What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
Release date: 2009 / 410 pages
Synopsis (from front cover): What is the difference between choking and panicking? Why are there dozen of varieties of mustard but only one variety of ketchup? What do football players teach us about how to hire teachers? What does hair dye tell us about the history of the twentieth century?
First line: “When I was a small child, I used to sneak into my father’s study and leaf through the papers on his desk.”
Review: I was thrilled when Gladwell’s publisher agreed to send me a free copy of What the Dog Saw recently, but did not realize that Gladwell’s latest is a collection of essays he previously published in the New Yorker since 1996. Initially I thought this might make the work feel disjointed, but I was quite wrong.
What unifies this collection — and all of Gladwell’s work — is his ability to introduce new perspectives for a seemingly endless array of subjects. Gladwell explores areas that we think we know all too well — to the point that the topic could seem banal or uninteresting — and then manages to subvert our preconceived notions and assumptions.
I love that his works remain on the best-seller lists for years — that the book club discussion questions I wrote for Outliers (on a whim) have by-passed A Thousand Splendid Suns as my best-sellers –and I am grateful that he is so insatiably curious he manages to publish regularly. When I fear that our country is getting too comfortable with generalizations, I love remembering that millions of Americans are considering Gladwell’s line “How do we know when we’ve made the right generalization?” Or, with regard to our adoration of IQ and charisma: ”…if everyone had to think outside the box, maybe it was the box that needed fixing.”
Gladwell draws parallels between surprising and seemingly unrelated sectors of society — college football players and teachers, for example — and then makes us look at each sector anew. As a fifteen-year veteran of the high school classroom, I couldn’t help but understand his pronouncement: “Teaching should be open to anyone with a pulse and a college degree — and teachers should be judged after they have started their jobs, not before.” With regard to our perception of others personality, Gladwell explains why so many have been surprised when I mention that I’m rated an extreme introvert on the Myers-Briggs — because context largely determines our personality (I knew it!).
Overall, what Gladwell does so well is stated in his Preface:
“The trick to finding ideas is to convince yourself that everyone and everything has a story to tell. I say trick but what I really mean is challenge, because it’s a very hard thing to do. Our instinct as humans, after all, is to assume that most things are not interesting…. We filter and rank and judge. We have to. There’s just so much out there…”
More importantly, Gladwell not only makes subjects like katsup and pasta sauce interesting, but makes the world in general more interesting by forcing his readers to reevaluate our own assumptions, generalizations, and prejudices — especially those that are very simply, statistically insupportable.
This book looks awesome! Like you, everyone is surprised that I’m an introvert on Myers Briggs. I’d love to learn more about it!
bookingmama(at)gmail(dot)com
By posting a comment, I hope to win the free giveaway in time for Xmas!
This book sounds so very interesting! Please enter my name for this selection! Merry Christmas!
I’ve been wanting to read this one – please include me! Thanks!
This book interests me, and I’d very much like to read it. Please enter me. Thanks!
I’m a fan of Gladwell’s books but have not yet had the chance to read his newest one. Please add me to the list. Thank you.
I’d love to win this one!
I’ve never read anything by this author and your review makes this book sound so fascinating! I’d love to read it!!! Please consider me for your give-away.
I’m so glad there is interest in this!! By the way, my hubby would love to read it first (oops!), so I may be a bit delayed in sending it to the winner this time
I’d love to read this!!
I adore Gladwell’s books – they’re also fascinating and they quite often change my outlook!
Count me in, please!
I just discovered Malcolm Gladwell (I ignored him for a long time because he was non-fiction) and after reading Outliers, can’t believe what I was missing. Would love, love, love to have this book.
I have loved Malcolm Gladwell! I would love this book because I haven’t read it yet. Please please!
Sounds interesting and thought provoking! Please enter me in the giveaway!
Please include me in this giveaway. It sounds delightful. Thanks so much.
I’ve been wanting to read this since I spotted it at the store. Please count me in for the drawing, thanks!
I am a Macolm Gladwell fan. I would love to add this to my collection of his books.
Thanks for the chance.
sharon54220@gmail.com
love reading non-fiction. thanks!
this is on my wish list! please enter me & merry christmas
I’m also a fan of Gladwell! I haven’t read Outliers yet, though, and wasn’t even aware of this book, so I guess I’m not as good a fan as I thought. I did gift several copies of Blink last year, in an attempt to spread the Gladwell love.
I’d love to win this book!
This one is already causing quite a stir in our small community. Readers of his previous books are lining up for this and the reviews have been positive thus far.
Thanks for the opportunity to win my very own copy!
Hi all!! I’m going to wait until I’m home again to choose the winner of this one, too — wish I had many copies! It’s so thought-provoking… My family book club is discussing Outliers on New Year’s Eve!
This book looks great. I’m glad you decided to hold off on choosing the winner so I could get in on it.
This sounds like an interesting book. Please enter me.
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
This would be a nice read. Please enter me. Thanks!
ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net