What the Dog Saw
by Malcolm Gladwell
★★★★☆
I've always enjoyed Gladwell's books. He somehow makes the most random things fascinating and this book is by far one of his best. It's a collection of articles that have been published in the New Yorker. They deal with everything from hair coloring, the dog whisperer, the history of birth control pills, infomercials, ketchup, and a dozen other things.
At the beginning of the book Gladwell talks about what makes a writer different from other people. They have to find the most mundane things in the world interesting. They need to see the story in everything. I think he does that so well! His interest is sparked by the smallest thing and peels away the layers until the underlying story is revealed. He profiles people and works hard to understand how their personal lives affected their success or failure. By including all the gritty details he’s able to give a more complete picture of the subject matter.
If you’ve enjoyed Blink or The Tipping Point, or if you’re new to Gladwell, this book is a wonderful read.
6 comments:
Malcolm Gladwell pops up in the Canadian news a lot. This sounds great. I'll add it to the TBR list. Thanks for the review :)
Don't miss this joke about the title: http://failblog.org/2010/10/12/epic-fail-photos-juxtaposition-fail-6-3/
I've been meaning to read a Malcolm Gladwell book and someone recommended this book as a fantastic place to start.
Jeanne - That's hilarious. I wonder if the store clerk was actually trying to be funny... probably not.
Jenners - I agree, this is a great place to start. I've read Blink and The Tipping Point as well and I enjoyed both of them, but this might be my fav.
I love the cover of this book. Thanks for sharing!
qofaoken - I'm glad you found me!
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