"Outliers" March Book of the Month

I love to read!  I can't remember a time when I didn't love books and stories.  I decided a couple of weeks ago that each month I will share a summary and review of a book that I have read and would recommend reading.  I have a widely ranging appetite for learning/entertainment and read both fiction and Non-fiction works. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Malcolm Gladwell's latest book "Outliers The Story of Success!" 

In the book Mr. Gladwell disects a series of situational and individual successes in an attempt to find the real reasons behind success.  He discusses the traditionally accepted viewpoint that success is earned with hard work and ingenuity, and then systematically provides evidence to support the fact that success is often defined by much more than these 2 commonly accepted and heartwarming traits.  There is often a little luck involved.  Its actually much more than luck.  Its about being in the right place at the right time under just the right conditions. 

The book begins with a discussion of what circumstances effect the success of professional hockey players and never slows down until the end.  Birth date, ancestral roots, socio-economic class, parental involvement, unique educational opportunities, and many more play a role in eventual "success."

All of these topics would likely be about as exciting as a college text book but for Mr. Gladwells ability to weave illustrations for each concept out of sometimes well know and sometimes completely unknown (at least to me) non-fiction stories.  The writing style is very conversational and allowed me to think at length about the concepts presented in between reading chapters of the book.  I found myself discussing the ideas with my family, friends, and co-workers as I read the book to validate what I was learning and test the ideas presented.

Overall I really enjoyed Outliers.  I would recommend it to you.   

 

4 stars out of 5 from me.  A  very good read!