Now that he s gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the self-made man, he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don t arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot. Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky. Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to ma...

#Some Great Insights (2008-11-26) I was a big fan of Galdwell`s first two books, the Tipping Point, and Blink. In Outliers, Gladwell tries to give insight into the story of successful people. A few of the insights such as demographics,luck, and the 10,000 hour rule, will not come as a surprise to most people. I think we are all aware that superstar athletes, and great musicians spend countless hours practicing. A little luck does not hurt either. However, there are some insights that are quite startling. The culture of honor in Kentucky, and the ethnic aspect of plane crashes, real...

Arguably the best book ever on what is increasingly becoming the science of persuasion. Whether you re a mere consumer or someone weaving the web of persuasion to urge others to buy or vote for your product, this is an essential book for understanding the psychological foundations of marketing. Recommended.

#If you market read it. (2008-02-14) And we all market. If not a product then ourselves. This is a well written book that holds the interest throughout. The volume of research behind it is huge and the ability to precis it so well deserves praise. A book to explore for marketing tips and for tips to avoid marketing traps. Best of all it is a good read.

#I used to be a people pleaser (2004-06-16) I used to agree with other people to avoid making waves. Because of this book, I understand why I was compliant and I am more truthful in my responses to others. This book really made me understand why I was persuaded to do things I didn t want to do. A book called Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self also made a huge impact on me. Optimal Thinking helped me to let go of what is out of my control, make the most of what is in my control and get the best results in every situation. So I recommend each of these books. Read them si...

#Great book which can help you a lot (2004-04-22) What I can say in simple words. . . Ono of the best books I have ever read. Cialdini is highly seasoned professional. Shilohalso fan of motivational book you can view at amazon. comThe Rainbow Butterfly(. . . )

#Excellent (2004-04-10) I picked this book up because somebody online recommended it, and the topic interested me. This has been one of the best books I ve ever bought. Dr. Cialdini told me things I already knew, just had never put any actual thought into. After having read most of the book I was able to apply the material into my life and I think it helped me from making a bad decision related to my higher education. I highly recommend everyone read this!

#A Classic - One of those Life-Changing Books (2004-03-24) I first was introduced to Cialdini s work during an ",Intro to Managerial Psychology", class in the early 90 s. I have found the concepts in this legendary book to be useful again and again in everything I do in business. His was the first book I read that had the perfect balance of ",down to earth", explanations with academic underpinnings, and a reasonable path to apply different topics.

Amazon Best of the Month, July 2008: How could no one have written this book before? These days we spend almost as much time driving as we do eating (in fact, we do a lot of our eating while driving), but I can t remember the last time I saw a book on all the time we spend stuck in our cars. It s a topic of nearly universal interest, though: everybody has a strategy for beating the traffic. Tom Vanderbilt s Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) has plenty of advice for those shortcut schemers (Vanderbilt may well convince you to become, as he has, a dreaded Late Merger), but more than that it s the sort of wide-ranging contrarian compendium that makes a familiar subject new. I m not the first or last to call Traffic the Freakonomics of cars, but it s true that it fits right in with the school of smart and popular recent books by Leavitt, Gladwell, Surowiecki, Ariely, and others that use the latest in economic, sociological, psychological, and in this case civi...

#Reflections on Getting from Here to There (2008-09-24) If you ve ever been stuck in traffic alone (and who hasn t been?), all kinds of thoughts have occurred to you about how poorly the highways are designed, why drivers are so inconsiderate, what else you would like to be doing, and how to get out of this mess! Since cell phones have arrived, I regularly receive calls from my wife and children while they are stuck in traffic hoping that I ll have some suggestions for them. Tom Vanderbilt takes that vague reactions and tests them out. It turns out that driving isn t so natural for hu...