Recently, I read Outliers, a book explaining success and the reasons behind it, as well as delving deeper into the factors that cause success, such as background, family, and other factors. This book was definitely an interesting read, as it unpacked the causes of success, which is the central ambition of many people.

Gladwell introduces the book with the phenomenon of the Roseto effect, named after a study on the town done in the 1950s. During this study, the doctors performing it were shocked to realize that the people living in the town had the lowest rate of heart disease, and the lack of any heart conditions in general, leading to the discovery of the phenomenon that living together in a tightly-knit community indirectly contributes to less heart disease. The author then explains how Roseto was an outlier and the factors that contributed to it, looking beyond the general assumptions.

After the introduction, Gladwell proceeds to go on to explain several different phenomenons, such as the common belief and stereotype of Asians being good at math, by looking at cultural and linguistic factors, as well as the rise of Joe Flom, a takeover lawyer during a period of time when companies did not do many cases such as those. These are the two most interesting “outlier” cases he went over in my opinion, but he went over a handful of other ones that are just as interesting.

Overall, I think this was a great read, as it went over several interesting topics, analyzing them beyond the surface details, and teaching us to look at the other side of things. I would recommend this book for anybody who is interested in sociology, or success stories in general.

The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.