The Tipping Point Audio Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Tipping Point Audio
Book Review: Not What I Expected....
Summary: 3 Stars
For the most part, I found "Tipping Point" to be a solid work. Malcolm Gladwell certainly presents this subject in a brilliant manner that can only be described as a completely different level of thinking. But, I am not completely sold! Given its hype, I expected a little bit more from the book.
The idea behind "Tipping Point" is not new or profound. Malcolm Gladwell's contention that small things can make a big effect is not a novel concept in any arena. To me, it seems more like common sense. In this case, the author also has the advantage of perfect hindsight. In this book, I see little real value or application in future decision making or quantitative analysis.
Throughout the book, there are a few areas I struggled to get through as the author beats you over the head with the same topic over and over again. The chapter covering Sesame Street is tremendously overloaded with detail. I really became lost in the weeds and perhaps missed what the author was trying to say....other than the obvious fact that small changes in the program were what made the difference in children's retention of material - i.e. if you can hold a child's attention, you can educate him. The book could easily have been 100 pages shorter and delivered the same message.
I know of many people who rave over this book, but I am not one of them. I did not seem to get much value out of it. I did, however, find it entertaining and somewhat educational. Despite my criticism, I would recommend this book to anyone who hasn't yet read it. At the very least, it could serve as a great conversation piece at your next social gathering.
Book Review: Wow
Summary: 5 Stars
I heard about this book through friends and through the media. I ended up buying Tipping Point and Blink at the same time. Might I just say that I have only covered 62 pages in between work and school, and wish so badly that I had an entire day to read it through. Tipping Point is a very easy read, and Malcolm Gladwell's revelations are fascinating. So much information is compiled into the mere 62 pages I have read, that I have already brought Tipping Point up in conversations with friends and family. I highly recommend this book.Book Review: Interestin and thought provoking
Summary: 5 Stars
What a book! It is an absolute page turner. I devoured it in one sitting (long night!). "Tipping Point", along with the other book by the same author, "Blink", are on top of bestseller list and rightly so.
The book is very well designed and Gladwell's writing style is of a best novelist, which makes the book even more entertaining.
I'm not sure how scientific the author's ideas are but they are most interesting. For example, I do treat advertising as a annoyance rather then buying advice, and I agree with the author that in my case it is rather a counterproductive marketing effort, but I was surprised to learn how important is the word of mouth. But when you think of it, it does really make a lot of sense. What is really valuable to us is the opinions of other people we can relate to and trust.
Gladwell's conclusions are intriguing and thought-provoking. I am keeping the book on my shelf to refresh my mind at a later time. Another book I own and recommend for others is Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Book Review: Interesting, but overrated
Summary: 3 Stars
This book has become a best seller because it covers a very relevant topic. The tipping point challenges our tendency to think and predict the future in linear terms. Despite the fact that I enjoyed the reading, the book did not meet my high expectations.Book Review: A nice read for the beach or a rainy day
Summary: 3 Stars
Don't get me wrong, "The Tipping Point" is a good book. I enjoyed it a good deal, and found several of the chapters extremely interesting. I just do not find it is as ground-breaking or thought-inspiring as other reviewers here and elsewhere. Malcolm Gladwell has taken an intriguing subject -- the science and mechanics of social epidemics, if you will -- and made it both accessible and easy-to-understand for laymen like myself. Only a smart and skilled writer like Gladwell could take such varying subjects as the popularity of hush puppies, the Broken Windows theory of urban crime, STD outbreaks, Paul Revere's famous ride to Lexington, and the teen suicide epidemic in Micronesia and meld them all into the same overriding story and pseudo-scientific study. The result is a read that is incredibly engrossing in most parts, pretty boring in a couple of chapters, and ultimately a nice read you can probably polish off in a lazy Saturday afternoon. While I question some of Gladwell's methods in delineating his theory, I think it's pretty believable nonetheless, and if not, at least its fascinating to read about!
I think that the book does get a little long-winded near the end. The chapter on teen suicide epidemic in Micronesia seems to go on forever, and is not nearly as interesting as several of the earlier chapters. Additionally, one thing I question is Gladwell's cherry-picking of scientific studies to prove his point(s). Throughout the book he does very well to cite various studies, theories, and articles which advance his main idea (as well as subsequent ones), but I left the book questioning how much Gladwell just chose to discuss only those studies which were favorable to his own beliefs. Obviously, this is something you encounter in any argument, but it leads one to question how exhaustive Gladwell's conclusions are. Again, this is only a small quibble.
In the end, I enjoyed "The Tipping Point" but I don't share the huge enthusiasm for it that a lot of people have. It didn't change how I look at things in the world; in fact, even though I finished it less than a week ago, I have not given a great deal of thought to it period. This isn't so much a criticism of the book; rather, I just disagree with people who have heaped so much praise on the book. Perhaps a lot of what Gladwell was saying went over my head, but in my view it's a good, interesting read and that's about it.
Three stars.