David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

· Sold by Little, Brown
4.4
131 reviews
Ebook
320
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

Explore the power of the underdog in Malcolm Gladwell's dazzling examination of success, motivation, and the role of adversity in shaping our lives, from the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia.

Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won.

Or should he have?

In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwellchallenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks.

Gladwell begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, David and Goliath examines Northern Ireland's Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms—all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity.

In the tradition of Gladwell's previous bestsellers—The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and What the Dog SawDavid and Goliath draws upon history, psychology, and powerful storytelling to reshape the way we think of the world around us.

Ratings and reviews

4.4
131 reviews
Charley K
July 17, 2019
1st Chapter, cool. 2nd Chapter, hmmm. 3rd chapter is for girly basketball wannabes. I don't know, I'm lost somewhere between idealizing African immigrants to desert renegades conquering the Turks. I do like the dynamite on railroad tracks part. With over 233,000 miles of railroad in the US the author's point is clear. Abundance has vulnerabilities. But as a kid i remember being shot with BB guns multiple times and have to say that they stung but never penetrated skin. IF this giant Goliath did actually live, the author negated the fact that he might of had a really thick skull! If this giant had difficulty seeing it would have been due to armor limiting his peripheral vision. So, the whole single stone between the eyes (if?) is arguable. Faith is arguable in this book, as well. It's like comparing King Solomon to John the Baptist, then saying they are equal. -Side note: Going after little brothers doesn't require much faith either!
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Pratik Holla
December 18, 2014
A very refreshing take on how too many advantages in life can actually be detrimental. If you have read freakonomics and liked that book, you will most certainly enjoy this one.
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Thomas (Carbon Animations)
June 17, 2017
As a student who read this book for an AP Lang class, David and Goliath is initially a bit repetitive and boring, but I felt that the book was still had great potential despite that. Malcolm Gladwell's ideas have changed the way I look at some things in life, and has me finding the benefits of taking a less conventional approach to lifes problems rather than believing that bigger is always better.
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About the author

Malcolm Gladwell is the author of five New York Times bestsellers: The Tipping Point,Blink, Outliers,What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath. He is also the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, an audio content company that produces the podcasts Revisionist History, which reconsiders things both overlooked and misunderstood, and Broken Record, where he, Rick Rubin, and Bruce Headlam interview musicians across a wide range of genres. Gladwell has been included in the Time 100 Most Influential People list and touted as one of Foreign Policy'sTop Global Thinkers.

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