Featured book review: Outliers: The Story of Success

In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? Brilliant and entertaining, __Outliers__ is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate. **Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008**: 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." ## From Publishers Weekly Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Blink and The Bomber Mafia and host of the podcast Revisionist History, explores what sets high achievers apart—from Bill Gates to the Beatles—in this seminal work from'a singular talent'(New York Times Book Review). In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of'outliers'—the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band. Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate. Identifies The Qualities Of Successful People, Maintaining That Culture, Family, And Idiosyncratic Factors Can Have A Decisive Impact On Shaping High Achievers, Introduction : The Roseto Mystery -- Part One : Opportunity -- The Matthew Effect (matthew 25:29) -- The 10,000 Hour Rule -- The Trouble With Geniuses, Part 1 -- The Trouble With Geniuses, Part 2 -- The Three Lessons Of Joe Flom -- Part Two : Legacy -- Harlan, Kentucky -- The Ethnic Theory Of Plane Crashes -- Rice Paddies And Math Tests -- Marita's Bargain -- Epilogue : A Jamaican Story -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index -- Reading Group Guide -- Excerpt From David And Goliath. Malcolm Gladwell. Originally Published: New York : Little, Brown, 2008. Reading Group Guide ©2010. Excerpt From David And Goliath ©2013. First Back Bay Paperback Edition, June 2011. Includes Discussion Questions And An Excerpt From David And Goliath. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 287-296) And Index. From the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia, learn what sets high achievers apart—from Bill Gates to the Beatles—in this seminal work from "a singular talent" (New York Times Book Review). In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"—the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate. Learn what sets high achievers apart from Bill Gates to the Beatles in this #1 bestseller from "a singular talent" ( New York Times Book Review ). In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band. Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate. In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band. Brilliant and entertaining, OUTLIERS is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate. Outliers explains what the Beetles and bill Gates have in common, the extraordinary success of Asians at math, the hidden advantages of star athletes, why all top New york Lawyers have the same Resume, and the reason you've never heard of the World's smartest man--all in terms of generation, family, culture, and class. It matters what year you were born if you want to be a Silicon Valley billionaire, Gladwell argues and it matters where you were born if you want to be a successful pilot. The lives of outliers--those people whose achievements fall outside normal experience--follow a peculiar and unexpected logic, and making that logic plain Gladwell presents a fascination and provocative blueprint for making the most human potential "In this provocative and inspiring book, Malcolm Gladwell examines everyone from business giants to scientific geniuses, sports stars to musicians, and reveals what they have in common. He looks behind the spectacular results, the myths and the legends to show what really explains exceptionally successful people." "Gladwell argues that, when we try to understand success, we normally start with the wrong question. We ask 'what is this person like?' when we should really be asking 'where are they from?' The real secret of success turns out to be surprisingly simple, and it hinges on a few crucial twists in people's life stories - on the culture they grow up in and the way they spend their time."-- Book jacket The best-selling author of The Tipping Point and Blink identifies the qualities of successful people, posing theories about the cultural, family, and idiosyncratic factors that shape high achievers, in a resource that covers such topics as the secrets of software billionaires, why certain cultures are associated with better academic performance, and why the Beatles earned their fame