See more information on Outliers: The Story of Success at Amazon UK


Rating: - There is a tide in the affairs of men
"There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures."

Brutus (from Julius Caesar)captures the essence of this book. It's an entertaining read with good stories and examples. Its basic message is easy to summarise.

Success is ... Read More

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Rating: - How to "unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't"

In reviews of Malcolm Gladwell's previous books, The Tipping Point and Blink, I express an opinion that Gladwell offers an insight that others have previously expressed and then requires 300+ pages to discuss it. His key points in both books could have been made in an article. Gladwell's "tipping point"(2002), for example, is essentially the same as Michael Kami's "trigger point" (1988) and Andrew Gove "inflection point" (1996). (Gladwell does acknowledge the importance of an article, "Broken ... Read More

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Rating: - Is personal success really personal?
I always argued with friends that we never quite know how a successful individual or a company as made it big.

Of course we all know about the endless working hours, the "talented" individual and the help of a focused team.
But if this was the rule we will have had far more successful people and companies.

Gladwell analyse in a very entertaining and insightful way, how the individual itself is just a minor part of a far bigger mechanism that takes place to make his life ... Read More

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Rating: - slightly underwhealming
I wanted to love this, really I did, but it's one very simple idea (albeit a fairly good one) spun out to fill an entire book. Not up to the standard of "The Tipping Point".

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Rating: - Entertaining Read
I'm a fan of Malcolm Gladwell having read his previous Blink and The Tipping Point. All his books are about interesting topics and are told in a way that keeps the reader engaged. Similarly to the other books the criticism can always be made that he makes about 4-5 valid points and stretches them out to a full book but when the writing is engaging and takes you on a journey it doesn't really matter.

The book itself takes you through what drives success. Arguing that it's a combination of intelligence ... Read More

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