Book 26/48 – Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
I really enjoyed this book by Gladwell. What might be the best part, which is expressed throughout the book, is the way he de-romanticizes the rags to riches stories our culture has come to love so much. Gladwell through telling excellent stories, reveals how so many of the successes in our cultures history are through what we like to call “happy accidents.” For example Gladwell shows how the majority of professional hockey players are born between January and May, showing how the development of skills depends on birth date. Those born earlier in the year have a head start on those born later in their development leading to making the better teams, getting better coaching and thus ending up with a better future.
He also shares stories of Bill Gates and how he happened accross being around computers by accident and ended up having so much experience with them before they ever became mainstream. This is also the case for Bill Joy and Steve Jobs.
This book helped me understand my own successes and failures in life and how they have shaped who I am today. I think it is an important read for those of us who are interested in understanding who we are today. Especially when many of us believe we have been handed the short end of the stick. Sometimes we have, but if we looked deep enough we may see some happy accidents that we may or may not have taken hold of.
So I give this book a 3.75/5 in the CP rating; it is a short read (stories tend to move me fast through a book), but it will get your mind going.
Tags: book review, Malcolm Gladwell, outliers
[...] about Steve Jobs as of May 19, 2009 Book 26/48 – Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell – motionsickness.ca 05/19/2009 I really enjoyed this book by Gladwell. What might be the best part, [...]
Kyle – why aren’t you going to read 48 books this year? You are already more than halfway there!
I agree – the best part of the book is the debunking of the success myth that seems to plague bookshelves everywhere. On the flip side, good old fashioned hard work will still significantly increase your chances of success.
Keep up the great work here.
Steve,
I started this reading list in 2008… i was supposed to finish the 48 books last year!
heh