Having been hugely happy with Blink! I went out and purchased The Tipping Point almost right away. It, like most the other books I purchase, sat on a bookcase dedicated solely to books-yet-to-read until a few days ago. And now it shall be moved to its permanant home on a different bookcase. The point of all of this is that The Tipping Point is a well-researched, highly interesting, and unique book. The problem is that it, like Blink!, doesn't stick (see book for details). It's interesting but doesn't have the stickiness of most bestsellers, and is most certainly not something I would have watched the count down date for publishing like I'm doing with a few others. Good, but not great. Interesting, but not facinating. A 4, but not a 5.

I have to compliment Amazon on their awesome feature of look inside the book! I had bought this book about a year ago from [...] and for a few different reasons had not had the chance to read it until a year after i bought it. Well, I got to page 31 of my book and was rudely surprised to see that my book had a page ripped out!!! (who does that?!) Anyways, so thanks to amazon's online feature of look inside the book, I was able to go to the missing page and read the missing text. THANK YOU AMAZON!

As an Advertising and Marketing major, this book did carry some interesting perspectives on social trends and epidemics for brand popularity and other social phenomena. However, I do think that some of the examples, although relevant to certain aspects of society and world culture, were unnecessarily negative. If this theory can be applied universally to many different contexts, then a few more positive and uplifting examples could have been noted. Drugs, Suicide, and shootings should be balanced with a more uplifting tone.

Macolm Gladwell's approach in this book is that of an observer. His deductions are thoroughly logical and offer a refreshing alternative to traditional thought. This book was a joy to read. I am also half way through his second book entitled Blink. As an author he has explained in both these books what other observers have innately noticed about human behavior and explained these ideas in a simple, natural manner.

With 900 other reviews, I'll keep this one short. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is an enormously interesting read. It tries to answer the question why and how certain ideas 'tip'. How they spread and become popular. Malcolm uses a huge amount of interesting stories from different domains to try to make his points. For me, the collection of stories was probably more interesting than the points he tried to make. The stories were well written.

Related to tipping, he argues that there are three rules related to an social epidemic. The law of the few (a few people can have a huge impact), the stickiness factor (a message can be constructed to be more sticky) and the power of context (the context can influence the message which is being spread enormously). The rest of the book contains chapters related to each of these rules. Every chapter summarizes the rules and tells stories of where the rule applied.

Tipping Point is extremely well written and easy to read. The bunch of amazing stories make it fun and it's no wonder that it's one a major best sellers in the world. I found the message the author tries to communicate less interesting, though. Never the less, I'd recommend the book to everyone for the sake of the stories and the learning that can be taken out of every individual story.

I've heard Malcolm Gladwell speak, and he's superb! In this innovative book, whether he's referring to the Maven, or the Connector, it's relatable to all individuals. If you're looking for a light leadership book that brings up very INNOVATIVE topics, this is it! For additional tips on leadership, I'd also recommend taking a course at www.corporatetrendsetters.com.

With social networking and user generated content (UGC) flooding the web, businesses are struggling to find ways to harness and direct this power. There exists an extensive collection of blogs, books, news articles and podcasts that offers advice about techniques to jump-start user adoption and gain stickiness, but these tend to focus on execution and not on concept. The dialogue generally advocates creating new communities, controlling messages within existing communities, and monetizing concepts, but fails to answer the fundamental question, "Why do people adopt certain ideas and not others?"

Enter Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point. This is not a new book. It was published in 2002 and doesn't mention a single Internet technology or concept, instead focusing on how "epidemics" spread - From Paul Revere's success in his midnight ride to why kids love Blue's Clues to syphilis' spread in Baltimore in the mid-90's. Gladwell dissects the masses and exposes the population segments that serve as the kindling for raging success.

Connectors - The people that know everyone and revel in making mutually beneficial introductions. These are the catalysts or accelerants that help bring the key components together.

Mavens - The experts. These are the people that know everything about certain topics. Everyone has friends that they trust when it comes to food, music, sports, electronics, etc., the friends that are almost freakishly knowledgeable and passionate about their interests.

Sales people - These are the people that sell ideas and visions - the evangelists. They get people excited and spread the word - like the sales person mentioned in the Holiday Inn commercial that once had a heart attack and within an hour had sold the paramedics 12 sets of steak knives.

If you can come up with a great product or offering that has amazing value for those that take advantage of it, you're off to a good start, but the challenge is just beginning. The Tipping Point presents some of the foundational relationships and interactions that must occur to be successful. Coupling the above personality traits with a discussion of the various adopter types - from Innovators to Late Adopters - and you have a powerful recipe. Blending together the right mix of Connectors, Mavens, and Sales People with Early Adopters sets the stage for success... then all you need is a phenomenal idea. Easy right?

I recommend the book.

Marcel Crudele
innerEcho - Atlanta, GA

With social networking and user generated content (UGC) flooding the web, businesses are struggling to find ways to harness and direct this power. There exists an extensive collection of blogs, books, news articles and podcasts that offers advice about techniques to jump-start user adoption and gain stickiness, but these tend to focus on execution and not on concept. The dialogue generally advocates creating new communities, controlling messages within existing communities, and monetizing concepts, but fails to answer the fundamental question, "Why do people adopt certain ideas and not others?"

Enter Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point. This is not a new book. It was published in 2002 and doesn't mention a single Internet technology or concept, instead focusing on how "epidemics" spread - From Paul Revere's success in his midnight ride to why kids love Blue's Clues to syphilis' spread in Baltimore in the mid-90's. Gladwell dissects the masses and exposes the population segments that serve as the kindling for raging success.

Connectors - The people that know everyone and revel in making mutually beneficial introductions. These are the catalysts or accelerants that help bring the key components together.

Mavens - The experts. These are the people that know everything about certain topics. Everyone has friends that they trust when it comes to food, music, sports, electronics, etc., the friends that are almost freakishly knowledgeable and passionate about their interests.

Sales people - These are the people that sell ideas and visions - the evangelists. They get people excited and spread the word - like the sales person mentioned in the Holiday Inn commercial that once had a heart attack and within an hour had sold the paramedics 12 sets of steak knives.

If you can come up with a great product or offering that has amazing value for those that take advantage of it, you're off to a good start, but the challenge is just beginning. The Tipping Point presents some of the foundational relationships and interactions that must occur to be successful. Coupling the above personality traits with a discussion of the various adopter types - from Innovators to Late Adopters - and you have a powerful recipe. Blending together the right mix of Connectors, Mavens, and Sales People with Early Adopters sets the stage for success... then all you need is a phenomenal idea. Easy right?

I recommend the book.

Marcel Crudele
innerEcho - Atlanta, GA

"The Tipping Point - How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell gave me insight into trends as seen through his eyes. I loved it!

Gladwell caught me off-guard when he discussed the racial tipping point that affects the real estate market of a neighborhood. But that was not the most surprising. What surprised me the most was how low a percentage of new property owners could influence the change from a sellers market to a buyers market.

There were many times when he seemed to veer off his subject and I started wondering where he was going with the point of the story. Then he would pull it all together and I could see exactly why he said something the way he said it.

Gladwell points out common traits in typical public interest/popularity and how that relates to sales and marketing.

In each example, he explains the patterns that show the slow beginnings, the steeper climb, to the sharp growth in popularity to the hesitation at the top, then the crash and (except for a few examples) a sudden end of all growth.

His intention is to provide enough information to duplicate or create a path towards a tipping point in your business. And, with the proper actions, manipulate how long your business is able to remain at the top of the sales chart.

I was surprised that Gladwell used stories about the popular children's show Sesame Street in his examples. But, once I read his in-depth, behind-the-scenes stories, I realized how complex and how much innovative thought went into producing that very successful television show.

Now, I find myself paying closer attention to eye, face, and body position and movement when I discuss business (and personal) matters. And, I am noticing the signals I (un-intentionality) send to others.

Gladwell is able to describe and chart the same patterns of tipping points in every example he gave. He investigates the how, why, where, and when of his research. Then he presents it to his readers in easy to digest pieces.

His description of Connectors, Mavens, and Salespeople is clear and fascinating. It is easy to visualize how the traits of connectors, mavens, and salespeople live in each of us.

One of the most interesting viewpoints Gladwell shared, was that there are only three elements that create change. The first element is "The Law of the Few." You'll have to read his book to find out Gladwell's other two agents of change.

By the way: It was fun taking Gladwell's Manhattan Phone Book Test. I scored eighty-seven points the first time around. After thinking about it, I believe I could add another ten to thirty surnames to my known contacts list.

I strongly recommend you read and then use Gladwell's information to create your own (series) of tipping points for your business' growth.

And while you're at it, get involved in replacing broken windows, painting walls and cleaning up areas in need. (Read the book and you'll understand.)

Little things can make a huge difference when properly executed/initiated.

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

This audio book offered lots of great information and connected the ideas to the real world of business. I found the first CD quite boring and repetitive but once that was over it offered great listening and learning.

This audio book offered lots of great information and connected the ideas to the real world of business. I found the first CD quite boring and repetitive but once that was over it offered great listening and learning.

The concept behind this book is what makes it such a phenomenon. It was not only great concept-wise, but it was an engaging read. I wouldn't call it pure entertainment (some portions could be dry) but it was definitely easy to get through the whole thing and actually enjoy it. I recommend this book to anyone looking for more info on the idea of how things that seem obscure, go on to gain enormous popularity and spark trends or fads.

Very interesting and inspiring book. Easy to read, filled with interesting ideas and concepts, everything presented on good examples.

For a non-fiction book, it is written well, and content is thought provoking. However, there still seems to be little annoyances sprinkled here and there.

There are superficial back-references in almost every chapter that do not seem to add anything to context of that particular chapter. Also, some statements do not have scientific backing and reader is expected to take it as is.

The Tipping Point offers an intriguing perspective on how buying trends, social trends, and other patterns of behavior occur as a result of a few people: connectors, mavens, and salesmen. I think the author supports his claim really well with the data he draws on. I found the book intriguing because the author makes the concepts easy to follow and shows how societal trends are shaped by just a few people who help tip the rest of us to what those trends are.

From Paul Revere to Hush Puppies to Blues Clues to Bernie Goetz, Malcom Gladwell's examples run the gamut to explain the principle of The Tipping Point. Everything has a tipping point, whether you're rousing the troops, selling shoes or fighting crime. A fascinating journey in to the culture of our times - why some messages take off and others fall flat; why "word of mouth" only works if the word is in the right mouth; how one slight change in an ad, a message, a product, etc. can turn a snowflake into an avalanche. This is not just a book about advertising but about life itself. It's simple common sense, but Malcolm Gladwell puts it into words, context and examples that make you sit back and say, "Ahhhhh. I get it." Powerful, powerful stuff.

The Tipping Point was a very, very, good book. The only thing that kept it from being perfect is that there's really only a half-book's worth of material here, so the author basically expanded what could have been written in 100 pages to a longer book format, just so we would think we're getting our money's worth. Very considerate, but probably not necessary.

There are few books that introduce a new idea that can be applied to multiple disciplines - The Tipping Point is a thought-provoking and well-written book in that category. This book contains more than an idea: it introduces a new way of understanding what often seems like major changes that appear to come from little or often unknown effort. It attempts to answer an obvious question: Why do some ideas, products, fads, and behaviors just seem to explode into popularity, while others-- which may be equally worthy-- just don't? Malcolm Gladwell's answer is that "epidemics" of popularity are the result of the operation of three agents: The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. He delivers the evidence that backs up what he is saying, and he makes everything clear and entertaining. He uses concrete examples that really bring home his points, even the ones that at first just don't "add up" because conventional thinking tells you the opposite must be true. As a whole, this book is one of those rare gems that make you truly THINK about the world around you in a whole new way. It has simple ideas about certain kinds of people and psychological truths that spread "epidemics" of change and trends that can be applied to many complex situations. It can give you insight that you never had before on baffling or "roadblocked" issues.

This book asserts that the best way to understand popularity and social behavior, such as the rise in popularity of a book, teen behaviors, or word of mouth phenomena, is to model them as epidemics. The author suggests that ideas, behaviors, and the popularity of products spread like viruses, and that changes often occur quickly and unexpectedly. Small changes often result in larger changes and spread until a critical mass or "tipping point" is reached, thereby causing a larger more dramatic effect than might have been predicted.

Why is it that some people seem to have more power to influence mass thinking than others? The author says that word-of-mouth epidemics are stimulated by people with certain personality types: 1. sociable people who bring others together are called Connectors, 2. people who are adept at disseminating knowledge are called Mavens, and 3. people able to persuade are called Salesmen. Some people have more than one quality. This book brings to mind for me how frightening it is that we as humans are so easily manipulated by social dynamics and crowd mentality. The book will make you think about social dynamics, fads, and group behavior, and give you insight as to how these can be manipulated. Author of THE 3:00 PM SECRET: Live Slim and Strong, Live Your Dreams

This book is absolutely great; you won't be able to put it down. Gives very interesting insights into social phenomenons. I highly recommend this book!

Nutshell review - This is a great book. Lots of interesting insights and discussions about how social phenomenon can transition from one state to another, more extra-ordinary state.

This book is about the point at which anything, being a product, idea, network, or other new or old innovation - can suddenly become vastly bigger, more important, or have more impact.

It is like when the "straw that broke the camels back." One small thing, added to a system, impacts that system in a macro-way.

Examples include how VCRs, Fax-machines, cell phones, email, the internet, suddenly become ubiquitous.

This book had a very big impact on network theory or more specifically how network effects generate wealth and value for a network (for example, the more people who have faxes, the more valuable it becomes to have a fax), thinking about the internet and e-commerce, and social networks, etc.

It shaped a lot of the literature and thus was a very important book. The author is a brilliant writer and thinker. The book is excellent.
I recommend it for business students, people interested in social network analysis or theory, network effects, or economics. Or the general intellectual reader.

Meh, it is an okay book. I've read much better. A lot of useless information. I feel that the core information of this book could be presented in about half of the length that it is at.

I read "Blink" first and I thought it was descent so I decided to read this one hoping in would be awesome...... oh well.

"Darwin's Black Box" Greatest book ever!!!!!

I wish there were more books out there as interesting and thought-provoking as this one. I really don't have much more to say beyond "this book is just plain great, and you should definitely get your hands on it."

Malcolm Gladwell explains in his book The Tipping Point that it is possible for ideas, messages and behaviors to spread rapidly. Gladwell argues convincingly that to change an entire population it is not necessary to change everyone, only a small percentage of people.

The book's concept is powerful and explained very well by Gladwell. Only one slight critique. The book could have been much shorter. It provides more examples than necessary to get the point across. Having said that does not take away from the important (and useful) ideas that the book explains!

The point at which the ideas, messages or behaviors of a population changes rapidly is known as the tipping point. Similar to an epidemic, contagious behavior is caused by a small percentage of people.

Changing others by using contagious behavior has significant implications. Much can be accomplished by focusing efforts. Instead of trying to change an entire population, only a small percentage of people need to be convinced to change.

In one story about a tipping point, Malcolm Gladwell discusses how behavior of criminals in New York City was changed. This was done by understanding human behavior and implementing tactics to improve it.

In the 1980s and early 1990's the poor neighborhoods of Brownsville and East New York and their streets had every conceivable violent and dangerous crime. Crime was spreading like a virus. To combat it New York needed a stronger vaccine--in essence, an anti-crime preventative.

A common solution for lowering crime is adding more police and jails. However, this only treats the symptoms of the problem. It does nothing to address the cause of crime nor does it lower it.

To solve its crime situation, New York City implemented what is now known as the Broken Windows theory. It was the brainchild of James Q. Wilson and George Kelling who used their Critical Thinking skills to solve a major problem. Their Broken Windows theory states that if a window is broken and left un-repaired then people walking by will assume no one cares and no one is in charge. Graffiti, public disorder and aggressive panhandling are the equivalents of broken windows. They were evidence of the virus that was inviting more serious crimes in New York City.

In other words, when a place is messy, people add to the messiness. That was the root cause of the crime in New York City. The solution that the Broken Windows theory provided was to clean up the city. Then, people would have an inclination to keep it clean. That in turn would reduce the serious crime. The discovery of this simple solution has some startling implications.

The Broken Windows theory solution was put into effect in all of New York City when Rudolph Giuliani became mayor. He appointed William Bratton as chief of police. Both Giuliani and Bratton believed that by controlling the minor and seemingly insignificant quality-of-life crimes they could create a Tipping Point for dropping the crime rate.

Giuliani and Bratton executed a policy to fix all broken windows, stop panhandlers, and paint over graffiti. They literally had the streets cleaned up.

For example, Bratton's police officers arrested people for not paying their train fairs. Although a small crime, these actions sent a signal to the criminal community that crime (any crime) wouldn't be tolerated by the authorities. The offenders were taken to police stations and checked for other outstanding offenses. Seven out of ten had outstanding offenses against them.

In another example, when gang members painted their graffiti overnight on trains, the authorities had the trains re-painted by the next morning. The gang members saw their hard work created overnight eliminated. This helped break their will to paint graffiti.

The broken windows theory worked. Crime dropped precipitously. People started caring; they felt someone was in charge. They began taking better care of their city.

Overall, a great book with powerful concepts.

One "Burning Question" remains after reading this book: Where else can we apply The Tipping Point to improve the world?



The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

The tipping point the name given to that one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once. The Tipping Point is the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point. Gladwell introduces this concept in a creative way and provides real life examples of how the tipping point plays a role in teenage suicide, crime in New York city, smoking and the Hush Puppy comeback. In addition, Gladwell introduces interesting patterns in human behavior. He cites scholarly articles and studies along the way.

He discusses the Broken windows theory- Wilson and Kelling argued that crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes. In a city, relatively minor problems like graffiti, public disorder, and aggressive panhandling, are all equivalent of broken windows, invitations to more serious crimes. "It is possible to be a better person on a clean street or in a clean subway than in one littered with trash and graffiti."

He also discusses our "social channel capacity" 150 is the number that represents the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to us. Putting it another way, it's the number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar.

The two above are among the numerous concepts of our behavior that Gladwell discusses. The Tipping Point can easily appeal to anyone in any field. It's entertaining and edifying and it introduces academic information in a clear and original way.

Psychological science is a fascinating field and Malcolm Gladwell's follow-up to Blink is proof of that.

...theory about the factors that combine and cause some emerging trends to catch fire and spread.

Gladwell's strength is his ability to separate the factors and illustrate them through interesting case studies and repetition -- he turns a complex theory into something that is simple, memorable, and applicable. (Hey, he *tips* it!)

I love this book. I picked it up and couldn't stop reading. I especially loved the chapter on Mavens and Connectors, and how select bpeople can be very influential. And, lots of people I know have read it, so it's good for conversation. Get one and put it on your coffee table. Guaranteed to get people talking.

I stole my review title from my review for Gladwell's "Blink" because I feel the same way about this book. Keen insight for business and life in understanding exactly what it is that makes people, society, business, and life tick, and how you can use some basic math and logic to get the most out of your experiences. Don't get me wrong, this is not a high-mined analytical read, rather it is a well-written look at some complex info broken down into an easily digested mental snack.

Sure, I like to read. And it is a rare book that I could tell you exactly where I was when I read, X, Y or Z.

The Tipping Point created in me such a moment in my life. Some of the points are sorta "well duh" (for me anyway). However, even those points moved the 'duh' to exactly Why.

And those few 'duhs' we're overcome with a great deal of step-by-step, why's and how's on stuff I didn't see.

Certainly not a waste of your time to read this one!

I read this book in one sitting, but that is more a testimony to the author's comfortable writing style than to the hold of his arguments. The content resonated with me, as it obviously has done for many more people, but I didn't feel that I learnt anything new. In other words, what the author says here felt like a long winded statement of the blindingly obvious. In our society, because we've been acclimatized for so long to take nothing for granted, journalists and researchers are often re-discovering the wheel, and getting praise for it. This seems to me to be another case of that.

This is a fascinating and relevant business book. But it's also an enormously heartening treatise on the potential of large human groups to change quickly. There is a new, "Positivity in Business" movement afoot, and those who are in it would love to see it spread like wildfire. This book shows how that kind of thing happens. For those who find global issues overwhelmingly challenging, the book gives much reason for optimism.

Doni Tamblyn is author of Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training and The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

This is a fascinating and relevant business book. But it's also an enormously heartening treatise on the potential of large human groups to change quickly. There is a new, "Positivity in Business" movement afoot, and those who are in it would love to see it spread like wildfire. This book shows how that happens. For those who find global issues overwhelmingly challenging, the book gives much reason for optimism.

Gladwell does a great job of finding hidden information that is strategic for anyone who wants to market, persuade, or sell some thing or some concept. He is a little repetitive on the hush puppy theme but overall, I learned a lot and my eyes were widened on seveal fronts.

I suspect some of Gladwell's 'Tipping Point' themes influenced in a small way the formation of my novel, Uncle Juan's Cabin. He reminded me about the importance of "the teachable moment" which is where we are as a country right now regarding immigration issues. "Uncle Juan's Cabin" will keep that dialog going thanks somewhat to the teachable moments espoused in The Tipping Point.

I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend. I've slogged through it. I think the author could have made the point in about 20 pages, but instead drags it on and on. The proinciple is noteworthy-- that there is a "tipping point" for ideas, products, etc., when they catch on-- but the author makes no real analysis of what that is, therefore there is little to look for other than getting lucky.

Like James Gleick's "Chaos" or Daniel Goleman's "Emotional Intelligence," Gladwell's book is irresistibly engaging, filled with ideas and observations that have immediate relevance to our lives. His style is almost deceptively lucid, because there's genuine scholarly rigor beneath his arguments. While he explores the latest research on social epidemics, for instance, he carefully eschews the widely discredited jargon of "memes" and "memetics." The result is a book that sheds new light on a host of subjects -- marketing, crime, education, smoking, you mame it -- without overstretching the limits of social science. "The Tipping Point" displays that highest form of intelligence: the ability to see resemblances among seemingly disparate things. Once you've read "The Tipping Point," you won't see the world in quite the same way again.

I finished this book on 2 cross country flights and haven't been able to stop talking about it since. It's an easy and engaging book that you will want to recommend to everyone.

To be very blunt, this is an author whose writing style is enjoyable and one I would consider reading again, but this is not a book I recommend.

The principal behind the Tipping Point is neither new nor uncommon even among average business schools. Gladwell spends considerable time on a subject that could easily be condensed into a very brief commentary. I would go as far as saying that if this subject is new to you, some of the broad reviews included here will offer you enough insight on the subject to save you time of reading the book.

I do not enjoy providing such a harsh review, but as one who reads countless books every month, I can attest first hand that some books are not worth the time. I believe reporting both the good and bad is at the heart of the integrity of these reviews, and so this is a book I have deemed to not be worthy of your time. I give this 2 stars instead of 1 because the author is in fact eloquent and I am sure capable of quality material, just not in this instance.

All the best.

X

My to-be-read list is so large that it is no longer a goal, but more of a path. I've tried to say I won't buy any more books until I make a considerable dent in the unread pile I currently own. However, my desire to dialogue with the world at large compels me to buy a few bestsellers here and there just so I'm not out of the loop.

Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference has called to me for several years now and I've read the back cover so many times now I have it memorized. I usually have some healthy skepticism about books that have been hugely popular (I prefer "healthy skepticism" to "elitism," thank you), but this book has been recommended by a variety of friends, so I finally picked it up.

The idea of a "social epidemic" is important, and the biggest lessons in this book are in the stories about people like Georgia Sadler, who utilized folklorists and hairstylists to get the word out about breast cancer and diabetes. But the book should not breed too much careless optimism: While little things CAN make a big difference, they do not always make a BIG difference. If "social epidemics" become our only goal, I fear the motivation will be lost to do the right thing just because it is the right thing. However, Gladwell does get to the heart of the matter:

"What must underlie epidemics, in the end, is a bedrock belief that change is possible, that people can radically transform their behavior or beliefs in the face of the right kind of impetus." (258)

It is that bedrock belief that is so hard to nurture, especially now. It is, I believe, the real "audacity of hope" (to borrow from current politics). So, while we might try to be one of Gladwell's "connectors" or "mavens" or "salesmen," we also need to be members of the "dreamers"--that contingent which supports the hope upon which all change rests.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in social phenomena, psychology, cultural dynamics, and/or becoming a "mover & shaker." Be sure to read the edition that includes the Afterword: "Tipping Point Lessons From the Real World" where Gladwell warns us against the "rise of Immunity" as we begin to take our technological achievements for granted.

(cross-posted)

This was a really cool book. I was completely intrigued by the ideas, although I'm not completely sold. However, if anyone can describe the Tipping Point, it's Malcolm Gladwell. That guy could explain quantum physics to the short-bus crowd and they'd understand.

Here's what it is: "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point." But what it really tries to describe is that event we've all seen and wondered about, when small ideas or trends 'catch on' and become the big deal - the next big thing. If we can understand what makes that change, what pushes it over the top, then we can manipulate the markets and get rich. Unfortunately that's the book's biggest weakness as well. If everyone knows what it's going to take to push their idea or product over that threshold, then the boundaries move and the requirements change. There's really only room for so many 'tipping point' ideas in the marketplace. We can't all win in this capitalistic system, right? Not when the winners come on the backs of the losers.

So, the book describes tipping point events as epidemics and delineates them into three rules: The Law of the Few (where select people are the movers or leaders in these things), The Stickiness Factor, and The Power of Context. Each of this he masterfully illustrates with real world examples, from the ride of Paul Revere to Rebecca Wells' novel, Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

I loved the book and instinctively it all makes sense, but in the nature of things, the moving goalposts still bothers me. It is no wonder that Malcolm Gladwell is one of the most sought-after public speakers in America - he tells a great story and makes you believe. He might be his own tipping point.

- CV Rick, March 2008

For the most part, I found "Tipping Point" to be a solid work. Malcolm Gladwell certainly presents this subject in a brilliant manner that can only be described as a completely different level of thinking. But, I am not completely sold! Given its hype, I expected a little bit more from the book.

The idea behind "Tipping Point" is not new or profound. Malcolm Gladwell's contention that small things can make a big effect is not a novel concept in any arena. To me, it seems more like common sense. In this case, the author also has the advantage of perfect hindsight. In this book, I see little real value or application in future decision making or quantitative analysis.

Throughout the book, there are a few areas I struggled to get through as the author beats you over the head with the same topic over and over again. The chapter covering Sesame Street is tremendously overloaded with detail. I really became lost in the weeds and perhaps missed what the author was trying to say....other than the obvious fact that small changes in the program were what made the difference in children's retention of material - i.e. if you can hold a child's attention, you can educate him. The book could easily have been 100 pages shorter and delivered the same message.

I know of many people who rave over this book, but I am not one of them. I did not seem to get much value out of it. I did, however, find it entertaining and somewhat educational. Despite my criticism, I would recommend this book to anyone who hasn't yet read it. At the very least, it could serve as a great conversation piece at your next social gathering.

I heard about this book through friends and through the media. I ended up buying Tipping Point and Blink at the same time. Might I just say that I have only covered 62 pages in between work and school, and wish so badly that I had an entire day to read it through. Tipping Point is a very easy read, and Malcolm Gladwell's revelations are fascinating. So much information is compiled into the mere 62 pages I have read, that I have already brought Tipping Point up in conversations with friends and family. I highly recommend this book.

What a book! It is an absolute page turner. I devoured it in one sitting (long night!). "Tipping Point", along with the other book by the same author, "Blink", are on top of bestseller list and rightly so.

The book is very well designed and Gladwell's writing style is of a best novelist, which makes the book even more entertaining.

I'm not sure how scientific the author's ideas are but they are most interesting. For example, I do treat advertising as a annoyance rather then buying advice, and I agree with the author that in my case it is rather a counterproductive marketing effort, but I was surprised to learn how important is the word of mouth. But when you think of it, it does really make a lot of sense. What is really valuable to us is the opinions of other people we can relate to and trust.

Gladwell's conclusions are intriguing and thought-provoking. I am keeping the book on my shelf to refresh my mind at a later time. Another book I own and recommend for others is Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Don't get me wrong, "The Tipping Point" is a good book. I enjoyed it a good deal, and found several of the chapters extremely interesting. I just do not find it is as ground-breaking or thought-inspiring as other reviewers here and elsewhere. Malcolm Gladwell has taken an intriguing subject -- the science and mechanics of social epidemics, if you will -- and made it both accessible and easy-to-understand for laymen like myself. Only a smart and skilled writer like Gladwell could take such varying subjects as the popularity of hush puppies, the Broken Windows theory of urban crime, STD outbreaks, Paul Revere's famous ride to Lexington, and the teen suicide epidemic in Micronesia and meld them all into the same overriding story and pseudo-scientific study. The result is a read that is incredibly engrossing in most parts, pretty boring in a couple of chapters, and ultimately a nice read you can probably polish off in a lazy Saturday afternoon. While I question some of Gladwell's methods in delineating his theory, I think it's pretty believable nonetheless, and if not, at least its fascinating to read about!

I think that the book does get a little long-winded near the end. The chapter on teen suicide epidemic in Micronesia seems to go on forever, and is not nearly as interesting as several of the earlier chapters. Additionally, one thing I question is Gladwell's cherry-picking of scientific studies to prove his point(s). Throughout the book he does very well to cite various studies, theories, and articles which advance his main idea (as well as subsequent ones), but I left the book questioning how much Gladwell just chose to discuss only those studies which were favorable to his own beliefs. Obviously, this is something you encounter in any argument, but it leads one to question how exhaustive Gladwell's conclusions are. Again, this is only a small quibble.

In the end, I enjoyed "The Tipping Point" but I don't share the huge enthusiasm for it that a lot of people have. It didn't change how I look at things in the world; in fact, even though I finished it less than a week ago, I have not given a great deal of thought to it period. This isn't so much a criticism of the book; rather, I just disagree with people who have heaped so much praise on the book. Perhaps a lot of what Gladwell was saying went over my head, but in my view it's a good, interesting read and that's about it.

Three stars.

This book has become a best seller because it covers a very relevant topic. The tipping point challenges our tendency to think and predict the future in linear terms. Despite the fact that I enjoyed the reading, the book did not meet my high expectations.

This book, in itself, is an epidemic. It is like the Energizer Bunny: It keeps going and going and going.... Explaining the unexplainable! The author tries his best to explain the frenzy that is, at best, unforeseeable. Predicting "The Tipping Point" of any social craze is harder to foresee than a meteorologist taking a WAG at when and where it is going to rain. They do not KNOW, they just take a "best guess." Whether it be a website, a YouTube video, a book, a stock, the Pet Rock, the Hula Hoop, or anything else, no one can be certain if and when it will take off. The great thing is: those that are lucky enough to get on the bandwagon before everyone else does gets rewarded handsomely for their forethought. Hopefully we all have our chance to start something that hits "The Tipping Point" eventually or to be involved in one BEFORE the rush starts. Good Book.

The Tipping Point is a quick read, and starts out with some pretty good insights, but goes downhill quickly from there. Mostly, it's an account of lame and pointless sociology experiments concerning advertising, television, and social problems. That, and anecdotal accounts that don't really add up to anything. And basically, it's just sloppy thinking with ambiguous key terms. Results presented as extraordinary, surprising, and exciting just sounded mundane to me, and the arguments don't really follow from the facts. Somewhere in the book, I recall reading the words "social social"; I wonder whether the repetition was a misprint or a better characterization of the book. The word "immature" somehow also comes to mind in describing The Tipping Point; as in, twenty years from now, we'll wonder how we could ever have thought the book had any importance. You have to hand it to Gladwell, though, in the Tipping Point, he has created a concept that is self-aggrandizing, and he has already gotten a fair degree of success from it.

Gladwell is incredibly smart and lucid, and has many insights into what makes an ordinary thing become an extraordinary trend. But he makes some far reaching assumptions that don't pan out. For instance, he argues that kids don't smoke to be cool, but rather that cool kids are more likely to smoke. Having three children who are in their twenties, I don't find that to be accurate. The kids I've spoken to who do smoke tend to do it for social reasons. And not for peer pressure, but to be like their friends. My youngest daughter used to come home reeking of smoke. I used to talk to her fairly late at night, at least partially, so I could smell her breath and be assured that she wasn't smoking. I asked her if she ever felt pressure to smoke, since almost all of her friends did. She didn't.
That said, much of the book was intriguing to me, since I never considered any relationship between how trends start and diseases spread. Gladwell is fairly convincing about the epidemic nature of trends. It's always fun to consider new ways of looking at why processes unfold the way they do.

While the whole idea of tipping point is quite interesting and captivating, having 294 pages of unfounded concepts, mostly unanswered questions and overall poor cohesion was irritating.

Gladwell's book is refreshing because he encourages the reader to look at change in a new way. The Tipping Point is never quite what we think it is, in his analysis of various seemingly unchangeable situations that did, indeed, change. His analyses stretch across all possible situations - shoes, the clean-up of the New York City subway system, crime, the spread of HIV/AIDS, and in each case they show us that situations do not always change the way we rationally think they ought to.

By writing in this way Gladwell shows us that we all tend to bring our own quite logical, but ultimately damaging, prejudices to situations - and as a result we misunderstand what's actually going on. Of course, there are no 'answers' that can allow us to define where a tipping point will occur and how we can engineer it, and this may disappoint some readers who want easy answers. Yet that is exactly what Gladwell intends. He wants us to observe and think, not apply some abstract theory in a one-size-fits-all mind set.

It's a provocative and engaging read, and I recommend it to anyone.