The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

301 Pages
Trade Paperback
2002
Non-Fiction

I have already read two books by Gladwell, Blink and Outliers. I really enjoyed both of them. My wife has owned The Tipping Point for some time so I thought it was time to read that as well. The book focuses on epidemics, not only of disease, but of fashion, crime and more.

The Tipping Point starts with the idea of an epidemic that we are familiar with. Specifically, it studies AIDS, Syphilis and Gonorrhea. It demonstrates how these diseases at certain points were well contained or in the case of AIDS mostly non-lethal. What really drew my attention was the details of AIDS. Evidence shows that an early epidemic happened in a European hospital. This was caused by the common use of reusing syringes for inoculation. Surprisingly, from a modern view, it was determined that many people infected beat it and went on to live long lives. It wasn't until the 1980's that it mutated enough that it became the killer we now know it to be. It also studied the spread and determined that two men were instrumental in the spread of AIDS. Both of them had 100's of partners and a infected a significant percentage of those people. This in turn encouraged HIV to tip into the epidemic that we have come to know.

The book also delves into entertainment. It looks at Sesame Street and the details that made it what it has become. It follows the crime problems of New York in the 80's and how it was the small things that made the difference, not the big things. It also followed the rise of certain shoes and how they all started with a very small group of people that eventually influenced people across the country and the world.

I found it it entertaining and easy to read. The most appealing was the study of Sesame Street and the influence it had on later children's entertainment. That said, I found that the first 150 pages focused a lot on the same few situations and I found myself hoping for a bit more variety in the examples. His major point was there are three types of people, Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen. These people are what is needed to cause an epidemic.

4 Intellectual/Emotional - The book totally focuses on intellectual pursuits. This is the goal of the book and it succeeds.

3 Style/Readability -  Gladwell has a way of taking complex subjects and distilling them into easily digestible content. I never struggled with understanding his point, but I did get a bit bored with overuse of examples rather than using new ones.

3 - Long Term Impact - It is probably safe to say that The Tipping Point started a epidemic of sorts in the book world. Gladwell and many authors after him have wrote books that follow a similar form. The author takes a series of studies and ties them together with a theme. Then he or she presents them in a interesting, but not to complex, way.

10 out of 13. I did enjoy the book, but it was apparent that this was his first book. I felt his later works were better overall. That isn't to say it isn't worthwhile. In fact I think if you thought you would like this type of work I would suggest starting here. It only gets better as he progresses. Another book of the genre worth checking out is Freakenomics.

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Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

286 pages -Trade paperback (Non-Fiction)


A few months ago I read Blink by Gladwell and got sucked right into the book. I used some of the info in the book as evidence to support my Masters Research Project. My wife had suggested reading his other book The Tipping Point. This Christmas I saw Outliers at the bookstore and bought it for her. A teacher in my Masters Cohort suggested that I read this as well. So I took the book from my wife before she had a chance to read it and quickly tore through it in 5 days.

Gladwell focuses on the belief in America that talent, hard work and intelligence will allow you to be successful. The book takes that view and says that it isn’t as important as we might think. Where a person comes from, when they are born and what their cultural past is may have more to do with it than anything else. He looks at how birthdates of hockey players in Canada seem to lend success to those born closest to the Jan 1st cutoff date. He shows how many of the greatest entrepreneurs of the industrial age were all born within a few years of each other. Many of the most influential people in the computer revolution were born in the mid 1950s. Planes crashes were more predictable based on the ethnicity of the flight crew.

Gladwell’s writing is very easy to read. Even though it is filled with dates, facts and numbers he writes in a way that keeps me interested. I actually started reading this at 10 pm and read 70 pages before I knew it. I read every chance I had until I finished just a few days later. I have another well read friend that enjoys Gladwell’s books but did caution me. Apparently, he is known for only telling one side of the story. While reading this book I did notice that the evidence really supports the point he is trying to get across, but there isn’t much information regarding things that does not support his main point.

If I were to compare it to Blink I found it lacking a bit, but it had more to do with subject matter. The main premise of this book is that no person is a success on their own. Hard work, intelligence and talent are important to any success story, but their upbringing, social standing, parenting, culture and luck all play an important role as well. I think that I already held this belief already so it wasn’t as eye-opening as Blink. It does do a great job of supporting things that I already believed.

4 Emotional/Intellectual – Outliers really shows how success is made through a variety of factors, not necessarily what we assume to be needed.

4 Style/Readability – Gladwell has a way of taking seemingly boring things like dates, facts and numbers and makes it engaging and easy to digest.

3 Long Term Impact – Gladwell is making a name for himself with books that challenge traditional thinking. Although Outliers may not get as much attention as his other books his popularity will keep interest in his books for years to come.

11 out of 13. I found this book to be really worthwhile. It may or may not interest you, but I think this and other books by Gladwell may be best summed up by paraphrasing this old adage: Don’t judge a book by its subject.
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