David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780316204361)

Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell's dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives, from the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia.

Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won.

Or should he have?

In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwellchallenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks.

Gladwell begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, David and Goliath examines Northern Ireland's Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms--all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity.

In the tradition of Gladwell's previous bestsellers--The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog Saw--David and Goliath draws upon history, psychology, and powerful storytelling to reshape the way we think of the world around us.

Author: Malcolm Gladwell
ISBN-10: 0316204366
ISBN-13: 9780316204361
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Language: English
Published: 10/01/2013
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.20w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 05/15/2013 pg. 54
Entertainment Weekly 08/02/2013 pg. 69
Kirkus Reviews Fall Preview 08/15/2013 pg. 20
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2013 pg. 55
People Weekly 09/23/2013 pg. 71
Entertainment Weekly 10/04/2013 pg. 66
Booklist 10/01/2013 pg. 8
People Weekly 10/14/2013 pg. 60
New York Times Book Review 10/13/2013 pg. 14
New York Review of Books 11/21/2013 pg. 26
Library Journal 11/15/2013 pg. 105
Ebony 12/01/2013 pg. 39
Booklist Editors Choice/Adult 01/01/2014 pg. 9
BookPage 10/01/2013
Library Journal 05/15/2013