What the Dog Saw (Penguin) By Malcom Gladwell

What the Dog Saw (Penguin) By Malcom Gladwell Details

Malcolm Gladwell s last book Outliers was phenomenally successful even if all it did was point out the obvious that people s success is largely dependent on the circumstances of their birth their connections and their hours of practice being the optimum for a genius apparently In other words in order to be Einstein you have to be Einstein it s no good being Arnold Smith from two doors down which is hard luck on Arnold Smith if you ask me Whether or not you agree with him Gladwell is an entertaining guide and this collection of essays from The New Yorker displays the same quirky intelligence and charm Gladwell s writing has the qualities of the best essayists He is chatty perceptive impish and amiable Reading him is like having a conversation by the fireside with someone very intelligent He challenges your preconceptions and takes nothing at face value probing deeply into a series of subjects There is the success of the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie and the Veg O Matic a food processor in the kitchens of the United States which he says like most great inventions were disruptive He ponders why there are several types of mustard that all sell equally well but no one can touch Heinz s tomato ketchup The taste of it runs the sensory spectrum unlike any other it turns out Or perhaps the reason is as one interviewee puts it I guess ketchup is ketchup