Corey read and liked Ben's review of Outliers:

"This is not a feeling oriented review like those that seem to be getting esteem here. While this is a well-researched and easily readable book that makes some interesting points, most of its contents are pure common sense.

In a world so ...more This is not a feeling oriented review like those that seem to be getting esteem here. While this is a well-researched and easily readable book that makes some interesting points, most of its contents are pure common sense.

In a world so highly populated with such strong inequities, of course there will be a lot of luck and chance involved with how someone turns out, aside from those that result from innate ability. You already knew that, right? So, shouldn't specific ideas and remedies be offered in such a heavily lauded book? If Outliers had contained, along with it's excellent sociological perspective, some specific solutions, and had it also delved into some of the psychological aspects of success, it could have been a great book. But it did neither, and frankly, it isn't a great book.

I'm not saying that Outliers didn't change my paradigm a little bit. It did. I now find myself taking environment and outside forces more into account when accessing others and their circumstances. But this shift in outlook is minor, because the premise of the book was already intuitive to me, and it probably is for you as well. All considered, I think three stars is what this book deserves.

(less) "