Malcolm Gladwell, author of the classics The Tipping Point and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, has a new book out today: David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
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Here’s the Amazon summary:
In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks.
Gladwell begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, David and Goliathexamines Northern Ireland’s Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms—all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity.
In the tradition of Gladwell’s previous bestsellers—The Tipping Point, Blink,Outliers and What the Dog Saw—David and Goliath draws upon history, psychology, and powerful storytelling to reshape the way we think of the world around us.
You can also watch Gladwell talk about the story of David and Goliath in his recent TED talk, below. And if you are heading down to Catalyst this week, you can also hear him speak on it in person.
I’ve always admired Gladwell’s incredible insight. When I heard him speak at Catalyst the first time a few years ago, I came to admire not only his insight, but also the openness and respect he seems to have towards issues of faith. I’m looking forward to hearing him at Catalyst again this week.