Malcolm Gladwell continues to be one of my favorite non-fiction writers in spite of a rather distressing trend I see in his writing. He has a habit, it seems, of noticing a pattern, stating it as a fact and then telling stories that support his theory. How much research actually backs up his suppositions? I don't know. If you enjoy reading books about behavioral economics, I would suggest Dan Ariely or Gladwell's early works. I am not saying that Gladwell is wrong, but to give credit for some of his theories based solely on several individual experiences hardly seems to point to concrete conclusions. Does dyslexia breed success? Rarely. There are standout examples of successful people who have dyslexia, but I'm sure there are far more stories of very dissatisfying lives on the other side. He throws that in, but I think it was one or two sentences...there are several dyslexics in prison, or something to that effect. But then he goes on and on about the success stories. This was only one area that Gladwell discussed in David and Goliath. There are several different ideas presented and the book in full was very good. One thing that really got to me was how dark the ending was. It made me ask myself - is there a single society on this planet that doesn't have an extremely brutal and ugly history? My guess is no, and it was a really harsh note on which to end the book. I don't think a Gladwell book has ever made me quite so emotional. However, the beginning of the book was downright fascinating and it was a pleasure to listen to the author read his own work.
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