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Get the first glimpse of Malcolm Gladwell’s next book in this video, where Gladwell talks to Nicholas Thompson about the art and science of the underdog: http://nyr.kr/MaTT1N
(Source: newyorker.com)
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This week in the magazine, Malcolm Gladwell writes about the real genius of Steve Jobs.
Taking place now (12:00-1:00 E.T.), Gladwell is answering readers’ questions in a live chat. Click here to join the discussion: http://nyr.kr/tF4PmD
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Malcolm Gladwell’s Year in Reading:
I am, first and foremost, a fan of thrillers and airport literature, which means the number of books that I read this year that reach the literary level of the typical New Yorker reader is small. Best “literary” I read all year? Tom Rachman’s “The Imperfectionists.” After that is mostly work of a lower brow. Stephen Hunter’s “I, Sniper,” brings back one of the great characters in modern thrillerdom, Bob Lee Swagger, everyone’s favorite lethal, dour Southerner. I kind of want Swagger to meet up with Lee Child’s Jack Reacher one day, in a contest to see who could say the least while doing the most damage. Speaking of Child, his latest Reacher effort—“61 Hours“—I would rate a B-plus, keeping in mind that Child’s B-pluses are everyone else’s A-pluses. I was trapped in an airport, on a ground delay this fall, and read Vince Flynn’s “American Assassin.” It wasn’t bad! But then I went back and read another of his books, and it was so dreadful that I simply stopped reading, somewhere on Kansas City, and sat in silence until we landed at Newark. Don’t go there. A far better bet is to go back and read the wonderful oeuvre of Olen Steinhauer—principally “The Tourist,” but also this years excellent “The Nearest Exit.” Milo Weaver, Steinhauer’s hero, is the opposite of Swagger and Reacher—he is conflicted and neurotic and hopelessly sentimental—but no less entertaining. One final gripe. Why no new thriller from David Ignatius this year? Argh! -
Biz Stone on Twitter and Activism→
Responding to Malcolm Gladwell, the co-founder and Creative Director of Twitter discusses how social media can affect real change.
People who lived through this time repeatedly referred to feeling a “fever” to participate. Gladwell says this fever is better described as “a military campaign,” adding that “Martin Luther King, Jr., was the unquestioned authority.” Gladwell tells us that, “the center of the movement was the black church,” and makes a strong argument that the status quo can only be truly challenged and changed by a hierarchical, militarily-like organization. Gladwell is wrong. Big change can come in small packages too.
Read the full essay here.
Gladwell’s original essay, “Small Change,” is available here.
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The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted: Malcolm Gladwell Live Chat
Join the debate surrounding Malcolm Gladwell’s piece from this week’s issue on social media and social change today, at 3 P.M. E.T., when Gladwell will answer readers’ questions in a live chat. You can leave a question for him now, or check in at 3.
What do you think? Can social media foster social activism, or does high-risk activism require real-life relationships?
