Based on the success of Malcolm Gladwell’s books—approximately 8 zillion sold and counting—I went into Outliers with moderately high expectations. For a nonfiction author to attain Gladwell’s level of notoriety, even with a platform like the New Yorker, I assumed one of two things must be true: Either he’s a phenomenal writer, or every book includes a $50 Red Lobster gift certificate in the back flap. Sadly, neither is the case.
Now, in fairness, Outliers is not a bad book. The idea is compelling—Gladwell seeks to identify the stories behind some of the world’s most successful people, without settling for “Oh Bill Gates is just like, super awesome with computers” logic. His overall point—explained through multiple interesting examples—is that factors like upbringing, cultural background and circumstance play a very large role in success. And once you start reading, it’s kind of a “duh” realization. In fact, any kid who’s ever been the youngest in his elementary school class (sorry late birthdays!) realizes that even something as uncontrollable as your birth month can have every effect on your ability to stand out in a crowd. Continue reading “The Great White Hype”
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