Book Review: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Over the course of my religiously obligated sojourn to suburbia Chicago, IL to retell the ancient story of my (and God’s chosen) people, I had the pleasure of reading Malcolm Gladwell’s latest, Outliers. I’ve previously had the pleasure of reading his earlier works, Blink and The Tipping Point, and can safely say that if you’ve enjoyed either one, you’ll enjoy his latest.

It’s hard to classify Gladwell’s writing and I think that’s designedly so. His writing style is incredibly approachable to all readers as he brilliantly breaks down complex sociological and psychological theories which may or may not underlie various real world phenomena. Gladwell makes no attempt to truly prove, through logic his assertions which will bother readers of philosophy and probably disqualify him as one of the day’s leading thinkers come history’s account, none the less, his positive influence on the intellectualism of Ordinary Joes should not be discounted or ignored.

Aside from the brilliance and creativity of ideas therein contained, what truly separates Gladwell and Outliers from their bestselling brethren is the pure genuineness from which he writes. When reading Outliers, never once did I feel that Gladwell presented an agenda, but rather a topic for discussion to which he brings many engaging examples.

Overall, I’m not sure I immediately buy the ideas presented in Outliers, but I’d be lying if i said it wasn’t a great read worth the effort! Cheers!

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Palin Announces Possible Book; Words Threaten Strike.

When “1080p” means more to people than “ISBN” does, anything that gets people away from the TV and reading again is great, even if it is Harry Potter or Twilight. Despite the cookie-cutter, fifth grade reading level trash that Dan Brown and others make millions off of is no substitute for the genre redefining wordsmith of Hemingway or Hunter S. Thompson, anyone who gets people reading is begrudgingly laudable in my book, as much as it pains me. After all, the passive entertainment of watching television is not nearly as intellectually stimulating as active participation, imagination, and direct interaction with a text. Some even go as far as to say that words have a life of their own and metaphysically perhaps even more so. Great words travel through time and space giving life eternal to the genius of authors who assembled them previously. However, even words have feelings, and there comes a time when measured in whole their value to literacy and intellectualism is so low that they can’t justify the collateral damage to the environment their publishment would incur. Upon this abuse, words must come together in representation of the letters they contain and the meaning they refer to, put their proverbial “feet” down, and state, “We’re not gonna take it.” This is when words go on strike.

CNN reported today that Sarah Palin could currently be in talks with various publishers regarding a book deal surrounding her personal experience during the 2008 Presidential Campaign that would total more than $7 million. The thought of Sarah Palin authoring anything other than a resignation address from politics is nauseating. The thought that millions of people might be…