Outliers: The Story of Success

In this stunning investigation of success, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on a journey through the world of outliers — the best, brightest, and most famous — asking the question: what makes high-achievers different?

Gladwell argues that in order to solve this riddle we must focus on the contributing elements around the successful — their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way, he explains what the Beatles and Bill Gates share in common, the reason you've never heard of the smartest man in the world, why almost no star hockey players are born in the fall, and why Columbian and South Korean airplane pilots are more likely to crash.

Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will transform the way we understand success.

"In the vast world of nonfiction writing, Malcolm Gladwell is as close to a singular talent as exists today....Outliers is a pleasure to read and leaves you mulling over its inventive theories for days afterward." New York Times Book Review

"The explosively entertaining Outliers might be Gladwell's best and most useful work yet....There are both brilliant yarns and life lessons here: Outliers is riveting science, self-help, and entertainment, all in one book." Entertainment Weekly

"No other book I read this year combines such a distinctive prose style with truly thought-provoking content. Gladwell writes with a high degree of dazzle but at the same time remains as clear and direct as even Strunk or White could hope for." Atlanta Journal Constitution

There is a story that is usually told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and ambition. Gladwell argues that the true story of success is very different, and that if we want to understand how some people thrive, we should spend more time looking around them — at such things as their family, their birthplace, or even their birth date. And in revealing that hidden logic, Gladwell presents a fascinating and provocative blueprint for making the most of human potential.

In The Tipping Point Gladwell changed the way we understand the world. In Blink he changed the way we think about thinking. In Outliers he transforms the way we understand success.

Malcolm Gladwell is the author of three other books, The Tipping Point, Blink, and What the Dog Saw, all of which are New York Times bestsellers. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996, prior to which he was a reporter with the Washington Post, where he covered business and science and also served as the newspaper's New York City bureau chief. Gladwell was born in England, grew up in rural Ontario, and now lives in New York City.