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"A unique perspective on the complexity of the human mind." Oct 20, 2009 (113 of 117 found this helpful)
Malcolm Gladwell's "What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures" is a compilation of the author's favorite work from The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1996. This book is divided into three parts 1. Obsessives, Pioneers, and Other Varieties of Minor Genius 2. Theories, Predictions, and Diagnoses 3. Personality, Character, and Intelligence. In the first part, Gladwell includes portraits of a pitchman for kitchen gadgets who is so persuasive that he could sell clothing to a nudist. In addition, he discusses three female advertising pioneers, a canny investment strategist, and a "dog whisperer" who is able to tame even the most intransigent canine. What these people have in common is an understanding of how human beings (and four-legged creatures) think and feel, supreme self-confidence, and the ability to promote themselves and their ideas. The second part deals with the art of thinking and seeing clearly. Gladwell describes the series of events that led to the Challenger explosion and the collapse of Enron. Could these catastrophic events have been foreseen and prevented? In part three, the author discusses various aspects of genius and talent, and whether it is possible to profile criminal behavior or predict how a prospective employee will fare on the job.
"What the Dog Saw" has some intriguing passages that will impel readers to say, "I never thought of this subject in quite that way before." The provocative Gladwell enjoys toying with conventional wisdom and challenging our preconceived notions. For instance, in one article, he defends certain forms of plagiarism, a transgression that many would consider indefensible. In another, he states that tragedies such as the Challenger disaster are unavoidable, since for a variety of reasons, "we don't really want the safest of all possible worlds." This water-cooler book will have people arguing vehemently that Malcolm Gladwell is either out of his mind or, conversely, that he is a courageously honest writer who dares to tell it like it is.
Unfortunately, there are several dreary chapters, including one that analyzes why one particular brand of ketchup is so popular and another that explores the poor judgment of John Rock, the inventor of the birth control pill. In addition, Gladwell occasionally indulges in hair-splitting: Do most of us really care about the fine distinctions between panicking and choking? On the other hand, there is a fascinating section that explains why mammograms, as a diagnostic tool, are inexact and hard to interpret. In addition, Gladwell makes a good case for the notion that intelligence failures, such as the ones that preceded 9/11, are easy to condemn in hindsight but may be more understandable when viewed in context. Malcolm Gladwell's strength has always been his ability to tell an original and entertaining story and connect it to our everyday experiences. He does just that in his best pieces, but there are others that probably should not have made the cut.
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exploring aspects of human psyche - article by article Oct 21, 2009 (26 of 28 found this helpful)
In a compendium of previously published articles (as old as 1996 and as recent as 2008), Gladwell attempts to provide a unique window to the human psyche mostly in terms of its creativity, inventiveness, decision making and biases. While the articles themselves are very engaging read and informative, the compendium-of-best-articles, leaves the reader fairly direction-less due to the lack of an explicit theme or an overarching premise to contextualize the articles. Moreover, Gladwell doesn't use the opportunity to self-critique older articles and provide any additional insights that would have significantly helped the reader. Gladwell fans and frequent users of his website/blog may find the lack of new material disappointing.
In the first part Gladwell zigzags his way through kitchen gadgets, ketchup, Wall Street, hair dyes, birth control and dog whisperers. The range of the topics, notwithstanding, the reader is treated to unique glimpses of "hidden extraordinary" as the book jacket frames it. (Other reviewers have talked about the contents in the other two parts, but expect a wide plethora of topics) In a way, the lack of cohesiveness of the topics encourages the reader to wander to very different topics which oftentimes leads to surprising insights. The articles being written at different times shouldn't be expected to be able to maintain a uniform sense of engagement or interest to the reader.
After reading through the entire book,the reader is likely to have come across few instances or discussions that will force you to rethink, but overall, the book doesn't provide a relatively succinct theme or question such as the Outliers did for understanding success or the Tipping Point's take on ideas or Blink's take on gut responses. As entertaining and interesting a compendium this turned out to be, a reader will need to manage expectations with respect to this collection of articles.
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If you don't need the actual physical book... Nov 17, 2009 (13 of 14 found this helpful)
Not a review so much as a notice. If you don't need the actual book itself, you should know that all of these pieces are available on Malcolm Gladwell's website for free.
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Wait For Used Copies Nov 1, 2009 (22 of 29 found this helpful)
I loved the book The Tipping Point.
And I'm often disappointed when I meet people in business and/or marketing and they have never heard of the book.
It's kind of like a priest that's never heard of the Bible (IMHO).
Anyway, The Tipping Point was a fascinating read on what sends people over the edge, how we are trained and respond to social situations/ideas.
I thought Gladwell was a genius.
And then I tried to read his second book, Blink. Long, drawn out.
Then I read Outliers. Interesting. The basic idea is that every successful person has logged in at least 10,000 hours doing the thing they excel at.
The other day I picked up a copy of What The Dog Saw.
It's a collection of essays that has appeared in The New Yorker.
I read a sample of it on my Kindle and loved the sample, so I thought, like The Tipping Point, I should have a hard copy as well.
But so far, I've found What the Dog Saw much like discovering a long lost slice of Red Velvet Cake in the freezer, eagerly unwrapping it, only to find it's suffered from freezer burn. The chapters long and drawn out, dry. I am quite disappointed.
My favorite part of the book is this quote "To a worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish." Which, I thought was an original quote by Gladwell since he didn't attribute it to anyone - but have since learned online that it is an old Yiddish expression.
Wait till it makes it's way to Book Mooch or the used bookstore.
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Another great book from M. Gladwell Oct 26, 2009 (5 of 6 found this helpful)
I have enjoyed Mr. Gladwell's previous books and was anxious to read this one. The thing I enjoy the most about his writing and research is the way in which he makes the reader stop to ponder things you just never seem to give much notice to. We move through our lives being stressed or worried most of the time, but never really feeling in control of our lives and in the world we live. When I read a book like this, I appreciate the ingenuity and creativity of humans and it gives me hope for our future. Thank you, Mr. Gladwell, for writing this book.