Hayden's review
Care to elaborate on your one star? (I haven't read it myself, but I was thinking of having a look at it.)
Happy to elaborate. Gladwell's an accomplished and strong writer, but I think both of his books are a celebration of empty anti-intellectualism. His message boils down to "your first impulse is your best impulse," which is true only in the rare cases when your natural wisdom is comparable to Solomon's. Most people don't fall into that category, I think, instead having first impulses susceptible to the emotional sway of angry mobs and Republican fear-mongering. Gladwell attempts to flatter his audience with the notion that there's validity in following your basest impulses, but this seems to me the New Yorker equivalent of punditry at a P.T. Barnum level.
I read this book for a book club and have to agree with Hayden (but you said it much better than I could). I didn't enjoy it and wasn't convinced.
Hayden's review
Care to elaborate on your one star? (I haven't read it myself, but I was thinking of having a look at it.)
Happy to elaborate. Gladwell's an accomplished and strong writer, but I think both of his books are a celebration of empty anti-intellectualism. His message boils down to "your first impulse is your best impulse," which is true only in the rare cases when your natural wisdom is comparable to Solomon's. Most people don't fall into that category, I think, instead having first impulses susceptible to the emotional sway of angry mobs and Republican fear-mongering. Gladwell attempts to flatter his audience with the notion that there's validity in following your basest impulses, but this seems to me the New Yorker equivalent of punditry at a P.T. Barnum level.
I read this book for a book club and have to agree with Hayden (but you said it much better than I could). I didn't enjoy it and wasn't convinced.