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Unlike Outliers, The Tipping Point, or Blink, Malcom Gladwell's newest book What the Dog Saw isn't an examination of one topic cut from whole cloth, but rather an eclectic mix of articles that originally appeared in The New Yorker. In it he examines everything from why it's impossible to improve on Ketchup, why Enron's failure was a mystery but not a puzzle, what makes for a good dog trainer, and what FBI criminal profilers have in common with psychics. It's good stuff.
The format of What the Dog Saw actually highlights one of the things I really like about Gladwell's style: he takes a single interesting idea and then dives really deep with it, meticulously building towards a conclusion by snapping together what at first appear to be wholly disparate elements but by the end form a strong pattern. What do homeless people in Reno have to do with the Rodney King Riots? What does the song "Last Christmas" by Wham! have to do with accusations of plagiarism on Broadway? What do the late John F. Kennedy Jr. and (almost) tennis superstar Jana Novatna have in common? Gladwell pulls them together and makes it riveting despite the fact that the language and tone he uses in his writing is usually pretty tame and without a whole lot of personality.
This is not to say, however, that Gladwell isn't completely without his shortcomings, and indeed his habit of fitting pieces together can sometimes be revealed to be a flaw in his writing if you're after a complete picture. Specifically, he seems to sometimes selectively pick what research he reports on and who he talks to, possibly in the service of forming a coherent and simplified story. This only really became evident to me when I a story on one of the topics where I somewhat approach being an expert: the use of general intelligence to predict job performance. Not only does Gladwell conflate intelligence with "talent" (a term that probably has different meanings to different people), he sells cognitive ability short by deriding its small (in absolute terms) relationship with job performance without giving consideration to the piles of research saying that while the correlation isn't a perfect 1.0, it's still really high relative to other predictors like emotional intelligence.
On the other hand, Gladwell's excellent essay on the benefits of structured interviews should be required reading for all HR managers and anyone involved in interviews. Go read it here. If you liked it, you'll probably like the rest of the book as well.
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Books
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When I finish a book I habitually write down the title and the date I finished reading it. Below are the books I've read since I started doing this, along with the dates I finished each one. You can read about what I thought of many of these here in the blog archives.
2010
02/01/10 -- What the Dog Saw by Malcom Gladwell01/07/10 -- The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
01/05/10 -- The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
2009
12/22/09 -- Lords and Ladies by Terry Prattchett12/11/09 -- The Elfish Gene by Mark Barrowcliffe
12/11/09 -- In the President's Secret Service by Ron Kessler
12/01/09 -- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
11/20/09 -- Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
11/05/09 -- A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
10/29/09 -- Death from the Skies! by Phil Plait
10/12/09 -- Small Gods by Terry Prattchett
10/07/09 -- Maus by Art Spiegelman
10/05/09 -- The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
09/22/09 -- On the Road by Jack Kerouac
09/20/09 -- The Black Company by Glen Cook
08/26/09 -- The Art and Science of Competency Models by Lucia and Lepsinger
08/24/09 -- Sabriel by Garth Nix
08/10/09 -- The End of Overeating by David Kessler
07/17/09 -- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
07/09/09 -- Dune by Frank Herbert
07/04/09 -- Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
06/15/09 -- Developing and Validating Multiple-Choice Test Items
06/07/09 -- The Complete Idiot's Guide to 401(k) Plans
06/06/09 -- Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett
06/04/09 -- How to Measure Human Resource Management by Jac Fitz-enz
05/28/09 -- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
05/27/09 -- Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett
05/25/09 -- The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments by George Johnson
05/13/09 -- How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
05/06/09 -- The Terror by Dan Simmons
05/01/09 -- Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the
by Lauren Slater
04/17/09 -- Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett
04/09/09 -- Investing in People by Wayne F. Cascio and John W. Boudreau
04/07/09 -- Eric by Terry Pratchett
04/02/09 -- Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
03/25/09 -- Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
03/24/09 -- The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
03/15/09 -- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
02/28/09 -- Old Man's War by John Scalzi
02/22/09 -- Buyology by Martin Lindstrom
02/20/09 -- The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig
02/16/09 -- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
02/10/09 -- The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson
02/06/09 -- Losing It by Valerie Bertinelli
02/03/09 -- Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
01/20/09 -- Casino Royale by Ian Flemming
01/15/09 -- Guards! Guards! by Terry Prattchett
01/11/09 -- Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
01/06/09 -- Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
2008
12/26/08 -- Just after Sunset by Stephen King12/19/08 -- Pyramids by Terry Pratchett
12/06/08 -- Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
11/28/08 -- More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman
11/19/08 -- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
11/12/08 -- Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik
11/11/08 -- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
11/03/08 -- Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
10/24/08 -- Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
10/16/08 -- Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
10/07/08 -- Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
10/02/08 -- His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
09/27/08 -- When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
09/19/08 -- Cujo by Stephen King
09/19/08 -- 50 More Things You Need to Know: The Science Behind Best
by David Ulrich et al.
09/17/08 -- Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
09/11/08 -- 100 Things You Need to Know: Best People Practices for
by Robert W. Eichinger
09/08/08 -- Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach
09/03/08 -- How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates
08/27/08 -- Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes,
by Gerard Jones
08/26/08 -- Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
08/20/08 -- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
08/17/08 -- The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
08/14/08 -- Bonk by Mary Roach
08/07/08 -- American Nerd: The Story of My People by Benjamin Nugent
08/06/08 -- Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
08/04/08 -- Lolita by Vladamir Nabokov
07/24/08 -- My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor
07/17/08 -- The Ruins by Scott Smith
07/07/08 -- Wikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
06/27/08 -- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
06/20/08 -- Good to Great by Jim Collins
06/16/08 -- 1776 by David McCullough
06/09/08 -- Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
06/01/08 -- Deadhouse Gates by Stephen Erickson
05/27/08 -- No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
05/22/08 -- Einstein: His Universe and Life by Walter Isaacson
05/13/08 -- Mort by Terry Pratchett
05/07/08 -- Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
05/03/08 -- Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
05/02/08 -- The Ten Cent Plague by David Hajdu
04/29/08 -- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
04/28/08 -- I Am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert
04/14/08 -- Gardens of the Moon by Stephen Erikson
04/08/08 -- Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clark
04/04/08 -- The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
04/02/08 -- The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
03/30/08 -- In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
03/26/08 -- Heretic by Bernard Cornwell
03/20/08 -- Monkey Girl by Edward Humes
03/17/08 -- The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
03/10/08 -- The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
03/02/08 -- Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
02/29/08 -- Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell
02/15/08 -- Duma Key by Stephen King
02/15/08 -- The Archer's Tale by Bernard Cornwell
01/29/08 -- Lord of the Flies by William Goldman
01/23/08 -- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
01/19/08 -- Soon I Will be Invincible by Alex Grossman
01/17/08 -- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
01/14/08 -- Quicksilver by Neil Stephenson
01/12/08 -- The Guns of Avalon by Robert Zelaney
01/07/08 -- 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 by Scott Kelby
01/04/08 -- Jennifer Government by Max Barry
01/02/08 -- Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
2007
12/21/07 -- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway12/07/07 -- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
11/30/07 -- Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays
11/26/07 -- Don't Eat This Book by Morgan Spurlock
11/18/07 -- Making Comics by Scott McCloud
11/09/07 -- Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen
10/21/07 -- The Innocent Man by John Grissom
10/09/07 -- Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein
09/14/07 -- Nine Lords in Amber by Robert Zelaney
09/06/07 -- Little Myth Marker by Robert Asprin
09/02/07 -- Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
08/31/07 -- The Running Man by Stephen King / Richard Bachman
08/26/07 -- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
08/18/07 -- Hit or Myth by Robert Asprin
08/12/07 -- Executive Coaching: A Guide for the HR Professional by Anna Marie
08/10/07 -- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
08/09/07 -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
07/25/07 -- Road Work by Stephen King / Richard Bachman
07/19/07 -- Blaze by Stephen King / Richard Bachman
07/18/07 -- Rage by Stephen King / Richard Bachman
07/11/07 -- The Assault on Reason by Al Gore
06/27/07 -- E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation
06/23/07 -- A Walk in Woods by Bill Bryson
05/21/07 -- Call of the Wild by Jack London
05/12/07 -- The Once and Future King by T.H. White
05/04/07 -- I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
04/20/07 -- The Vile Village by Lemony Snickett
04/13/07 -- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
03/18/07 -- It by Stephen King
02/16/07 -- Play Money by Julian Dibbell
02/02/07 -- World War Z by Max Brooks
01/29/07 -- The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
01/11/07 -- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
01/04/07 -- Gerald's Game by Stephen King
2006
12/30/06 -- The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science12/08/05 -- A Feast For Crows by George R. R. Martin
11/16/05 -- Blink by Malcom Gladwell
11/12/05 -- Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
11/07/05 -- For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
10/27/05 -- Christine by Stephen King
10/11/05 -- Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
10/11/05 -- The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
09/24/05 -- The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
09/23/05 -- Firestarter by Stephen King
09/15/05 -- The Dead Zone by Stephen King
09/09/05 -- The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
