David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants Paperback – Illustrated, April 7, 2015

Malcolm Gladwell's latest bestseller, David and Goliath, will leave you reeling. It nullifies so many things you thought you already knew. Just as you think you've recovered from all the eye-openers in Outliers, here he comes again with new revelations to knock you off your feet.I've heard Gladwell say that he's just a storyteller. but I say he's one of the great thinkers of our time...an historian who filters out the untruths, a mathematician who helps you solve all the puzzles, and a psychiatrist who gets into your head. Since the running theme throughout the book is that giants don't always win, he demonstrates it well with many cases. The truth about the biblical story of David and Goliath is shocking. Little David not only "flipped the script" by changing how the fight would proceed - not hand to hand combat, but utilizing the sling, a popular skill he had perfected. Goliath was vulnerable in many ways; he had a disease that affected his vision, he moved slowly, his armor was too heavy and it left an exposed forehead. David took his shot.Gladwell cites many examples to prove his point. Lawrence of Arabia with his motley crew also triumphed over 1200 Turks because they had an "advantage." Underdogs often have an advantage. His men happened to know the desert better... where the water was, how to avoid the snakes, how to survive. Find your advantage.You may have heard of the concept Big Fish in a Little Pond and vice versa, but not like this. Gladwell interestingly relates how each year millions of students are faced with the task of choosing a college to attend. But they may want to revise their thinking once they read about Caroline. She was smart as a whip, top of her class, loved science since she was a kid. She always knew what she wanted to be. Like most students, she chose the fanciest, most prestigious college that would accept her. When she got there, the environment was different, courses were harder, students more competitive and seemed to think on a higher level. Unable to comprehend the science work and feeling demoralized (The smarter the people in your class, the dumber you feel), she switched to the humanities. If Caroline had chosen her SECOND school, if she had been a Big Fish in a Little Pond, she would be a happy scientist today. (Gladwell says that many former math and physics majors are lawyers today.)This example is cited again with the impressionist painters in Paris in the 1800s, Monet, Renoir, etc. Their work was always rejected in The Salon, which was the most prestigious art show in the world (Rejects often committed suicide). Their work was different. They finally decided to start their own exhibit...become Big Fish in a Little Pond to beat the giant. Their work sells for millions today.The most interesting concept in the book is the "Inverted -U Curve." It will turn your own thinking upside-down. Gladwell says we operate in an inverted U- shaped world. You can disprove a prevailing universal belief by using it. Here's the math: Supposing you think money makes parenting easier, you'll note that the extra resources on the left side of the curve seem to show just that. And as you reach the level top, no real difference is seen. But as you head down the right side, money makes the situation WORSE. You'll want to read about it for sure. ( Dad, what do you mean we can't afford it and I don't value money? You have a Maserati and Mom has a Porsche!) Gladwell explains it clearly. It's the same principal for "smaller class sizes." Who would debunk the long-held belief that small classes are better? Not when you head down the right side of the inverted-U. (Not enough opinions for good discussion, and more.)You must read about the $50,000 private boarding school in Connecticut that had every resource you can imagine, and be shocked when you examine the right side of the inverted U curve here. Many things are WORSE (although the pianos are all Steinways, so if you're in a practice room playing Chopsticks, it's going to sound really good.) p. 61.Reading about the "Three Strikes" law in California and how it came to be initiated by a murdered child's father, is mesmerizing. It certainly would seem workable though...the third offense, they go in, 25 to life. They're off the streets. But it didn't work. It had to be changed. The right side of the curve shows why. ( No one looked at how criminals minds work. How they'll be punished is not on their minds when they do a job. Too distracting.)Even more surprising in Gladwell's book is the Civil Rights leaders using old slave trickery to fight the evil racism giant. Slaves had relied on the ways of trickster heros in folklore to get back at slave masters. Brer Rabbit, Anansi the Spider and others taught them cunning and devious ways. Read how Wyatt Walker, cunning and sly himself, got Bull Connor to do what he wanted in the name of advancing Civil Rights, and how he staged events history doesn't know about.Gladwell introduces the theory of Desirable Difficulties. Could being bombed produce a Desirable Difficulty? Perhaps. Three things can happen: you could be killed, you could be traumatized by the experience (called a Near Miss), or you could be made happier and stronger because you were spared a couple of times, and it makes you feel invincible. That's called a Remote Miss. Remote Misses appear often in the book.It's also desirable to have dyslexia, at least according to Gladwell. He says you can beat this giant too. Just look at the lives of people who did it. The most famous trial lawyer in the country couldn't read. He taught himself to memorize and perfected his listening ability. Others did unusual things, even bold things we wouldn't think of doing to excel. Read all about it. You'll love it like I did.

1. Overall ImpressionMalcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath reframes what it means to be an underdog. This isn’t just motivational fluff—it’s a well-crafted narrative built on real-life examples that are as entertaining as they are enlightening.⸻2. Personal Experience and InsightsI picked this up expecting a typical self-help book but was pleasantly surprised. From dyslexic lawyers to outmatched armies, each story illustrates how disadvantages can become strengths when approached creatively.Gladwell’s storytelling is top-notch, weaving together history, psychology, and modern anecdotes in a way that keeps you reading. The pace is engaging, and the case studies are memorable and thoughtfully chosen.⸻3. Pros and ConsPros• Engaging, narrative-driven structure• Grounded in real-life examples• Offers fresh, counterintuitive perspectivesCons• Some themes feel repetitive toward the middle• A few stories could have been shorter⸻4. Final RecommendationHighly recommended for readers who enjoy thought-provoking nonfiction with a strong storytelling element. This book doesn’t hand out step-by-step solutions but instead invites you to rethink assumptions about strength, weakness, and success.

Whew! Where do I start to convince you to read this thought-provoking, entertaining, page-turning gem?On the title pages of the books I read for these reviews, I usually list 10 to 20 page numbers—with the best stuff I want to talk about.This book: 45 bullet points, all worthy of long paragraphs. It’s pure torture knowing I can’t mention most of them. You gotta read this bestselling book!Malcolm Gladwell is a master at his craft with bestsellers like Outliers: The Story of Success, Blink and The Tipping Point. His latest, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, is classic Gladwell.He writes, “David and Goliath is a book about what happens when ordinary people confront giants. By ‘giants,’ I mean powerful opponents of all kinds—from armies and mighty warriors to disability, misfortune, and oppression. Each chapter tells the story of a different person—famous or unknown, ordinary or brilliant, who has faced an outsize challenge and been forced to respond. Should I play by the rules or follow my own instincts? Shall I persevere or give up? Should I strike back or forgive?”In these memorable stories (I’ve already shared half-a-dozen relevant vignettes with colleagues in the last 10 days), Gladwell explores two ideas: 1) sometimes “the act of facing overwhelming odds produces greatness and beauty,” and 2) we “consistently get these kinds of conflicts wrong. We misread them. We misinterpret them. Giants are not what we think they are.”So rather than a dozen spoiler alerts here…I’ll give you a True or False test. Mark “True” if you think the following notes are from David and Goliath.TRUE OR FALSE?#1. In the mid-1950s, Swedish furniture manufacturers boycotted IKEA, angry over his low prices. So in 1961, at the peak of the Cold War, IKEA’s founder did business with manufacturers in Poland—the equivalent today of “Walmart setting up shop in North Korea.”#2. Based on the statistical history of wars—the David vs. Goliath types—if Canada waged an unconventional war on the U.S., “history would suggest you ought to put your money on Canada.”#3. In discussing the relationship between parenting and wealth, “The scholars who research happiness suggest that more money stops making people happier at a family income of around $75,000 a year.”#4. “The phenomenon of relative deprivation applied to education is called—appropriately enough—the ‘Big Fish—Little Pond Effect.’ The more elite an educational institution is, the worse students feel about their own academic abilities.”#5. So…where should your kids attend college? Research on college grads concludes that “the best students from mediocre schools were almost always a better bet than good students from the very best schools.”Gladwell divides his stunning findings (told through page-turner true stories) into three parts: 1) “The Advantages of Disadvantages (and the Disadvantages of Advantages),” 2) “The Theory of Desirable Difficulty,” and 3) “The Limits of Power.”More True or False:#6. “We have a definition in our heads of what an advantage is—and the definition isn’t right. And what happens as a result? It means that we make mistakes. It means that we misread battles between underdogs and giants.”#7. In Gladwell’s up-close-and-personal interview with a world class attorney who has dyslexia, the lawyer talks about the advantages of his disadvantages. “Not being able to read a lot and learning by listening and asking questions means that I need to simplify issues to their basics. And that is very powerful, because in trial cases, judges and jurors—neither of them have the time or the ability to become experts in the subject. One of my strengths is presenting a case that they can understand.”#8. George Bernard Shaw once said, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”#9. In response to Birmingham police jailing hundreds of children who skipped school to march in the Civil Rights demonstrations, Martin Luther King responded, “Jail helps you to rise about the miasma of everyday life. If they want some books, we will get them. I catch up on my reading every time I go to jail.”#10. A California father, incensed at his daughter’s brutal murder, champions the Three Strikes Law, while a Canadian couple—Mennonites—forgive and move on; “a very practical strategy based on the belief that there are profound limits to what the formal mechanisms of retribution can accomplish.”Business leaders will appreciate this book, but I’m guessing nonprofit and church leaders will love it. They have “against all odds” challenges most days before breakfast. So, have we been looking at “disadvantages/giants” incorrectly? Why might disadvantages actually be advantages?During World War II, the Germans pretty much gave up on disassembling a safe haven for Jews in the French mountain community of Le Chambon. Why? Gladwell says, “wiping out a town or a people or a movement is never as simple as it looks. The powerful are not as powerful as they seem—nor the weak as weak.”I could go on, with another 35 or more mind-grabbing and soul-whacking notes, but I gotta stop. I hope you’ll read this book. Give it for Christmas and you’ll receive appreciative thank you notes. (By the way, all 10 statements above are “True.”)

Compelling book with a unique perspective. Solid read if you want a new outlook on attacking the daily issues brought up in leadership