Outliers the Story of Success - Book Report/Review Example

The Story of Success Summary Outliers- the Story of Success is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell belonging to the non-fiction genre. This book was published in November, 2008 by Little, Brown and Company with ISBN number 9780316017930. This book is often considered as a type of autobiography written by Gladwell to reflect on his own success. The book became a bestseller and was included in the bestseller list of The Global and Mail and the New York Times. This is the third book written by Galdwell. The previous books, The Tipping Point and Blink revolved around marketing and social psychology. ‘Outliers’ is a book exploring the lives of many outliers. Outlier is defined as a phenomenon that is not ordinarily possible or one which is not statistically viable. In this book, Galdwell brings forward successful people from different fields that have made a name for themselves despite odds. He explains their success through his own viewpoints and observations. Galdwell, in his book, introduced many outliers in the modern world including individuals such as Bill Gates, and popular mu band such as the Beatles. In the end, Galdwell explores his own success which makes this book into an autobiography of sorts. In this book, Galdwell continuously brought forward the concept, the 10,000-Hour Rule that has been developed by Anders Ericsson. According to Galdwell, any person can be successful in their particular field when they spend 10,000 hours doing tasks related to their field or job. Here he gives the example of Bill Gates who at the age of 13 was able to get access to his high school computer and thereon spend 10,000 hours using the computer practicing on programs (Galdwell, 2008). Review In this book, Galdwell took up a different context from his previous two published books, when he focuses on a manifesto for success. This is more of a self-help book where Galdwell also raises certain political issues such as the opportunities given to certain individuals on the basis of their birth dates. The book belongs to the genre of psychology and sociology. It explores the potential of the human being along with the opportunities and threats presented by the society. The intended audience in the case of this book is all the people who wish to attain successful and wonder why certain people become more successful than others. According to me, one of the reasons Galdwell’s book became a best seller, apart from relating to the basic ambition of success that most people have, was because the book explained the complex phenomena of success in such a simple language. Galdwell, at one point, in his book brings forth the question that how much raw talent is being ignored by us as we cling to old definitions of success. I think, Galdwell, through his book wanted to correct this and this is why he used simplified language that appealed to every kind of audience. Galdwell was able to simply the concept of success through his 10,000 hour rule. He intended to explain the formula of success to as many people as he could so that raw talent could be explored. He introduced the Beatles here who gained success after coming from a tour where they spent more than 10,000 hours singing and practicing the songs. However, at some points, I feel that Galdwell was not able to validate his claims with strong research. For example, at one point, Galdwell says that children born in the first three months of the year are not just famous players but also better in the classroom. While Galdwell manages to convince the readers of the good players through the example of Canadian ice hockey players, he is unable to provide strong research backed claims for the second claim. The book affected me on different levels- both personal and professional. On the personal level, I was disturbed by the obstacles that Galdwell had to face because of his racial background. Considering that America is a country of diverse races, it was disturbing to note that people do not have equal opportunities in our country. The book connected on a personal level also because it sheds light on the importance of supporting family and friends. I truly believe that I have been blessed with a supporting family and friends and without them; I would not have been able to reach the point where I am now. My family has provided with all kinds of support- emotional and financial. Also the book raises several questions along the way. Galdwell, at various points in the book, addresses his readers with thought provoking questions. These questions often take on a political edge. In this way, this book allowed me to question some of my beliefs and assumptions more closely. For example, I consider that race is not an obstacle for success but when Galdwell introduced his own viewpoint, I was forced to reconsider my opinions. On a professional level, this books calls forth for hard work in every field. In its simplified language, Galdwell claims through this book, that in order to succeed we need to put in at least 10,000 hours in our job. I believe this to be true because practice makes perfect and by practicing more, we would be able to polish our skills to perfect. Therefore, in order to succeed, we either need to begin very early or really immerse ourselves in the chosen field. Since, not all of us, are endowed with the luck of Bill Gates, we need to truly immerse ourselves. This requires love for the field that we chose otherwise we would not be truly committed. However, on certain grounds, I felt that the book would disappoint readers. This is because Galdwell gives too much importance to his 10,000 hour rule. He negates the fact that there are many success stories where individuals struck big time success in just a short time. Movie stars acquire overnight fame. How would Galdwell argue against the success of such people? Despite this, I believe this is a good book that explores the success of people from different fields by applying the same formula of the 10,000 hour rule. This book interested me because it allowed for a better understanding of successful people and provided interesting facts such as the birth months of Canadian ice hockey players. I would and have recommended this book to many of my friends. I have been doing so because I believe that many books have focused on how to achieve success but none have been written by truly successful people who have gone on to explore the lives of other successful people. Also the language of the book would appeal to the readers because it is simple and thought provoking. References Galdwell, M. (2008) Outliers- the Story of Success, USA: Little, Brown and Company Read More