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Outliers: The Story of Success


Unabridged Audiobook

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Ratings
Book
1700
Narrator
133
Release Date
November 18, 2008
Duration
7 hours 18 minutes
Summary
From the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia, learn what sets high achievers apart—from Bill Gates to the Beatles—in this seminal work from "a singular talent" (New York Times Book Review).

In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"—the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.

Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.
Reviews
Profile Avatar Emily W Oct 2017

I think this book starts off pretty well but there were points that I felt like could have been expanded on a bit more. Some of the outcomes of outliers seemed pretty clear and then at other points I felt like there were examples just thrown in that weren't really explained very well. I also thought this book lacked diversity in the examples and tended to favor certain groups, languages, etc. I understood the concepts and what the author was trying to get across but it would have been nice to learn about more non-white male examples of outliers. They're out there, it's just up to authors to make an effort and priority to find them.

Profile Avatar Victoria S. Aug 2021

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It reminds the reader that successful people get to where they are through a lot of luck and circumstance and not just through hard work and genius. This book makes you feel less envious of successful people and inspires you to make your own luck and opportunities.

Profile Avatar Betty O. Dec 2020

Great book but we know Malcolm has a way of grabbing the attention of his audience right from the beginning.

Profile Avatar Taha T. Nov 2020

c'est un bon livre

Profile Avatar Michael U. Oct 2022

Goodwell narration terrific and flow was very good. Kept me entertained and informed tthe enitre book M.J. Urbano, San Diego

Profile Avatar Brisa R. Jan 2024

Excellent book! I love all of the data and the different angles he points out to make his point.

Profile Avatar Nin Yuan Jan 2024

Profound and deeply unsettling

Profile Avatar eva Aug 2023

I read this book many years ago. Through the time when making decisions (many times parenting decisions) I often remembered chapters of the book and many times it made me decide easier and right.

Profile Avatar Lee W. May 2023

Awesome. Must read.

Profile Avatar Tommy Peter B. Mar 2023

If you're an intellectual in any sense of the word, you'll see right through this book, and probably be very frustrated by how silly it is. Most college students would probably know not to make extreme generalizations, like "Asians are good at math" without having ample evidence of it. Instead of wasting time on this book, look up any number of articles that seriously critique it, and you'll save 10 hours of your life.

Profile Avatar Lala N. Jul 2022

Very interseting book

Profile Avatar Anonymous Jun 2022

Very good and makes you think

Profile Avatar Anonymous Jun 2022

Very enjoyable listen.

Profile Avatar Kevin M. Jan 2022

A super interesting book filled with facts that definitely took a lot of time, dedication and research to expand on his ideas. I love the topics he hits on that gives you a better understanding of humans and culture, especially culture. Every chapter was unique and so much fun. To summarize the book from what I took out of it: "Everything happens for a reason, and for no reason. The universe is at work."

Profile Avatar Adam H. Nov 2021

Extremely interesting. Great book.

Profile Avatar Siaka K. Aug 2021

Malcolm use statistics, human psychology and organizational behavior to dispel myths. Excellent read for anyone who assumes that assumptions are all factual. Malcolm, explains data and takes the reader through a thorough process of inductive and deductive reasoning and how to identify inference in situations to challenge the status quo way of thinking.

Profile Avatar Lisa H. Mar 2021

Interesting! Challenged the way I think about successful people.

Profile Avatar Brian K. Jan 2021

Great book. Quite mind boggling & insightful. As much as I enjoyed it, my mind cannot simply agree with his entire concept. Of course we're all privileged in certain ways. There will always be someone in a worse situation. I think Malcolm completely undermines the internal sacrifice & drive that carries people to success. Bill Gates for example, chose to take up the opportunities he got while other boys his age opted to gallivant. The Beatles accepted the job offer of playing daily rather than opting for an easier path. In my opinion, we definitely all need support up to a life stage, from there your desire & will to achieve your objectives makes you notice opportunities that've always been there but for which your mind was not activated to. Nevertheless, interesting book.

Profile Avatar James F. Feb 2020

I disagree with the recent 3 star reviews. I find "Outliers" excellent in all respects: surprising revelations, interesting summary theories, and fun to listen. As always, Gladwell's narration (tone, inflection, etc.) adds much to his book.

Profile Avatar David R. Jul 2019

Starts off well but gets off track. I got the feeling the author was looking for similarities that fit his narrative vs getting all the relevant data. At least I know where President Obama got his "You Didn't Build it" idea from. I agree that we are a product of our generation and environment but not giving serious credit to the personal hard work and effort to rise through mediocrity does not give people the respect they deserve.

Profile Avatar John M. Nov 2018

The Rosetta town study is no longer correct, the high fat diet most likely led to the low heart disease rate. Not a knock on the author, just an observation. Great read.

Profile Avatar David T. Jun 2018

Malcolm Gladwell is a wonderful narrator of his own writing in “Outliers”. His sociological approach to the parameters of success is intriguing

Profile Avatar Adan R Apr 2018

Incredible read!!! So insightful. Great to connect with all the great people you have met on your way

Profile Avatar Oana Roxana R Oct 2017

It is the first book downloaded in my audiobooks account, and I can tell you that it was an amazing experience: the content, the subject, the narration.

Profile Avatar Darwinson V Sep 2017

Great read and the narrator was amazing.

Profile Avatar Carmen Victoria U May 2017

The greatest book I've ever read.

Profile Avatar Adrian U Apr 2017

Very great read, dives you into the lives of the successful and their progressive opportunity management. It is full of great knowledge and very easy to comprehend.

Profile Avatar Aik Okaro Jan 2017

Great read and very thoughtful. I am glad I was not disappointed.

Profile Avatar Sam Elliott Dec 2016

Great read! Highly recommend! A book that will definitely leave you thinking in a different way.

Profile Avatar Dan Dunlap Nov 2016

Insightful and thought provoking; an excellent read from a very creative author.

Profile Avatar Mark Kremer Sep 2016

in a typical Malcolm Gladwell Gladwell fashion, "Outliers" offers intriguing insight into what makes outstanding achievers... outstanding achievers. The assertions of the book are not obvious and counter intuitive, supported by a wide range of prior academic research, and brought to bare with convincing example. Though some of the claims, like the "10,000 hours magic", sound suspiciously elegant, the principal of the arguments stands. In retrospect, "Outliers" helped me understand the outstanding people that I had the good fortune to work with, and furthermore the ones that were expected to stand out and did not. The narration, by Malcolm him very self, like his writing style was clear and effective.

Profile Avatar Janet Slavenski Aug 2016

I appreciated the facts and interest this book brought to me personally. The authors own story was an added bonus

Profile Avatar Matthew Chase Aug 2016

Familiar with Malcolm Gladwell from his work with Bill Simmons. I always enjoyed his work on the podcast and most recently the TV show. I knew about this book and the 10,000 hour theory but for some reason never read it. Finally decided to take the plunge and now feel dumb for having waited this long. I finished it and then immediately started over. Genius stuff. So hard to explain these concepts but Gladwell does it with such ease in transition and language. Thankful for this book. I've already recommended it to numerous people. Get it now!

Profile Avatar Melissa Gue Jun 2016

Another great book by this great author! Very thought provoking! A lot of A-Ha moments. (Grateful for the narration/audio version as I was recovering from eye surgery).

Profile Avatar Sentilla Hawley Mar 2016

So eye opening. Greatest book I have read yet. Malcolm Gladwell is genius.

Profile Avatar dom chaffey Nov 2015

This is a Very interesting and intellectual read. I would recommend this to anyone. It has a similar feel to the sports psychology book called Bounce.

Profile Avatar Sean ALLEN Oct 2015

Great book read by the author. I shared this with my wife and many friends as I progressed through. Many "Aha" moments.

Profile Avatar David Underwood Jun 2015

A great listen both enjoyable and thought provoking.

Profile Avatar Jared Thomas Sep 2014

Great insight and elaboration of research. Allows the reader to glimpse into the lives of the successful and pull apart the contributing conditions that lead to their sucess.

Profile Avatar Phillip Cronin Aug 2014

I enjoyed this book. The information cited was fascinating.

Profile Avatar Anthony Parish Jun 2014

This book is a must read/listen to.It changes the view of success in the lives of people

Profile Avatar Can Zhang Mar 2014

excellent book with fascinating stories and arguments, i don't agree with all the author had said but very good writing and reading all around

Outliers: The Story of Success

Outliers: The Story of Success

Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Read by: Malcolm Gladwell
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