Product Description
In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.

Brilliant and entertaining, OUTLIERS is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008: Now that he's gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky."

Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendents of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots' culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there's more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples--and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps--Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential. --Mari Malcolm

Introduction The Roseto Mystery: "These people were dying of old age. That's it" 3

Pt. 1 Opportunity

1 The Matthew Effect: "For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." - Matthew 25:29 15

2 The 10,000-Hour Rule: "In Hamburg, we had to play for eight hours" 35

3 The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 1: "Knowledge of a boy's IQ is of little help if you are faced with a formful of clever boys" 69

4 The Trouble with Geniuses, Part 2: "After protracted negotiations, it was agreed that Robert would be put on probation" 91

5 The Three Lessons of Joe Flom: "Mary got a quarter." 116

Pt. 2 Legacy

6 Harlan, Kentucky: "Die like a man, like your brother did!" 161

7 The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes: "Captain, the weather radar has helped us a lot" 177

8 Rice Paddies and Math Tests: "No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich" 224

9 Marita's Bargain: "All my friends now are from KIPP" 250

Epilogue: A Jamaican Story: "If a progeny of young colored children is brought forth, these are emancipated" 270

Notes 287

Acknowledgments 297

Index 301