I have just finished Malcolm Gladwell's latest book, David and Goliath, Underdogs, Misfits and the art of battling giants.
First, a confession. I am a big Malcolm Gladwell fan, and have read all of his books and his entire New Yorker archive which you can access here - http://gladwell.com
I found this book a little disappointing compared to the others. The style is pure Gladwell. Tell a story in a traditional way and then pick it apart. Throw up an orthodoxy, challenge it and "prove" conventional wisdom wrong. Getting his audience to "think different" is Gladwell's key skill.
I enjoyed the discussion of the David and Goliath story itself, which is where the book starts and will be familiar to most people. I also enjoyed the discussion of basketball and the application of the press in that game, which is an unorthodox approach. In fact, Gladwell published this story already in the New Yorker in 2009. I did feel slightly gyped by paying to read something I'd already read four years ago. You can read it here http://gladwell.com/how-david-beats-goliath/ . And if you read that article it sums up the first part of the book. Which is, in short, that a David can only beat a Goliath by playing the game on David's terms and not on Goliath's terms. If you are a David and you do things in a conventional and predictable way, you will generally lose.
The second part of the book was less enjoyable for me. It was about how people who have suffered adversity are able to use that adversity to their advantage to overcome the weakness. I found that less interesting because on the whole my experience is that most people (not all) have suffered some form of adversity that to a small or great extent motivates them or dominates them to a greater or lesser extent. For most people the death of a parent is a terrible adversity. And it almost destroyed some people I knew at school who turned to drugs. And yet it wasn't until I was much older that I realised the pain they suffered was immense and that they were looking for a way to suppress that pain. Others channel the pain to overcome. Part 2 of the book is about those who channel pain or adversity to overcome.
Overall, while not his best book, it is certainly worth a read if you are a fan. If you want a shortcut on part one of the book, read the article referenced above in the New Yorker.
Some people come on to these forums looking for the magic bullet solution. Think like David and you will find sucess. Battle the market (Goliath) on its terms and you will lose.
