David and Goliath

The Art of (Unconventional) War

Every few years, Malcolm Gladwell publishes a fascinating, engaging book on an overarching sociological concept. He started in 2000 with "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference," defining that point as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point." Gladwell isn't creating trends, as the subjects of his 2008 book "Outliers: The Story of Success" do. Gladwell, after extensive research, gives the concepts names and stories everyone can understand.

"David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants" (2013) is a collection of stories about people who do things differently, either because they are different or because they have no choice but to ignore 'conventional wisdom' to fight and win. Gladwell provides many examples of underdogs using unconventional warfare: Irish Catholics; a girl's under 12 basketball coached by a dad who'd never played the game; The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and the American Civil Rights Movement . . .

By illustration, Gladwell tells the story of Emil Freireich, an oncologist and an incredible social misfit in the pediatric oncology ward he worked in. Dr. Freireich's inability to let emotions into his work - and his ability to think beyond common practices - made him instrumental in finding cures for childhood leukemia. Hundreds of thousands of people owe their lives to a man with the bedside manner of a gruff truck driver who has had one too many coffees and still has five hundred miles to go before the sun rises again.

Gladwell also points out the loss that can happen when someone tries to fit in the wrong place and wrong time. He illustrates that concept using a woman who went to an Ivy League university and lost her passion for science among all the 'big fish' in the competitive shark classes. If she'd gone to a state university, which actually had more qualified, published professors, she would be living her dream now. I have two teenagers, and that resonated with me. My oldest, inculcated by the mantra of 'you must get into A Good College', wonders if I know what I'm talking about when I tell him I want him to find a school that's good for him. Now I've got backup.

Gladwell's books are occasionally fiercely criticized by the scientific community, because they are too general; or because someone believes he has misinterpreted studies and data. Those are valid points, but Gladwell isn't writing a peer reviewed article for publication in "Evolutionary Behavioral Science". He's writing for everyone, not just PhD's and MD's, and he's writing to start a conversation, not answer all questions.

I've heard Gladwell in interviews, but this is the first Audible Gladwell book I've listened to. (I have the rest of in hardback, and my favorite is 2005's "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.") Gladwell is a great narrator.

The Audible comes with a PDF file with a photo Gladwell discusses extensively in the book; charts and graphs; and footnotes.

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Listen with a Critical Ear

Would you try another book from Malcolm Gladwell and/or Malcolm Gladwell?

Malcolm Gladwell always finds interesting anecdotes and back stories to entertain the reader and provoke thought. I don't always agree with his conclusions, but the least of his writings are still pretty good.

If you’ve listened to books by Malcolm Gladwell before, how does this one compare?

Outliers is a 5 of 5 and many of the examples in this book (the 10,000 hour rule, the Matthew Effect) have become essential concepts of cultural literacy. I would recommend that readers new to Gladwell begin with this book.

Which scene was your favorite?

As a parent with high school and college aged children, I found the big fish in a small pond chapter to be the most interesting.

Do you think David and Goliath needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I would read anything that Gladwell writes. He always has a fresh perspective. This is just not quite as good as some of his other work.

Any additional comments?

Malcolm Gladwell is clearly very talented at presenting complex ideas in a simple way, but sometimes he seems to over-simplify, draw facile conclusions, or cherry pick his data to support his conclusions. I agree with many of his conclusions, but I would advise readers to bring their own critical thinking skills to one of his books.

I do want to say that with the chapter on Dr. Freirich was pretty disturbing and I felt Gladwell seemed to feel that the end justified the means, which I considered to be debatable.

Classic Gladwell... A fascinating perspective.

What did you like best about this story?

Malcolm Gladwell sees the world through the eyes of an objective observer. He takes nothing at face value and in this book, he takes us behind the scenes of some well known, and unknown underdog stories.

The fun thing about this book is that for most people the title would simply be a symbol of the little guy who doesn't stand a chance against some unbeatable giant, but Gladwell sees this classic story from an entirely different perspective. He shows us that *David* was clearly the superior fighter. He breaks it down so clearly that you see that Goliath simply didn't have a chance.

Once he establishes this fundamental shift in perspective, he then dives into a series of stories of people who succeed not in spite of their adversities... but because of them.

As always, Galdwell doesn't just base his positions on his own opinion, but based upon intensive research. For example, in a study of the greatest leaders of all time, he made a list of all of the people in the Encyclopedia Britannica who had more than two columns written about them. He then researched every name in the list to determine the percentage of them who lost a parent at a young age and was able to demonstrate that a disproportionate number of great leaders had indeed been from shattered families.

I was particularly interested in his research in education, where he demonstrated solid reasons why emphasis on smaller class sizes and affirmative action were off target, and why aiming for Ivy League schools isn't always in the best interest of the student.

Above all, Malcolm Gladwell has delivered another classic book that simply makes you think outside the box. In this particular book, he also makes it easier for you to look adversity in the eye and say... "thanks".

Mickey Mouse ‘Misfits’

There’s one great story about the battle between David and Goliath at the beginning, which is probably only 15 minutes. Otherwise, this book tries too hard to be edgy and rebellious, from the perspective of an author that does not truly understand what it means to be either...

Gladwell’s case studies are much too academic for my tastes, and his thoughts on the subject of disruptive underdogs are of the kindergarten/Mickey Mouse variety (even his voiceover sounds like he’s reading to a kindergarten class). I tuned out around his thoughts on college education, since Gladwell’s perspective on being a misfit is something to the effect of “instead of getting one degree from Harvard or Stanford, why not get TWO degrees from lesser known institutions?” That, my friends, is his idea of being a rebel.

The subject of education, competition, and how bureaucratic and profit-driven the system has become is far more complicated than the concepts presented here. This book seemed catered towards medical / law school students attempting to brave the cutthroat world of their respective degree programs — which is fine if you’re part of that audience, but the title is misleading for the truly rebellious who want to win playing a different game.

I recommend anything from Peter Thiel, Blue Ocean Strategy, The Innovator’s Dilemma, or Drop Out and Get Schooled by Patrick Bet-David over this tripe. I don’t usually roast books so harshly, but I feel I wasted one good credit that could have otherwise gone to much better books in my wishlist.

(P.S. A quick online search shows MG has a net worth of 30+ million writing these “rah, rah!” inspirational books, and that his father was a math professor and mother a psychotherapist. MG himself has enjoyed a safe, tracked academic upbringing — so take that into consideration when he positions himself as an expert on ‘disruption’).

Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

I enjoy Malcolm Gladwell's books, always an interesting take on topics and proves his point with story after story. This gets a 4 from me only because it was only 7 hours long and I wasn't satiated. I had to turn around and read it again the next day. Can I just point out that there is a small PDF file next to the book in the library. It contains a easy to find picture that you will want to see... look at it before you listen to the book and then go back and look at it again afterward... you will see two different pictures.

Thought provoking

it challenged my understanding of commonly held beliefs. I will be listening to it again.

Another new perspective on life

Malcom Gladwell makes me a smarter person. With every book there is a new explanation of what is commonly understood as a universal fact - - that he convincingly explains is just plain wrong. With this book, I've learned that being "disadvantaged" may be my strategic advantage. Very cool.

As a narrator, Gladwell comes well armed with research and facts, but delivers it in such a cool and calm low-key way, that as he's explaining how silly you've been for believing what seems like common sense, it's not one bit insulting.

Be prepared to revel in being "the underdog" and in discovering that giants really aren't that scary.

Manipulates data to prove his thesis

It was an interesting history of some outliers who achieved or didn’t. However, almost all of the data was manipulated to prove his point. There was no sound scientific method to the way he interpreted the data. He implied causation from correlation and made many assumptions. Being an underdog only holds benefit if you draw a deep desire and desperation. Some cases such as growing up without money can breed a hard work ethic and value of the dollar however even that was anecdotal. Find your edge and work hard. Being an underdog is only from a frame of reference. Had to put it down with a third left to go. I found it off putting and I believe the narrator’s delivery may have been partly to blame for my overall opinion.

Entertaining and refreshing!

Malcolm Gladwell does it again. like all of his previous books David and Goliath has been well researched using stories most of us haven't heard or considered before now. I enjoy the way Gladwell takes his reader on a roller-coaster ride of altering conclusions. After listening I purchased the hardcover as soon as I could as the author gives graphs, diagrams and photos to enhance the experience.

Trust me, you wont stop talking to friends and family about this book. Galdwell delivered in his narration as well.

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One of Gladwell's Best!!

Would you listen to David and Goliath again? Why?

I would. David and Goliath was extremely informative and as usual with Gladwell's books creates a different way to think of the world that has practical applications with everyday life.

What other book might you compare David and Goliath to and why?

Outliers

Which character – as performed by Malcolm Gladwell – was your favorite?

I loved the story about why going to an Ivy League school may be bad for you or your child.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I could not put it down

Any additional comments?

It is a book that will deliver.