler crowds alike. - Men's Health Thought-provoking, entertaining, and irresistibly debatable...[Outliers] is another winner from this agile social observer. - Heller McAlpin - Christian Science Monitor No other book I read this year combines such a distinctive prose style with truly thought-provoking content. Gladwell writes with a high degree of dazzle but at the same time remains as clear and direct as even Strunk or White could hope for. - Atlanta Journal Constitution The explosively entertaining Outliers might be Gladwell's best and most useful work yet...There are both brilliant yarns and life lessons here: Outliers is riveting science, self-help, and entertainment, all in one book. - Gregory Kirschling - Entertainment Weekly BLINK moves quickly through a series of delightful stories?.Always dazzling us with fascinating information and phenomena. - David Leonhardt - New York Times Book Review Gladwell has long proven to be a capable narrator of his own books, and this production reflects his continued success. The work posits that personal obstacles may not always be detrimental-that they can, in fact, help some people outperform others. Gladwell steeps his research in interconnected anecdotes that require a good deal of storytelling, a structure that works well for audio. His vocal delivery commands the attention of listeners through tone, pacing, and well-placed pauses. At times, his delivery feels so natural and conversational that listeners can almost feel his presence in the room. L.E. 2014 Audies Finalist AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine - OCTOBER 2013 - AudioFile *2013-09-01 A far- and free-ranging meditation on the age-old struggle between underdogs and top dogs. Beginning with the legendary matchup between the Philistine giant and the scrawny shepherd boy of the title, New Yorker scribe Gladwell (What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures, 2009, etc.) returns continually to his main theme: that there are unsung advantages to being disadvantaged and overlooked disadvantages to being advantaged. Though the book begins like a self-help manual--an early chapter on a middle school girl's basketball team that devastated more talented opponents with a gritty, full-court press game seems to suggest a replicable strategy, at least in basketball, and a later one shows how it's almost patently easier to accomplish more by being a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond--it soon becomes clear that Gladwell is not interested in simple formulas or templates for success. He aims to probe deeply into the nature of underdog-ness and explore why top dogs have long had such trouble with underdogs--in scholastic and athletic competitions, in the struggle for success or renown in all professions, and in insurgencies and counterinsurgencies the world over. Telling the stories of some amazingly accomplished people, including superlawyer David Boies, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, and childhood-leukemia researcher Jay Freireich, Gladwell shows that deficits one wouldn't wish on anyone, like learning disabilities or deprived childhoods, can require a person to adapt to the world in ways that later become supreme benefits in professional life. On the other hand, children of the newly wealthy who have had every good fortune their parents lacked tend to become less well-equipped to deal with life's random but inevitable challenges. In addition to the top-notch writing one expects from a New Yorker regular, Gladwell rewards readers with moving stories, surprising insights and consistently provocative ideas. - Kirkus Reviews