Couldn't put it down once started. I liked how the author addresses serious issues that lead to tragic events. Conundrums that we don't have answers for - events that the authors use are "hard to believe" true stories. The book turned out different from what i expected from encountering the title, but enjoyed reading it from beginning to end. Recommend it to everyone and recommend to discuss it with your kids, students, young people especially.

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.

Malcolm Gladwell is the best non-fiction writer working write now. He does such a great job of using engaging stories to convey his points that you often forget that he is building towards an overall thesis. This book is no exception . . . while I think that this one may be more controversial than many of his other books, it's just as important. Gladwell boldly takes on two of the most complex social issues we face today, sexual assault and racial discrimination. He asks an important question, which is that maybe we don't understand strangers as well as we think we do. Maybe, the media makes assumptions to fit their narrative, and the public quickly goes along with it. We assume that we are able to discern other's motives and reasoning, even though the vast majority of the scientific evidence states the opposite. I live and work about 15 miles away from where the Sandra Bland arrest occurred. I had no idea that the book would focus on this when I pre-ordered it, but was interested to see what he had to say. In my opinion, he gave a very balanced account. He goes beyond the 'bad apple cop' vs. 'victim who didn't act properly' debate and exposes a much bigger issue in our criminal justice system and our world, namely that we don't know as much as we think we do. I'm betting that he will get criticized because of this, but its important to note that by pointing out larger societal problems with how we train and expect officers to behave, it does not diminish personal responsibility. In fact, by writing books like this that expose problems to the system for all, I believe it increases personal responsibility for those who have authority. My main purpose in writing this review is not not to persuade those who loved Gladwell's previous books (like me) - they will buy it. Nor is it to persuade non-readers to read this, as they likely won't. But if you are a reader who reads a negative review about and decides to dismiss the book without reading it, I think you are making a mistake. Assume the best in Gladwell, just as he advocates in this book, and read with an open mind - you will learn something, and you will enjoy doing it. Be sure you read the endnotes as well, some great stuff there too. PS - The most shocking chapter to me was the one on the Sandusky case. I had never gone beyond the narrative portrayed by the media and was very surprised to read about how things played out here. Will be picking up at least one book on this case to read based on this chapter.

Such an insightful and great read. Quick and easy. If everyone read this book and applied its lessons, our society might be able to heal and move forward in truth.

Interesting and thought-provoking. Gladwell's writing style is conversational and easy to enjoy. There are some flaws in his logic at times. Also, he has very strong opinions that sometimes flavor his conclusions. Overall, however, well worth reading.

My little cousin read this before going into college it’s a great read with a lot of explanation and research to back it this book got me into reading all his other books which are also great!