Outliers: The Story of Success

Everyone raising a child should read this book. It's a fast read: Gladwell knows how to make a few very important points and make them succinctly. In a nutshell, it's about achievement. What made Bill Gates so successful? What distinguishes a Nobel Prize winner from any other scientist? What makes one poor kid rise to incredible wealth and power while another one, just as smart or smarter, never...more

Everyone raising a child should read this book. It's a fast read: Gladwell knows how to make a few very important points and make them succinctly. In a nutshell, it's about achievement. What made Bill Gates so successful? What distinguishes a Nobel Prize winner from any other scientist? What makes one poor kid rise to incredible wealth and power while another one, just as smart or smarter, never really makes it in life? Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point, unravels these mysteries and shows us that it's not IQ (beyond a certain level, it does not predict success), it's not special and unique talent (the difference between a brilliant violinist and a mediocre one? Practice), it's a combination of hard work, attitude, and pure chance. If I took one thing away from this book, it's that the most important qualities I can impart to my child are perseverance, confidence, and a strong will. Which means I have to work on improving those qualities in myself...   hide