Book Review : David And Goliath Genre : Non-Fiction

As Gladwell conducts his argument, he writes with confidence and authority, which expresses his passion and knowledge about the subject. Gladwell’s poise throughout the essay, combined with his resume, establishes his credibility and constructs a rhetorically effective argument. Being a best-selling author as well as a professional

Gladwell carefully constructs his argument by offering the real life story of Bernie Goetz. Gladwell uses this example in order to provide a

The author explains exactly what the professional asserts and how particular pieces of evidence relate to Gladwell’s unconventional idea of success.

Lastly, Gladwell incorporates the audience’s interests to appeal to them in an emotional and engaging method in the subject of the argument, success. The goal for many is to be successful in their specific craft, and even from the title Outliers: The Story of Success Gladwell advertises his own story of success, and the audience believes if they follow the methods that successful people use then they will be successful too. Gladwell gives testimonies of people that would be predictably successful but never made it far due to not having a community to support them to open opportunities. He describes Chris Langan’s lack of credibility and success despite having a higher IQ than Albert Einstein and before he lets Langan describe a typical day

Gladwell describes what makes some people more successful than others. His central premise focuses on the different opportunities that people receive throughout their lives and how those people use the opportunities to their advantage or disadvantage. Gladwell describes this theory as the Matthew Effect:

In the book David and Goliath while reading chapter 4 David was know as the underdog in this chapter because he was born with a learning disability called dyslexia not knowing how to fully understand what it was he was learning and trying to figure out. David came from a small town while going to school half of David’s senior class dropped out of high school to focus on work while David finished high school graduating with his diploma attending Law school and now working as a successful lawyer.

Gladwell presents an interesting concept of “thin slicing” I definitely recommend this book for others to read. I enjoyed reading this book. Malcolm Gladwell was right when he stated on the back cover of the book, that reading this book would change the way I understood every decision I made. It has changed the way I think about making decisions.

Part One of Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath was a wonderful read that I connected to greatly, probably more so than the other sections. This segment dealt with our perception of advantages and disadvantages. This was due to the fact that Gladwell used stories that I related to more and found most interesting as a whole. I especially loved Chapter Three’s subject dealing with a student by the name of Caroline Sacks and her choice between going to a large university versus going to a small one because it was a conflict that I myself had. I have since been very happy with my choice to go with a smaller school and was surprised to see how many statistics supported the idea. As someone who loves studying history, one of my favorite ways Gladwell structures his narrative is when he uses historical events to make his very personal points. He begins the Caroline Sacks chapter with an anecdote about the French Impressionists and how they decided that it was “better to be a Big Fish in a Little Pond that a Little Fish in a Big Pond” (Gladwell 74). This, of course, ties into Caroline Sacks’ decision,

Battles and fights are some examples of conflict in most fictional stories. They can be many different fights, like the epic battle between good and evil, or a kingdom defending their land from enemies. When people think of the word ‘battle’, they may think of climatic sword fights and war. But sometimes, battles can take place inside of a person. Perhaps a character may have conflicting aspirations and desires that may cause an internal battle and maybe result in something catastrophic. Or perhaps a character has opposing personalities that might clash and cause something important to happen. In many works of literature, the writer

The Book of David discusses how preserving families in some cases can cost the lives of innocent children. Richard J. Gelles was once a prominent defender of family preservation and believed that keeping troubled families together was what was best for the child. However, he changed his mind after he reviewed the tragic case of David Edwards, who was an infant killed by his mother after falling through the gaps of the child welfare system. David had an older sister who was taken from their home after obtaining juries leading to hospitalization. She was later removed from her parents care after they pleaded guilty to child neglect. A month after David’s birth, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards voluntarily terminated their parental rights and a year later, David was killed. Even with the red flags that the Edwards exhibited with the neglect of Marie, did not prompt social workers to monitor the welfare of David. The case of David completely transformed Gelles’s opinion of family preservation and how our child welfare system is fundamentally flawed and has to be changed so other children do not end up like David. He believes that David’s death could have been prevented and that the idea of family preservation should not be applied to every abuse case. Gelles claims that the child welfare system needs to be reformed and that family preservation does not need to be as strictly reinforced to all cases of child abuse or neglect. Throughout the book, Gelles

Adversities are hard to avoid in one’s life; everyone has to face them at one point in their life. The effect it has on a person’s life can change their perspective towards the world. When problems arise individuals traditionally become stunned to such difficult situations that they face. The adversity becomes a brick wall that is challenging to break down. An individual's true character in addition to their nature is revealed when they face a conflict in their life or a challenge. The people who conquer the challenges that life throws at them, they are the only one’s worthy enough of being called a warrior. In the novel, The Chrysalids by John Wyndham has his protagonist David go through some conflicts which he overcomes throughout the story.

Conflict offers the potential to test and prove one’s moral priorities; however some may stand steadfast by their beliefs and in turn become ignorant to the learning and realisations that conflict offers. While Paradise Road is ultimately about personal and collective triumph over adversity, the script never forgets that for everyone who has overcome seemly impossible obstacles there are many that have fallen along the way, never to rise again. By not forgetting these victims, Paradise Road instead stresses the consequences of isolation. Segregation and reclusiveness in to one’s self can cause further conflict. A highly negative response to

Throughout the book, Gladwell makes sweeping generalizations about certain races and ethnic groups, often treating stereotypes as though they were proven facts.

Essentially, the topics Gladwell covered in this book include are, being at the right place at the right time, the 10,000-hour rule, timing, upbringing, and pursuing a meaningful career. Although all of these have been proven by Gladwell to be a major component of success, I do not agree with the idea of a particular upbringing will determine success. With this idea, Malcolm also includes that

The movie “Clash of the Titans” directed by Louis Leterrier is an old Greek myth that takes place in ancient time of the Greek Gods in the city of Argos, where there is a war between humans and Gods. The religious aspects are shown through the role of religion in mortal's lives, the influences of the Gods over humans, and the interactions of the mortals to the Gods' actions. The movie personifies on a realistic foundation of how ancient Greeks lived. While the hero Perseus is torn between the two worlds of humans and Gods, he learns who he is, and what he wants to be. The hero journey’s idea that is based upon The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell mainly focuses on the physical and spiritual transformation the hero goes