<p>It is receiving some good reviews and I have requested it from my friendly public library, where there is a long queue of patrons waiting to read it. </p>
<p>Are any of you reading Outliers? What do you think of Gladwell’s take on how genius develops?</p>
<p>tokenadult, thanks for the tip! I loved Gladwell’s Blink and The Tipping Point, and I will check if the local Costco has it in their book section (I have been avoiding that aisle because I always end up bying something that I have not budgeted for - LOL!).</p>
<p>Tipping Point was well done and I enjoyed it. But I felt Blink was too much like a sequel-- borrowing off his schtick that made Tipping Point successful, but not nearly the investment or quality. Blink was a cute concept, but only worked as a book because he drew such a giant net, and was very loose in logic and interpretation. For that reason I’ll probably pass on Outliers.</p>
<p>Well, if it matters to anyone, The NY times did NOT praise his book. Here is an excerpt of their review:</p>
<p>“Outliers,” Mr. Gladwell’s latest book, employs this same recipe, but does so in such a clumsy manner that it italicizes the weaknesses of his methodology. The book, which purports to explain the real reason some people — like Bill Gates and the Beatles — are successful, is peppy, brightly written and provocative in a buzzy sort of way. It is also glib, poorly reasoned and thoroughly unconvincing.</p>
<p>Much of what Mr. Gladwell has to say about superstars is little more than common sense: that talent alone is not enough to ensure success, that opportunity, hard work, timing and luck play important roles as well. The problem is that he then tries to extrapolate these observations into broader hypotheses about success. These hypotheses not only rely heavily on suggestion and innuendo, but they also pivot deceptively around various anecdotes and studies that are selective in the extreme: the reader has no idea how representative such examples are, or how reliable — or dated — any particular study might be.</p>
<p>I saw the NYT review and have read Blink–my impression of it was similar to that of the NYT review of Outliers. Most of what Gladwell says seems like common sense–nothing earth shaking and mostly anecdotal. That being said, I enjoy reading reading about why some people become superstars–my theory is that luck plays an important role in it. I’ll probably go to the library and check out Gladwell’s new book</p>
<p>I’ve already seen a review, as it were, of Kakutani’s review, and the problem noted with her review is that she is not familiar with the primary source literature on Gladwell’s subject–as Gladwell is. I’ll be sure to read Gladwell’s new book Outliers when I reach the front of my public library request queue, the better to take his research literature citations to my alma mater’s academic library and look them up for myself.</p>