Review: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point is a book mixing together sociology, psychology, marketing, education, etc., etc. to create a thesis: small things really do make all of the difference. He uses just about every example possible to support his ideas, including Paul Revere's ride, Blues Clues, and the New York crime wave. Quite simply, ideas, trends, and social movements do not become popular because of their own merits; rather, they catch on because a few very important people (whom Gladwell calls connectors, mavens, and salesmen) are drawn to the idea and spread it.

I think that Gladwell does a very good job explaining his ideas, and the sheer breadth of the examples and case studies allows nearly every reader to find something that they can understand/connect with in the book. For history nuts (like me!), there's Paul Revere's ride; for amateur sociologists, there's an examination of the New York crime rate drop-off; for parents, there's Blues Clues and Sesame Street. This, however, does bring up one fundamental flaw in the book; the thesis is argued through case study. Although Gladwell alludes to patterns to look for in examples not included in the book, they're not set out in a way that can be experimented. This lack of "academic" arguments does, however, make the book much more accessible for the non-academic.

All in all, I think this is an excellent book to make you think and reconsider what you currently think to be true about popular ideas; it's not the merit, it's the people involved in spreading the word about the idea and their skills in harnessing the power of communication. It raises some important questions: do we elect presidents because of our personal support of their policies, or is it because we managed to meet and talk to someone particularly effective at spreading the word about said candidate? Can we encourage children to go to school and study hard simply because of the possible rewards of doing such a thing, or would we be fighting a losing battle against a charismatic classmate that argues for the fun that comes with skipping school? Can we fight childhood obesity by using celebrity spokespeople and warning about the health risks, or do we need to search for a particular person particularly good at persuading children that exercising is "cool"? Even if you're not a "non-fiction reader," I would suggest this book. It's accessible, and the ideas are really worth reading about.

My rating: 9.2/10

Other reviews:
Liv's Book Reviews
Dog Ear Diary
Book Addiction
A Reader's Journal

Up Next: Fury by Salman Rushdie