Publisher Description
Audie Award Winner, Nonfiction, 2014
Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell’s dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives, from the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia.
Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David’s victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn’t have won.
Or should he have?
In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwellchallenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks.
Gladwell begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, David and Goliath examines Northern Ireland’s Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms—all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity.
In the tradition of Gladwell’s previous bestsellers—The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw—David and Goliath draws upon history, psychology, and powerful storytelling to reshape the way we think of the world around us.
Download and start listening now!
“Gladwell’s
bestsellers, such as The Tipping Point
and Outliers, have changed the way we
think about sociological changes and the factors that contribute to high levels
of success. Here he examines and challenges our concepts of ‘advantage’ and ‘disadvantage’
in a way that may seem intuitive to some and surprising to others. Beginning
with the classic tale of David and Goliath and moving through history with
figures such as Lawrence of Arabia and Martin Luther King Jr., Gladwell shows
how, time and again, players labeled ‘underdog’ use that status to their
advantage and prevail through the elements of cunning and surprise…As usual,
Gladwell presents his research in a fresh and easy-to-understand context.”—
Booklist (starred review)
