“Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell

Yay or Nay?

Yay! (71%)

Consensus: With his interesting theories and vivid prose, Gladwell is in a league of his own; “Outliers” might not be his best, but still well worth the read.

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 … [more]

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18 Book Reviews for “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell … once again proves masterful in a genre he essentially pioneered — the book that illuminates secret patterns behind everyday phenomena. His gift for spotting an intriguing mystery, luring the reader in, then gradually revealing his lessons in lucid prose, is on vivid display.

Published in Publishers Weekly | Reviewed by Leslie ChangIn
This is an excellent book for a wide range of library patrons.
Published in Booklist | Reviewed by Mary Whaley
In the vast world of nonfiction writing, … close to a singular talent as exists today … a pleasure to read and leaves you mulling over its inventive theories for days afterward…. “Outliers” represents a new kind of book for Gladwell…. It is almost a manifesto.
Published the 30th day of November, 2008 in The New York Times | Reviewed by David Leonhardt | Full Review
The explosively entertaining Outliers might be his best and most useful work yet…there are both brilliant yarns and life lessons here: Outliers is riveting science, self-help, and entertainment, all in one book
Published the 12th day of November, 2008 in Entertainment Weekly | Reviewed by Gregory Kirschling | Full Review
Thought-provoking, entertaining, and irresistibly debatable, Outliers offers lively stories about an unexpected range of exceptional people — Korean airline pilots, New York litigators, immigrant garment workers, Asian math whizzes, low-achievers with high IQs, and, for good measure, Gladwell’s Jamaican grandmother. Overall, it’s another winner from this agile social observer.
Published the 17th day of November, 2008 in The Christian Science Monitor | Reviewed by Heller McAlpin | Full Review
Gladwell’s point is that these accidents—date of birth, culture and social class—are the true determinants…. Gladwell’s conclusion is brilliantly simple. Success is a hand of cards played by someone willing to do the work, log the hours.
Published the 17th day of November, 2008 in Los Angeles Times | Reviewed by Susan Salter Reynolds | Full Review
As Mr. Gladwell reduces complex sociological phenomenon … to compact, pithy explanations, … you can’t help wondering whether something has been lost in the simplification…. And yet — for all the quibbles that may attend the individual stories that Mr. Gladwell has assembled — the thrust of his argument is right on target.
Published the 15th day of November, 2008 in The Wall Street Journal | Reviewed by David A. Shaywitz | Full Review
Gladwell reveals his special genius in the remarkable trilogy completed by “Outliers.”
Published the 23rd day of November, 2008 in The Washington Post | Reviewed by Howard Gardner | Full Review
Gladwell can sketch a memorable character in a few sentences. But the lessons we are supposed to derive, while occasionally embodied by a story in a fun way, are in no way surprising or, for that matter, useful.
Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer | Reviewed by Crispin Sartwell
The book, which purports to explain the real reason some people — like Bill Gates and the Beatles — are successful, is peppy, brightly written and provocative in a buzzy sort of way. It is also glib, poorly reasoned and thoroughly unconvincing.
Published the 18th day of November, 2008 in The New York Times | Reviewed by Michiko Kakutani | Full Review
Ultimately, “Outliers” is a book about the 20th century. It offers a fascinating look at how certain people became successful, but it doesn’t solve the problem of how to help others equal their achievement.
Published the 16th day of November, 2008 in The Boston Globe | Reviewed by Rebecca Steinitz | Full Review
“Outliers” is unabashedly inspiring. Education is at its vital heart; teachers and parents ought to put it on Christmas lists and bring it to PTA meetings. The students in my own classes, many of whom never seize opportunities, and blame others for failures, would benefit greatly by reading Gladwell’s provocative and practical book about the landscape of success.
Published the 16th day of November, 2008 in San Francisco Chronicle | Reviewed by Jonah Raskin | Full Review
“Outliers” is a trenchant examination of the elements of success that shape a striving Westerner, but it’s not the whole story. Maybe this talented writer and reporter should take on the topic of “Happiness,” perhaps the ultimate measure of a successful life, next.
Published the 13th day of November, 2008 in The Seattle Times | Reviewed by Mary Ann Gwinn | Full Review
Gladwell’s books would be more intellectually honest if he simply dispensed with his frameworks altogether, but then, of course, he wouldn’t be the cultural figure he is now.
Published the 17th day of November, 2008 in Salon | Reviewed by Louis Bayard | Full Review
In brief, for British readers, the problem with “Outliers” is not that it is contentious but that it is largely platitudinous. Take the best chapter in the book, a study of an educational project in the Bronx that has allowed hundreds of young people from poor and harsh backgrounds to thrive, go to college and so join the middle classes of that “classless” nation. The secret? They are made to work hard, for long hours. Unsurprising though it is, this is the only case history of success that deserves further reflection; the rest are as forgettable as the Rolling Stones on crumhorns.
Published the 23rd day of November, 2008 in The Times | Reviewed by Kevin Jackson | Full Review
Discontinuities are never reconciled, and the book reads more like a series of individual studies than as the cohesive “story of success” it’s supposed to be.
Published the 30th day of November, 2008 in Star Tribune | Reviewed by Max Ross | Full Review
Unlike “Tipping Point” and “Blink,” where Gladwell’s weaving of facts and argument led to a seemingly new revelation, “Outliers” ends up being rather less than the sum of its parts. I guess that inadvertently tells us something else about success. Even outliers like Gladwell can sometimes manage only to be ordinary.
Published the 6th day of December, 2008 in The Guardian | Reviewed by Derek Draper | Full Review
And now here is “Outliers,” a riveting collection of essays and stories about the highest achievers in society. Gladwell debunks the notion of the self-made man, arguing against the storyline we have been spoon-fed since childhood – the Horatio Alger figure, toiling against all odds to greatness.
Published the 21st day of December, 2008 in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Reviewed by Cristina Rouvalis | Full Review

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