Success is a goal that just about every human in this world strives for in this world. In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell tackles the question if there is a “formula” for success. He does this by studying the “Outliers” of society and history, and finding what is common in all of these. In merely three hundred pages, he connects everything from pilots and Bill Gates to Asians and the Canadian Hockey League, striving for a definition of success. What results is somewhat of a recipe for success, but its reagents (Inner talent, luck, and social background) are far from satisfactory.

So what connects the outliers who have succeeded in society? Take Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world and arguably the most successful. However, Gladwell rummages through his past and finds how his high-class family influenced his success, and how many lucky opportunities were encountered by Gates that allowed him to succeed for such a high degree. Gladwell also finds that Asian math superiority may be caused by their traditional rice farming ways centuries ago.

This book is inspiring. Outliers is the first book by Malcolm Gladwell that I read, and it was my first sight into his unique way of thinking. It redefined how I think of success. It changed how I think and act. In my opinion, everyone must read about this revolutionary idea.
Malcolm Gladwell, a sociologist, studies the way people think and act, and how it affects society. His book Outliers as well as his three other books (Blink, The Tipping Point, and What the Dog Saw) truly changed the way I think, as well as how I view society. He is one of my more favorite nonfiction authors, and I highly recommend his four books.