Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
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Why we recommend it: If you loved earlier bestsellers (The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw), you’ll enjoy David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. Consistent with all his books, he gives you a different way to look at things, and in this case how we perceive the underdog and disadvantage. He takes important elements from the most unlikely of places, be it history, research or stories, and puts forward a solid case for re-thinking important issues and challenges the status quo. For me personally, it validated the outcomes of my own humbling experiences growing up and now as a parent why it’s important not to make it ‘too easy’ for our children. It’s the compensating for difficulties that drives the need to develop other skills to overcome the disadvantage, that in the end, proves highly advantageous. This book is uplifting and gives enormous hope and encouragement. Read my book review here.
Book Overview: With his latest book, Malcolm Gladwell again challenges how we look at the world around us. With his renowned storytelling ability and drawing on history, religious stories, research and psychology, he’ll reshape how you think about obstacles and disadvantages. He offers 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. While including the most obvious story with David and Goliath, he goes on to consider historical events such as Northern Ireland’s troubles, the pioneers of child cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms. He elegantly shows that much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what starts off or appears as suffering and adversity. You’ll enjoy this book on both a personal and professional level.
