Outliers

It doesn’t happen too often that I read the library’s copy of a book and then run and buy myself a copy, and then another to give as a gift. That, however, is exactly what I did after reading Malcom Gladwell’s latest opus, Outliers: The Story of Success. The author’s first major book, The Tipping Point, is still heavily discussed and it circulates regularly. This one is even better.

The book’s basic premise is that there is more than meets the eye as to why people are successful, coming down to such factors as date of birth, practice, and culture. The author examines a subject, gives you the basic outline of the facts, and then starts distilling it into its composite parts, getting to the heart of the matter. Every chapter highlights a different success factor, another angle in which to view the same issue.

True to his writing style, Gladwell makes everything absolutely fascinating and compelling. This is a great book for so many different kinds of people. It’s so universal in its appeal and promises to influence the way we see things. That’s a true sign of a successful book