Outliers: The Story of Success

Explore what sets high achievers apart--from Bill Gates to the Beatles--in this seminal work from "a singular talent" (New York Times Book Review) Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Blink and The Bomber Mafia and host of the podcast Revisionist History

In this stunning book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.

Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

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Published Jun 7, 2011

336 pages

Average rating: 7.84

239 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Dale Wilde
May 12, 2020
November 2016 selection
Curiouser and curiouser
Oct 15, 2025
10/10 stars
Just love being surprised how the mind and the world work!
Marcelo Zhang
Jan 29, 2025
7/10 stars
Good book to understand how the environment and time can influence our success with other “coincidences”. Gives us a different view of successful people that we need see.
rnaga
Jan 23, 2025
10/10 stars
Excellent, as expected. A great read for any curious mind.
Rashad S
May 21, 2024
Talks about odds and playing the percentage game. Good stuff

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