Category: 2 – BUY it! (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)
Comments: A typical Malcolm Gladwell book – a mish mash of well presented facts that lead to a whole number of well organized conclusions – laced with engaging stories that makes the book just a very good read.
What to expect: Bits of research that success comes from a combination of factors – luck, background and the presence of an opportunity to work very very hard (read 10,000 hours). There were lots of memorable stories – like those of Gates, Jobs as well as a whole host of interesting insights like the connection between the success of sports people and their birth months as well as the investigation of the reasons behind frequent ‘Korean Air’ plane crashes . The book presents many little nuggets to remember.
Add on Mar 16, 2016: I realized over the years that there was one large flaw in the 10,000 hour rule. It isn’t just about the hours. It is about “deliberate practice” during the hours. As I learnt about the original research by Anders Ericsson, I think I felt Outliers over sold it a bit. Still a really good read and likely his most popular work.
Marler's Observatory 