Among the people who want to self-improve, the name of Malcolm Gladwell almost always makes it into the conversation. His insights into many areas of professional and personal life are known for expanding people’s understanding, and for encouraging you to be more assertive.
Malcolm Gladwell is a bestselling author of several nonfiction books. He started in his journalism career as a reporter with the Washington Post. Since 1996, he has been a staff writer for The New Yorker, garnering the National Magazine Award in 2001 for his piece on Ron Popeil, entitled “The Pitchman.”
What Is Malcolm Gladwell Famous For?
The Canadian writer and journalist is well known for his provocative pieces in The New Yorker, which showcase his investigative skills. He was also named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
Gladwell also shares many of the lessons he’s learned from telling stories in his Masterclass, giving students a glimpse into how he writes such well-researched journalistic articles.
6 Best Malcolm Gladwell Books
Here are the best Malcolm Gladwell books you can add to your TBR pile:
Talking to Strangers
In this book, Gladwell examines our interactions with strangers, particularly the reasons why they so often go wrong. For example, we tend to view strangers as one-dimensional characters in black and white, which makes us quick to judge them.
To prove his point about the problem of quick judgment, he looks into real-life case studies, including the trial of Amanda Knox, the pedophilia scandal of Jerry Sandusky at Penn State University, and the suicide of Sylvia Plath.
One of his main points is that our lack of tools and strategies for understanding people we don’t know personally is an invitation to misunderstanding that can have serious ramifications on our own lives, and the lives of people around us.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
The Tipping Point shows readers how something that seems small can actually grow into huge proportions and have greater impact than they could have ever imagined. For example, who would’ve guessed that an individual with the flu could start an epidemic?
This is a great book to read if you’re in the middle of hatching an idea, a movement, or anything that seems trivial right now but has the potential to make a huge difference in your life or in the lives of others.
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
The second of Gladwell’s books, this looks into the way that humans make decisions and why this process matters. Using modern neuroscience findings and psychology, Gladwell analyzes what goes into seemingly blink-of-an-eye decisions.
He also explores the components that make someone good at making decisions. Why are some people good at making brilliant choices while others seem to keep failing? How do some people obey their instincts and come out on top, while others inevitably fall into error?
Gladwell features several experts who seem able to predict things based on observation. These include: a psychologist who can foretell, based on watching a couple for a few minutes, whether the marriage will last; a tennis coach who accurately predicts a double-fault even before the racket hits the ball; the expert antique-collector who knows a fake with a single look.
Outliers: The Story of Success
This is perhaps the most well-known of Gladwell’s books. It explores what makes people the most successful, the brightest, or the most famous, as Gladwell first introduces his thoughts on the 10,000-hour rule, which many people all over the world have embraced as a basic requirement for expertise in any given task.
Covering different areas, such as mathematics, music, and sports, Gladwell challenges our perspective of what makes a person a high achiever by looking at their life experiences and commitment to practice.
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
In this book, Gladwell uses psychology to reframe our thoughts about the world and our role in it. Is it really the conditions we’re born into that determine our success in life? After all, being born into privilege and wealth surely holds plenty of advantages.
Gladwell, however, shows how these advantages aren’t a guarantee for success. He explains how the problems and pains we undergo in life might not actually be setbacks, but instead a way of setting us up for future success.
He builds his case for the underdog, using scholarly research and anecdotes anchored in historical fact, showing us that these runts of the litter can actually gain strengths to use for their success.
What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures
A compilation of Gladwell’s works for The New Yorker, this book gives us a taste of some of his best articles over the last ten years.
Take a look as Gladwell spends time with American inventor Ron Popeil as he sells rotisserie ovens, or dog whisperer Cesar Millan, whose tender hand has the power to calm even the savagest of animals.
These are just some of the geniuses whose lives Gladwell studies in order to find out their habits, beliefs, and approach to the fields they work in. His writings give us a look into the creative process and important truths about humanity.
A great quote from the preface goes, “Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, to give you a glimpse into someone else’s head.”
More Books Like Malcolm Gladwell’s
If you enjoy Malcolm Gladwell’s writing style, consider adding these to your reading list:
Reading Thought-Provoking Books
Engaging with some of the greatest minds in history will expand your understanding of other people, life, and the world in general, which can help you make better choices.
If you don’t already read thought-provoking pieces of nonfiction, consider adding some of these Malcolm Gladwell books to your TBR list. You won’t regret it!
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Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.
