Malcolm Gladwell

how little things can make a big difference

The tipping point

Phuong Do

These three characteristics one, contagiousness; two, the fact that little causes can have big effects; and three, that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment are the same three principles that define how measles moves through a grade-school classroom or the flu attacks every winter

The Tipping Point is the biography of an idea, and the idea is very simple. It is that the best way to understand the emergence of fashion trends, the ebb and How of crime waves, or, for that matter, the transformation ot unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth, or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and mes- sages and behaviors spread just like Viruses do.

Rama WR

Still reading, overall is good but there should be something i can conclude after i'm finishing this book

Beau

It's standard Gladwell; fascinating sociological insights into how peculiar things happen and why people follow one another even in the most extreme of cases (his case studies on how Hush Puppies were tipped by a bunch of cool kids in East Village, the connections between high-school shootings post Columbine, and wide-spread pseudo-sickness, and how all these areas are heavily influenced via the most unlikely of things were particularly fascinating) It took a while to get into his train of thought, at least longer than Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - but once that happened is was a joyous as any given Gladwell book/podcast/listen. 3 and a half stars.

Lord Aragorn

Some interesting insights but the book didn't hold my attention as much as "Outliers".

Keven Wang

Is it just me, I prefer Malcolm’s later works than his earlier endeavors?

Erwin Lemuel Oliva

Malcolm Gladwell is a genius. He's a great story teller and he can make trivial stuff interesting. the mark of a true journalist!

Ivy X

Really enjoyed the hush puppies, Sesame Street, and bystander effect sections. The afterword was also very interesting as they questioned what the Columbine shooting did to other students who were inspired by the unfortunate incident.

Arturo Hernández

The book presents an essay attempting to understand why certain events reach epidemic levels of presence. It presents a model stating specific laws and profiles that help with this. It has a lot of case studies that exemplify the theory Malcolm shows and it states, quite frequently, that there is still more to this than what he showcases. I appreciated the fact that he quotes several books and authors that presented diverse related theories (some of them supporting his point of view, some others that don’t). I really enjoyed this book :)

Darren Shan

Two boys who are best friends visit an illegal freak show, where an encounter with a vampire and a deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices.

Book 1 in the Saga of Darren Shan

Cirque Du Freak #1: A Living Nightmare

caroline

Yasser Yahia

One of the most amazing books I've ever read, lots of new stuff to know and learn with every new chapter. Some how it made me trust my believe that the impossible is not that hard even more :-)
It is a recommended book for everyone and I really mean everyone. Preparing myself for the new book for Malcolm Gladwell :)

Adam

All creators want to see their finished products get broad attention. This book investigates that illusive point where things fall in line, momentum begins to build and success is inevitable. Like with other Gladwell books, The Tipping Point is peppered with stories that seem unrelated at first, but are always brought back to the central theme (something I wish I was as good at). It's an entertaining book, and an informative book, but I felt it was missing a way to FIND a tipping point.

Queena Li

Gladwell's writing accomplishes something very special in that, he makes the world seem connected in secret, powerful ways. He writes longform pieces on the most menial of topics and then has them read like topical op-eds. I enjoy the way Malcolm Gladwell sees the world.

That being said, I often finds his essay collections poorly structured and repetitive. They aren't as wholly cohesive as they are individually. They aren't streamlined to tell any comprehensible set of thoughts, just various cases strung together to share in a similiar theme. The second half of his books, especially, just seem to lose momentum. The essays don't connect, which may be the intent, but I really think bringing everything together in the end would be more satisfying to read. I wish Gladwell would stop ending his books on restating his thesis and instead, structure his collections the way he organizes each piece. I wish he would present facts, evaluate them, expand on them, and then bring everything back together to isolate some new, previously overlooked point of association.

While "The Tipping Point" was thematically fascinating (i.e. how/when epidemics occur, what we can learn from them, how their lessons better our lives, etc), I found the latter chapters to be far less compelling than his initial arguments. They dragged on aimlessly. I would have prefered fewer business examples and more personal stories, but that may just be a personal preference. Gladwell is, after all, a business writer so I can understand when his interests gravitate towards that area. 

This is still worth reading for anyone who has ever wondered about the nature and dynamic of how ideas (are) spread.

After traveling with Mr. Crepsley, the vampire who made him into a half-vampire, Darren returns to the freak show known as the Cirque du Freak and continues to fight his need to drink human blood.

The vampire's assistant

Alost

A living nightmare was good. But this one bored me to death. Darren shows over emotion when its not required and vice- versa. And i did miss steve.

Jana Jenkinns 

Always a good read when it's written by Darren Shan!! Make sure you check his work out, he has some amazing books in his repertoire!

Melissa Moore

Very informative book. Interesting to learn more about how a tiny change can have a big impact.

Sarah Vaughan

Malcolm Gladwell has an uncanny ability to weave seemingly unconnected anecdotes and mounds of data into an interesting and enjoyable reading experience.

I enjoyed reading about the way in which "tipping points" are instrumental in changing the course of epidemics, marketing campaigns, and even fashion trends. I expect I'll remember many of the anecdotes for years to come. 

I'm finding myself viewing situations I encounter with a new lens - for instance, with one minor adjustment, how could this entire situation shift? It's fascinating to think we are living in the midst of so many situations that could have a positive or negative impact on those around us at any given moment. 

The most intriguing parts of the book, however, were those which use anecdotes with tipping points to describe the complexities of human nature - our mistaken belief that people are inherently good or bad and have a predisposed proclivity for making good or bad choices for instance.

"To look closely at complex behaviors like smoking or suicide or crime is to appreciate how suggestible we are in the face of what we see and hear, and how acutely sensitive we are to even the smallest details of everyday life. That's why social change is so volatile and so often inexplicable because it is the nature of all of us to be volatile and inexplicable."

"The Power of Context suggests that the criminal - far from being someone who acts for fundamental, intrinsic reasons and who lives in his own world - is actually someone who is acutely sensitive to his environment, who is alert to all kinds of cues, and who is prompted to commit crimes based on his perception of the world around him."

THE TIPPING POINT is the biography of an idea, and the idea is quite simple. It is that many of the problems we face - from crime to teenage delinquency to traffic jams - behave like epidemics. They aren't linear phenomena in the sense that they steadily and predictably change according to the level of effort brought to bear against them. They are capable of sudden and dramatic changes in direction. Years of well-intentioned intervention may have no impact at all, yet the right intervention - at just the right time - can start a cascade of change. Many of the social ills that face us today, in other words, are as inherently volatile as the epidemics that periodically sweep through the human population: little things can cause them to 'tip' at any time and if we want to understand how to confront and solve them we have to understand what those 'Tipping Points' are. In this revolutionary new study, Malcolm Gladwell explores the ramifications of this. Not simply for politicians and policy-makers, his method provides a new way of viewing everyday experience and enables us to develop strategies for everything from raising a child to running a company.

How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

The Tipping Point

Lauren 

I did find this interesting, but I feel like a lot of the references used I’ve heard about before in situations that fit better, sometimes in his other books so it didn’t feel as fresh ? and more like twisting things to fit this specific idea. But I find his writing super understandable and nice to read

Michael Friess

The Tipping Point is about how ideas, products or viewpoints suddenly become popular and cultures can change very quickly. Malcolm Gladwell compares these processes to epidemics and discusses the relevant factors for them to spread. Among others he identifies three relevant roles that participate in the process: mavens, connectors and salesmen.

The book is an easy read and the examples very enlightening - stickyness of Sesame Street or the drop in crime rate in New York.

More comments: http://michael.friess.org/review/2007...

Elizabeth Garza

The ending is the only reason this book got 3 stars out of me. It was poignant and dramatic. The first 3/4ths of the book though ... eesh. I am very happy I'm not an angsty teenager anymore.

Meredith Rose

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was gifted to me by my university after being awarded a Communication Public Relations Award and scholarship. I believe this is a good read for anyone, but especially aspiring PR professionals. Gladwell makes a very strong case for the ability of small actions to make big differences in the world. In the process, he discusses and considers some very intriguing scientific and psychological studies. I was never once bored reading this book!

Darren goes to a freak show with his friend. It's the gothic Cirque du Freak where weird, half human/half animals appear and interact with the audience. Darren falls in love with a spider and tries to steal it so that he can teach it to perform.

The Saga of Darren Shan

Sharon Mannion

Read these as a child and found them just as amazing now as I did back then. Truly feel for all these characters!

Renee Delcourt

I never fail to love Malcolm Gladwell's books. They are always so fascinating and informative in a way that makes sense to everyone. This one didn't disappoint. I loved learning how fads and epidemics are caused.

Discover Malcolm Gladwell's breakthrough debut and explore the science behind viral trends in business, marketing, and human behavior. The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.

Catherine Renee Dimalla

Plenty of truth in the argument that citations and supporting evidence is a little scant. But, Gladwell is known for his charisma and skill at introducing basic concepts of economics to the general public in an entertaining and easily digestible way. And for that, I'm thankful for the lack of a thousand footnotes. I particularly enjoyed the sections on "Stickiness" as it relates to children's television and the studies showing how people can be remarkably bad at viewing situations in context.

Simon Bronders

Tipping Points are the reaffirmation of the potential for change and the power of intelligent action.

The tipping point how little things can make a big difference

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