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The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
 
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The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (Paperback)

by Malcolm Gladwell (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (356 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 19.99
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Product Description

From Amazon.com

"The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject.

For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston," he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you.

Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point," like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --Ron Hogan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



From Publishers Weekly

The premise of this facile piece of pop sociology has built-in appeal: little changes can have big effects; when small numbers of people start behaving differently, that behavior can ripple outward until a critical mass or "tipping point" is reached, changing the world. Gladwell's thesis that ideas, products, messages and behaviors "spread just like viruses do" remains a metaphor as he follows the growth of "word-of-mouth epidemics" triggered with the help of three pivotal types. These are Connectors, sociable personalities who bring people together; Mavens, who like to pass along knowledge; and Salesmen, adept at persuading the unenlightened. (Paul Revere, for example, was a Maven and a Connector). Gladwell's applications of his "tipping point" concept to current phenomena--such as the drop in violent crime in New York, the rebirth of Hush Puppies suede shoes as a suburban mall favorite, teenage suicide patterns and the efficiency of small work units--may arouse controversy. For example, many parents may be alarmed at his advice on drugs: since teenagers' experimentation with drugs, including cocaine, seldom leads to hardcore use, he contends, "We have to stop fighting this kind of experimentation. We have to accept it and even embrace it." While it offers a smorgasbord of intriguing snippets summarizing research on topics such as conversational patterns, infants' crib talk, judging other people's character, cheating habits in schoolchildren, memory sharing among families or couples, and the dehumanizing effects of prisons, this volume betrays its roots as a series of articles for the New Yorker, where Gladwell is a staff writer: his trendy material feels bloated and insubstantial in book form. Agent, Tina Bennett of Janklow & Nesbit. Major ad/promo. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews

356 Reviews
5 star:
 (185)
4 star:
 (100)
3 star:
 (31)
2 star:
 (17)
1 star:
 (23)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (356 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Does not disappoint., Sep 23 2006
The book is about the "tipping point", that is, that moment when an idea or social behaviour has reached a level where it "tips" and spreads like crazy.

The book makes sense about how these things happen by using three rules- The Law of the Few, The Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. Taking three rules, then, the book uses them to explain seemingly puzzling epidemic situations in society such as teen smoking or bestsellers.

Fun and interesting, if this kind of topic appeals to you, you'll like the book- its well written and an easy read. Other books that might appeal to general interest readers include The Sixty-Second Motivator
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Tiresome and Repetitive, Jul 4 2004
By A Customer
Tipping Point is a painful book to read, painful especially to contemplate the patchwork of fill that turns what at best is a pop magazine article into a poor excuse for a book. Gladwell stabs at any theme he can possibly use to support his by no means new theory of tipping points. He hits one, perhaps, when he covers Rudy Giuliani's results in the City of New York, buts the rest are paler attempts. His comparison of Paul Revere with Dawes is over-romantic and downright silly. There's something profoundly patronizing about his tone of writing and his lack of any kind of wit.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars No analysis, just amusing stories, Dec 17 2003
By J. J. Baker-bates (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book is presented as an explanation of what it is that might cause something to go from insignificance to ubiquity. It in fact does nothing of the sort and is actually just an amusing collection of stories.

It is well written as a social history, and has a light, journalistic style good for dipping into, but the reader is left absolutely none the wiser as to why any of it happened. I would therefore class it as pretty much a waste of anyone's time.

One thing that particularly annoyed me about this book is that chaos theory - a branch of mathematics almost 40 years old, for the analysis and prediction of exactly the sort of thing this book is wondering about - is mentioned only once: as a footnote.

That's like writing a book about why planets stay in orbit around the sun, and mentioning astrophysics as an aside.

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 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent theory on how a small action can create a big result
What an awesome book! I enjoyed reading about Malcolm Gladwell's ideas on how small things created big results, with examples spanning television shows, to health epidemics... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Carrie A. Paxson

4.0 out of 5 stars The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
It was an interesting read with many examples to illustrate the author's points.
Perhaps there could have been a little more detail surrounding the point at which things go... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Steven Pellerin

5.0 out of 5 stars Accessible and fascinating - could not put it down!
Amazing! Such a fascinating read, even if some of the conclusions are a bit intuitive and the strategies for inciting tipping points in the private sector are made available for... Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Pollock

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
In this book, Gladwell does a great job of explaining the tipping points of trends, fads, disease, etc, -basically any event imaginable. Read more
Published 20 months ago by John Pearce

5.0 out of 5 stars I Just Tipped!
When I published my own book a while back, my daughter gave me The Tipping Point to read. Even though I am a spiritual author, and generally only read books by other spiritual... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Steven Lane Taylor

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hard Part Is Choosing What To Do First
I was drawn into this book from the moment I cracked the spine. Each and every example had a very compelling start and story that left you wanting to talk to someone about what... Read more
Published on Nov 8 2007 by Glenn Simon Inc

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun and very interesting book
I liked The Tipping Point very much. Gladwell does an excellent job explaining how "Word of Mouth" epidemics/"Fads" start, who contributes to creating it and who spreads the fad... Read more
Published on May 29 2007 by Danielle

4.0 out of 5 stars 100 Monkeys Revisited
Tipping Point is an excellent read. An engaging style sprinkled with humor and human interest make it flow easily. Read more
Published on Mar 31 2007 by Michael A. Rousell

4.0 out of 5 stars Three books I'd recommend
I'd recommend three books to anyone interested in improving their mind, stimulating their intellect, and just plain having fun. Read more
Published on Mar 24 2007 by Can-do Girl

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative
Wasn't quite sure what this book was going to be about when I started it, but about ten pages in I was hooked. Read more
Published on Jan 2 2007 by Donald Blue Sky

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