Lexington, KY - Malcolm Gladwell is one of the most original writers in America today. While he is most often defined as a journalist, his investigative curiosity often runs deeper and counter to that role. His seemingly unquenchable drive to explore any number of unrelated topics results at times in extraordinary insights. His best sellers, including "The Tipping Point," "Blink," and "Outliers," have served to create a Gladwell brand that transcends category. His insights (and his catch-phrases) have become the seasonings in contemporary conversations about politics, society, technology and business.
His most recent book, "What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures," is collected from his work published in The New Yorker, where he has been a writer since 1996. The book is a superb collection of Gladwell's unique perspectives, served up with his intriguing and provocative investigative style.
The book takes its title from an article in the first section on Cesar Millan, the "dog whisperer." Gladwell started out exploring how Millan could calm the most vicious and troubled dogs with the touch of his hand. He wanted to know what Millan was thinking. Halfway through writing the piece, he decided to explore another perspective: what was the dog thinking? That's what he shows us - what goes on inside the dog's head, what the dog saw. It's this inversion of perspective that makes Gladwell's writing so intriguing, fascinating, and at times, amusing.
The volume is divided into three parts. The first one, "Obsessives, Pioneers and Other Varieties of Minor Genius," includes some of the entertaining personalities you may never want to meet, but you will be captivated by the portrait Gladwell draws. In addition to the dog whisperer, we meet the extraordinary kitchen gadget salesman, Ron Popeil, who made famous the Veg-O-Matic, among other kitchen devices. There's also a story entitled "Blowing Up" about how Wall Street trader Nassim Taleb used disaster as an investment strategy. The story "True Colors" shares the details behind the "Does she or doesn't she?" marketing campaign and the impact of hair dye on American history.
What all these and other characters in Gladwell's essays have in common is a unique insight into how people think and feel. Each of them is confident in their abilities; each is a pioneer and minor genius in some way.
The second section of the book is "Theories, Predictions and Diagnoses." Gladwell begins this section with an essay on the collapse of Enron. The essay was written before the financial crisis of 2008, and while the author notes this in a postscript, he chooses not to update his essay with any after-the-fact insights.
The chapter that stands out in this section is "Million Dollar Murray," which argues that problems like homelessness may be easier to solve than to manage. Here is Gladwell at his best, leading us to access a fresh perspective that had not been considered. The chapter on mammography is also timely, given current news, and the chapter "Something Borrowed" about plagiarism is one you'll want to copy.
The final section, "Personality, Character, and Intelligence," includes a wide range of discussions from determining genius to spotting potential criminality. The essay entitled "Late Bloomers" disputes the idea that genius equates with precocity. True, Mozart was composing piano concertos in his 20s and other writers and musicians often peaked young. However, research shows that this is not always the rule. Robert Frost wrote nearly 50 percent of his poems after the age of 50. Alfred Hitchcock made his most memorable films between his 54th and 61st birthdays.
Several other chapters in this section seem particularly timely for business. "Most Likely to Succeed" explores a football scout's processes in determining how to hire who's right for the job. "The New-Boy Network" asks what job interviews really tell us. "The Talent Myth: Are Smart People Overrated?" suggests that the "talent mindset" of contemporary American management (often used as justification for high compensation) may be flawed.
Gladwell's collection certainly showcases the author's talents. His approach to any topic is always unconventional, and his insight is unique. He often challenges the reader to consider the ordinary in extraordinary ways.
These essays exemplify some of the best contemporary writing of this genre. The fact that Gladwell writes so well on such an eclectic group of topics points to his own "minor genius."