New Light, Old Topics

What the Dog Saw Malcolm Gladwell ISBN: 978-0316075848

This is Malcolm’s best book.

I must be a Malcolm fan, having read every books he published so far. Before this one, the best was still the Tipping Point. I read others like I read Harry Potter #4 to #7: probably wouldn’t had I not read #1 to #3 already. Sequel power.

I made a mental note that this be my last Malcolm Gladwell when I picked up What the Dog Saw. The only other non-fiction writer that I have the complete collection was Michael Porter. Last chance, Gladwell. I delayed Black Swan for you. You’d better be brilliant for this one.

I was a turned off when I have read the preface. What?! He just collected his past shorter works into a book? That’s it?! He was milking me (like a cash cow). He did not work for this book. He was a paid writer for the New Yorker and now was re-selling his past works.

I read for entertainment that has different forms: positive emotional stimulus, intellectual enhancements through well presented facts, or deeper understanding of a worthy cause. This is why my favorite genre is SciFi. The good ones have all three.

Since each chapter in the book was not related and not too long, I paused whenever I finished one. It is a good bed-time book: one chapter then turn off the light. After the first two, I told Daughter, “Gladwell was just showing off his writing skills.” “That’s good,” she replied. “I like his style.” I did too.

Then they got better. I would have forgotten all about his writing skills and hooked by his stories that aimed to shed a new light into an old or familiar social issue. Malcolm was effective in moving, changing, or at least entertaining people. I felt myself changed, maybe not much, but perceivable, after reading his works. That’s exciting, I wanted to talk about what I read in dinner parties and expect others to get excited too.

OK, Malcolm, you just earned my money for your next book.