Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know

Another great book of Malcolm Gladwell that gives you a very interesting point of view about what we consider true, and it couldn’t be so.

Buenisimo como todos los libros del autor. una introspeccion en el arte de escudriñar a la gente y porque no sabemos si dicen la verdad o no entre otras cosas. muy recomendable

Unfortunately, my Executive Board chose this as our first Book Club Book. I’ve ready other books by Malcolm Gladwell and was excited by the choice. Then I started reading it. I’m not sure he could’ve chosen more horrible examples to illustrate the purposes in this book. Was it intentional for shock value? To be provocative? If you are sensitive to suicide, rape, child abuse, white collar crimes, torture, or Hitler – remove this from your cart. There were some pages and chapters I had to skip because the details were so raw and vivid. I would sit back and say, was that really necessary to get the point he was aiming for across. My answer is a firm “no.” In a world filled with negativity, this book falls right in line instead of providing hope and positive insight. I highlighted maybe three sentences in this book as takeaways and I hope I can forget all the rest of it. What a downer and very triggering. Even the formatting was off-putting, with the chapters just sort of ending in the middle of a point, and picking up later in a chapter. Hugely disappointed with this one.

Kids should read and discuss this type of book in class, that would change the next generation for better. Necessary read.

First, I’m an avid Gladwell fan. I love his work. I’ve read every book, can’t wait for each Revisionist History episode (his podcast), and read his works in various publications. I love his ability to convey a story, delve into data and nuance while maintaining interest, and perfectly make a sharp and often novel point by the end. I purchased the audiobook at the recommendation of his podcast after listening to the sample he posted and was not disappointed in the production quality. I’m an Audible member and always buy audiobooks. This one set a new standard for the format. It was captivating to listen to – masterfully done in the same style as his podcast. However, (SPOILERS – stop now) that sharp point so notorious in his work was missing in this book. The storytelling was great, but the premise (that we cannot understand others, discern their intentions, or understand their context as well as we think we can or at all) was not the profound perspective shift I’ve grown to love about Gladwell. Yes, there were some interesting points made, like that overly paranoid behavior with strangers is counterproductive as an alternative to a “default of truth” and that we tend to judge others as transparent 1-dimensional people we can read clearly, but do not believe the same judgement should be applied to ourselves. The stories were told brilliantly and I enjoyed listening to all of them, but they were told in service of a thesis that did not, in my opinion, justify such arduous dissection. All of that, to be honest, still would have gotten this book 5 stars from me – but, I was left with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth in the way some stories were portrayed, especially when it comes to Brock Turner and Sandra Bland. For example, with Brock Turner, Gladwell uses this to make the point that there’s a fine line of consent. Men and women see things differently. Under the influence we see things differently. A lot is left up to interpretation. However, in this case, there was no “miscommunication” and a mismatch of signals interpreted as what was consent or not… the victim was literally unconscious. There are millions of stories that could be used to show the nuance of communication and interpretation in consent – some involving celebrities… this was not one. I get the points these stories were designed to illustrate, but I felt they were used for their notoriety, not their ability to underscore the point. Gladwell’s podcast episode on a police-involved shooting illustrated this book’s point better than the somewhat clumsy and also disconcerting analysis of the Sandra Bland case. I still say this book is entertaining and extremely well done (of course it is; it’s Gladwell). It’s still worth the time. The point is a good one to learn, but not Gladwell at his best.

I think this book should be required reading for everyone. It reminds us that we all have a responsibility to try to understand each other beyond face value and without prejudice. I’ve recommended this to so many people. What Gladwell’s research uncovers about policing resonates and helps to explain the challenging news stories we hear about daily.

The author describes in detail some examples where experienced people who should be experts have misjudged and trusted people they shouldn’t have. Quite eye-opening. Written in a style that draws your interest and a desire to know more.