Unfortunately, I waited far too long to write this review of Malcom Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, and that, combined with my moving on to other books, has pretty much ensured this is going to be a fairly short review.
The Tipping Point takes a looks at the science of ‘epidemics’; how ideas and trends spread through society, and what it takes for an epidemic to explode. Gladwell theorizes that there are three types of people that need to participate in order to cause an epidemic. He examines the roles of each of these people, as well as there characteristics, and then delves into a wide range of real-life examples, from Paul Revere, to Sesame Street, to the needle exchange program.
I was really impressed with the depth of Gladwell’s analysis. Before reading this book, I honestly had no idea so much work and effort had gone into the development of Sesame Street. My interest was also really peaked when Gladwell discussed a disturbing epidemic in Micronesia that I was totally unaware of.
However, although these examples made for interesting reading, I just didn’t feel like they conveyed an overall theme for the book. I feel that Gladwell could have done a better job demonstrating how they exemplified his theory. Still, an overall good read.
My rating: 4/5 stars.
This entry was posted on Sunday, November 4th, 2007 at 10:04 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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